How to replace in-person training with an interactive hybrid activity

The challenge: keep running an in-person workshop despite not being able to meet up

As the head of a digital profession task force for the Rhône-Alpes region Employment Center, Philippe Zymek helps inform and develop the mindset of potential candidates in a growing sector. He has been organizing discovery workshops on digital professions since 2018. A half-day in-person workshop, for just 8 people, during which participants can learn all about the jobs in this sector, the skills required and potential training. In short, a comprehensive overview to better understand the reality of the digital labor market.

Already a big fan of collaborative methods and a user of Klaxoon tools, because of their interactive nature and user-friendliness, Philippe was forced to redesign his workshop due to the health crisis and the impossibility to meet in one place in person.

How could he keep this workshop going, as a vital milestone to provide information to job hunters? Philippe decided to transform it into an online training module, using the Klaxoon Mission tool and create a Board for even more interaction with his audience.

The solution: digitize the workshop and make it even more interactive, using Mission and Board

To transform and digitize this in-person workshop, Philippe changed it in two stages:

• First, into an online module
• Then, into a more hybrid training course

An independent 3-hour module using the Mission tool

Initially, when it was very difficult to meet together in person because of the health crisis, Philippe chose to test the Klaxoon Mission tool. An ideal solution, given the conditions.

Using Mission, he created a fun and comprehensive informative pathway, where he included all the documents and materials contained in the in-person training. With videos, quizzes and surveys, it's a comprehensive 3-hour course that people can go through independently. As Philippe points out, "above all, we were able to take advantage of all the benefits of digital learning!" Indeed, thanks to Mission, the workshop is available to everyone at any time. Participants can start an activity, and resume it later without losing their place, and all the content remains freely available, both during the course and after it has been completed.

But Philippe was aware that not everyone is necessarily comfortable using digital tools, even when they want to find out about jobs in the industry. As he explains: "There is no substitute for facilitation by advisors for people with little self-reliance. For this reason, I have redesigned the format so that it was facilitated by advisors on a Klaxoon Board."

By referring to both Board and facilitators, Philippe has transformed his independent module into a hybrid activity available on-site and remotely, which keeps participants engaged because it is facilitated by the Regional Employment Center advisors.

A Board to really democratize access to information

By switching to Board, the format of this presentation about digital professions evolved and with it, all the interactions that it was generating. This is what the new workshop looks like: "The Board consists of 10 different colored cards that serve as a guide and represent each step of the workshop. Facilitated by an Employment Center advisor (remotely or in-person) for 8 to 10 people, the entire 3-hour workshop is on Klaxoon."

Each step makes it possible to gradually learn more about a profession, and above all to acquire useful knowledge for any future job hunting.

First, the group starts with an icebreaker that fulfills two functions:

• It creates a group dynamic using a fun activity, in this case moving items to find hidden people.
• It quickly teaches the group how to use Board.

Then, it’s time to move on to the workshop itself.

The first two steps set out the scope of the workshop and take an in-depth look at how to use the Board. They contain all the information about the workshop, its goals and duration. Then, for 10 to 15 minutes, participants act out real life situations so they learn how to submit an idea, move it, watch a video, download a document and use the Question tool. For Philippe, this first activity is "absolutely vital to be able to fully benefit from the workshop".

With the third card, participants begin to learn about the digital profession with the help of two highly participative activities. First comes an open-ended question asking "What does digital mean to you?" followed by a knowledge test in the form of a quiz. "These activities enable us to share ideas and encourage discussion. They project us into the digital universe and help us understand that behind us, as the users, there is a whole economy, professionals and countless different jobs."

With the fourth card, they start to learn about various digital jobs. With the help of the advisors, who tell them all about the different types of jobs available, each person chooses 2 or 3 videos per job to explore them independently. These are instructional videos that detail the skills and attributes required for each job. Participants are then guided to take notes on a job worksheet provided for them to record essential information. And if no job really interests them, or if they simply don’t know where to turn, a link to an external site is provided to explore other options based on their attributes and aspirations. For Philippe, this is the "core of the workshop."

To delve even deeper, the fifth card is all about the reality of the labor market, using relevant figures and infographics about the market in general, or the target profession specifically. This helps participants to complete the job worksheet.

From the sixth through to the ninth cards, the group gradually starts to develop and implement an action plan to wrap up the process.

First, there is a self-assessment phase to check that the jobs concerned match their expectations, desires and working conditions. "An important step is to start imagining themselves doing the jobs, and identify how they might not match their goals," according to Philippe.

Then comes the turn of future training needs. "We explain the different training pathways and fundings available. The aim is to reassure them about the opportunities for finding a new job."

In the eighth step, people have to identify and mobilize the right resources to create an effective career plan: which professionals to meet, where to immerse themselves in a business, what online tools to use, what skills to mobilize and acquire, and what support is available to help them find a job.

Finally, they note all the actions to be carried out after the workshop to make the action plan more concrete.

The advisors conclude this hybrid workshop with a new, more difficult quiz to verify that knowledge has been acquired and that everyone can now imagine themselves in these jobs.

The result: more lively workshops and immediate feedback

The first tangible result noted by Philippe is how satisfied the target audience is with this training. Thanks to the notes and comments left by the participants, Philippe can easily adjust his content while responding to requests.

A success achieved by moving to remote training with the help of Mission. Philippe is more than satisfied: "This format was very popular: more than 1,000 participants with a 4.5/5 star rating in a few months." By digitizing his training, Philippe was able to reach more people: 1,000 independent participants in a few months, compared with 8 per session before.

With a rythm of 3 in-person sessions per week, it would have taken Philippe about 8 months to reach 1,000 participants.

Furthermore, thanks to the various Klaxoon tools that he uses on a daily basis, Philippe has seen a significant improvement in participation and engagement. As he points out himself: "When working around a table without this type of tool, there are always one or two people who end up taking the lead. Quieter people say nothing or hardly anything, whereas sometimes they have the best ideas."

In this new hybrid format, Philippe is also convinced of the importance of the immediate feedback provided by the participants.

The features and the comprehensive nature of Board are also much appreciated by the agency manager. "With Board, we get a complete overview of what we produce. People are proud of what they have achieved when they look back and see how far they've come. It’s very rewarding."

Finally, Philippe uses Board to simplify his reports. Since all the information stays on the Board, it becomes "a roadmap where all the resources are centralized. This ensures that everyone remembers the day and what they have learned."

Philippe concludes: "For me, Klaxoon is a bit like a whiteboard that enables me to do everything, to stimulate creativity, create projects or track actions, be it in person or remotely. I use it on a daily basis, in project management, for discussions with my teams, in training or even with partners."