Brought by the current pandemic situation, face-to-face employee training has been hampered due to several reasons that might impact the health of the employees in the conduct of the training. One of the remedies done to adapt to the changing times is the use of podcasts.  Podcasts can serve as an effective tool for employee training. 

Employees listening to them can benefit from a very flexible modality of training. Introducing to a form of media practice, podcasting enhances the listening and at the same time the critical and creative thinking skills of the employees because there is an opportunity where they can visualize several pieces of information and they can determine the things that should be emphasized per session of the podcast without actually having to personally handhold them. 

Instead of plainly listening to a boring audio recording, a podcast is different because it is like an offline radio show that enables the listeners to effectively visualize several pieces of information, which is a must-try in using podcasts for employee training. Typically, when employees attend the face-to-face training, they get bored and might not listen to the talk. But with podcasts, employees get to visualize pieces of information according to their own pace and place. 

What Is a Podcast?

Podcast is typically a type of multimedia file in an audio-only format that is distributed over the internet so that people can listen to it on a computer or their mobile devices. An audio recording short coaching and mentoring session intended for employees to acquire the best positivity skills is an example of a podcast topic. In this way, employees get to be trained with different skills because there is an effective way of letting employees visualize several pieces of information while only listening.

Podcasts can be listened to individually or by a group. Anytime and anywhere, a podcast can be accessed according to your own terms. In employee training, this is considered authentic work because everyone can listen to your voice (trainer) as the one who is facilitating the training session. The intensity, volume, rhythm, harmony, and other elements are considered to make sure that the podcasts conveyed are easy to listen to, audible, and well-modulated. 

Spotify, Apple Podcasts (formerly iTunes), Google Podcasts, Stitcher, and TuneIn are just some of the most popular directories of podcasts. For your own company, you can check out learning management systems that can host podcasts.

Reasons Why You Must Use Podcasts for Employee Training

As a trainer, podcasts for employee training are a great thing to try. But there is also a need to make huge preparations to make sure that you effectively impose the vision of why you created employee training for them through podcasts. 

Employees will not get bored listening to employee training via podcasts because there is a good interplay between the words, the music, the topic, and the imagination stimulated in the podcast. 

To be further guided with some of the fundamental concepts in using podcasts for employee training, here are some of the reasons why you must use this type of media.

24/7 Accessibility

Irrespective of the time and place, a podcast is really a convenient option especially for employees who have other priorities to attend to. By nature, employees also have different learning styles and preferences. This tells us that there is a necessity to utilize podcasts in order to make sure that the material disseminated among the employees is effectively absorbed because it is addressed in accordance with their respective preferences. A face-to-face employee training session has a “one-size-fits-all” schedule, but a training podcast can be flexible and that employees can choose on what time they are going to listen to it. 

Mobile

Podcasts for employee training can be listened to anywhere. Even if your employees do their laundry at home, take care of their children, go to the mall, enjoy a cup of mocha at their favorite coffee shop, the podcast is mobile and that it lets employees listen to it in accordance with their convenience. 

A good atmosphere sets a fast learning process for the employees. And making sure that the atmosphere is conducive for employees to listen to the podcast sessions facilitates their learning in an effective manner. Always remember that the mobile nature of a podcast, it helps employees enjoy the training session anywhere. 

Higher Engagement

Face-to-face employee training sessions typically have a one-way communication channel where the facilitator speaks in front of the employees and they just listen to the talk. In addition, they also sit in the venue for hours absorbing an overload of training information. After the training, there is a group dynamic session that comes next. One big question during this time is that, did all employees effectively absorb every single information conveyed to them?

In podcasting, it’s a different case. It produces a high engagement among listeners, specifically employees who are attending the training because there is a harmonic interplay between the music, words, and imagination. There is a smooth flow of communication because the podcast highlights the visualization among the employees. 

Better Interaction

Podcast for employee training creates a better interaction scheme because it effectively applies the skill emphasized per podcast session. For example, when a podcast emphasizes soft skills such as memorizing the computer keyboard letters per finger, the employee immediately starts to practice the assigned letters per finger as they listen. 

Another function of a podcast is that it is multimodal. Remember that a podcast is not just focusing on the audio aspect, but it plays a good harmony between audio and visual texts. There is a good imagination posed while listening to the podcast session.

Reduced Costs

Podcasts can be reused in the future. Instead of frequently conducting face-to-face employee training sessions, making use of podcasts for employee training sessions reduces the cost compared to physically conducting training. 

In addition, podcast studios typically offer affordable rental services for trainers who want to make use of podcasts for employee training sessions. Plus, they give additional help in the technical aspect. If your company opts to have a more affordable option, purchasing podcast equipment is a commendable one.