Writing Machine’s virtual blended classroom delivery model has proven itself to be a great way of upskilling geographically distributed bid teams efficiently, economically, and safely.
Towards the end of 2019, bid team members from a leading global real estate services and investment firm attended a traditional classroom version of our Writing for Bids course. The training was held in London but, as this is a global company, many delegates had travelled from across Europe in order to attend.
The good news is that, despite the travel – and, of course, associated costs – they were not disappointed. According to one of the bid managers attending, “the course empowered us to write clearer, more compelling, and more credible proposals. Not only that, it taught us how to structure and write our bid responses in the most efficient way possible, helping us save time and maximize our productivity.”
Having experienced the benefits of the Writing Machine training first-hand, this particular bid manager felt she wanted to share the learning with the rest of her team in Ireland. “I knew my colleagues needed to attend this course, but the Covid-19 pandemic put a spanner in the works,” she said. “We needed a way of delivering the training that was just as effective as the face-t0-face sessions, but with no need to get delegates together in the same physical location.”
And so, nearly a year later and a world turned upside down by the pandemic, Writing Machine delivered the course to the same company once more, only with one or two differences. This time the delegates, who were based across the UK and Ireland, stayed at home; this time the training came to them.
The benefits of Writing Machine’s blended virtual classroom model
The model that we have adopted at Writing Machine is a blended one which includes three, half-day instructor-led sessions, delivered via Zoom. In order to help the learning become second nature, delegates are also given access to our eLearning resources (now in their second generation incarnation), via a dedicated portal.
“Writing Machine’s blended virtual classroom training has given us the best of both worlds,” said the bid manager. “It combines highly effective virtual classroom sessions with great eLearning content. It was the ideal solution for training our distributed team members in the UK and Ireland safely and efficiently in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.”
Excellent learning outcomes
That this model is a perfect fit for a world trying to deal with a pandemic is clear. But having made the shift to this way of training, what is particularly interesting is just how successful it has been, and on so many levels. The first, perhaps, is the fact that early results suggest that learning outcomes are not compromised at all. In this case, with the luxury of comparing feedback from the virtual training to a similar course delivered to the same company nearly a year earlier the results are, if anything, very slightly better with all delegates reporting major improvements in their bid writing skills.
“Having attended both formats, I am not surprised that Writing Machine’s virtual blended classroom training is every bit as effective as the face-to-face course,” said the bid manager. “After all, the training is delivered in manageable, half-day sessions to make concentration and learning easier, and access to first-rate eLearning content also helps members of our bid teams reinforce and practice everything they have learned.”
Key learning outcomes at a glance
- 100% of delegates are now confident that they can create and communicate competitive messages or ‘win themes’ in bid responses (compared to 8% before the course)
- 92% are confident in their ability to write bids that are clear (compared to 46% before the course)
- 100% are confident that they can write bid responses efficiently (compared to 46% before the course)
Significant financial savings
This model also makes great commercial sense. With conventional face-to-face training there are lots of associated costs that simply don’t feature in the blended virtual classroom model. These include travel and accommodation expenses for both the trainer and – much more significantly – the delegates, as well as costs associated with the venue such as refreshments and equipment.
Major time savings for organisers and delegates
With Writing Machine’s virtual Blended classroom training, delegates were able to attend the instructor-led sessions from their usual places of work, saving them travel time and minimizing disruption for their day-to-day activities. At the same time, organisers set up the training with minimal effort, with no need to book travel, accommodation, or a training venue.
Excellent delegate experiences
Delegate feedback for Writing Machine’s Virtual Blended Classroom training has also been excellent.
“I was extremely impressed with Writing Machine’s face-to-face training in 2019, which is why I wanted to extend it to my colleagues in 2020,” said the bid manager. “I’m happy to report that Writing Machine’s virtual blended classroom course has been every bit as effective, with shorter, more manageable sessions, and the convenience of being able to attend from anywhere. Feedback from all the delegates was outstanding.”
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Training without frontiers, and at scale
This training model is clearly ideal for any organisation in times such as these. However, even when the pandemic recedes and face-to-face training returns once again, we are expecting this model to remain popular, particularly with geographically distributed teams. “If we wish to roll out the training to our EMEA bid teams or other regions in the future, it will be quick and simple to do so,” says the bid manager. “This truly is world-class training without frontiers, and without the inconvenience, cost, and health risks associated with business travel.”
To discover more about our blended virtual classroom courses, and how they can help your teams to write more effective compelling bids and business communications, contact us today.
