The life of frequent flier miles, hotel upgrades, and handshakes were stolen from us months ago. No more traveling, no more gatherings, just investigators who still needed training. The pandemic tasked WZ with the same challenge it presented to the rest of the world—forced adaptation. As a result, we converted a suite of our training classes to a virtual, remote environment, and in doing so, we had to address several concerns along the way.
How are we going to teach communication skills through a webcam? What about all those conversations we have during breaks? How are investigators going to embrace this? How are we going to put attendees into working groups and still make class an engaging experience? What will come of the free pastries from the hotel? How will we cope with not meeting for drinks at the hotel bar afterward? All very pressing, critical concerns to overcome.
We saw an obstacle, and we hit it head-on. The WZ team broke down the curriculum from our training programs, identifying the key objectives and how they were delivered—examining the number of role plays, practical exercises, lectures, and PowerPoint slides to convert everything into a virtual atmosphere. The evolution of how we would deliver curriculum was one of the most powerful collaborative conversations we had revolving around what we teach and how we teach it.
It’s essential to note WZ has been teaching in a virtual atmosphere for several years, in a limited capacity. Transitioning from a select number of courses offered virtually to providing nearly 100% of our classes in an online setting was quite the undertaking. However, we were cautiously optimistic. We continually examined how courses were received and obtained detailed feedback from attendees about the virtual experience. Their evaluations were reviewed by WZ teams week after week and were the force behind ensuring we continued to provide the best training experience possible. We remain humbled by the overwhelmingly positive feedback we receive from our attendees on these evaluations:
“I felt more connected with the instructor.”
More connected? How is that even possible? This was one of our favorite pieces of feedback, as this was also a significant concern when we converted to a remote environment. We’ve learned that attendees feel they have a more direct line to the instructor, with multiple communication methods during the training session. The simple concept of instructor and attendees, all in their own informal environment, made the entire program more approachable and relatable. We feel like it turns into a family get-together (with the ones you like) for a couple of days.
“It was easier to ask questions without interrupting.”
This was also great feedback to hear, as questions only help the entire class and the instructor.
In a traditional classroom, some students are often hesitant to ask a question because they will interrupt the lecture or speak out among their peers. In the virtual environment, attendees can not only verbally ask a question, but they can also leverage the text-chat feature. The ability to type a question to the instructor at any time has increased the amount of dialogue with attendees. Even more exciting is the organic development of communication between attendees as they start to answer each other’s questions and create more dialogue among the group.
“The breakout rooms were an awesome way to connect with peers.”
Creating an environment where attendees could apply their skills, work together and network was a crucial element of our curriculum development. We have integrated breakout rooms to create a more workshop-type environment for our training. Even our Practical Advanced Workshop, which is heavily based on group activities, has been tremendously successful in a virtual environment. As instructors, we can hop into different breakout rooms to check on the progress while allowing attendees to problem solve and practice their new skills.
“I love not having to travel to attend a class.”
The WZ instructor team misses traveling … a lot. However, there are tremendous benefits that we’ve heard from organizations and attendees on being able to attend remotely. Primarily, the cost savings are very beneficial! No hotels, flights, or meal expenses (other than take-out) incurred by your organization. It’s also made it easier for attendees to work in a comfortable environment, in their (acceptable) pajamas with their pets zoom-bombing the call. The ability for people to work remotely, take care of their home-lives and still attend training is a win-win.
The feedback we receive every week serves as a constant reminder to never underestimate the power adaptation can have on an organization’s success. We have taken the good with the bad this year, looked internally, and evolved our training programs to continue to meet our clients’ needs—all of you. We know change can be scary, and the unknown is often intimidating, but some of the best outcomes come from facing challenges head on and making strategic adjustments. Our outlook on virtual training has transitioned from one of “something we could offer as an option” to one of “this needs to be a staple in our line-up.” Leave your preconceptions at the door and see for yourself how the virtual classroom experience could be exactly what you and your organization need to take your training to the next level.
David Thompson, CFI, is the President of Wicklander-Zulawski & Associates, Inc. (WZ). He is responsible for the day-to-day operations of WZ, as well as strategic planning and the evolution of interview and interrogation content. David has also served as the Director of Investigations giving him the opportunity to manage a variety of cases while conducting interviews and consulting on investigations ranging from theft and fraud to sexual harassment and homicide. As a speaker for WZ, David has created customized training programs, presented at seminars, hosted a variety of webinars as well as conducted live broadcasts of training.
