This article was originally published in the Institution of Engineering and Technology's Partner News magazine. 

With the impact of Covid-19 still affecting many businesses and day-to-day contact between employees and customers alike, facilitating staff training has unsurprisingly been put on the backburner for some companies as they continue to navigate the current landscape.

Technology, meanwhile, has never been more influential in the way we engage with workforces and our customers in an increasingly remote world. Accelerated by Covid-19, we’ve seen this digital transformation already in 2020 in the rise of Zoom as a video conferencing call platform as well as the increased use of collaborative, virtual workspaces.

Therefore, being able to access user-friendly digital tools with key resources that take the hard work out of training your staff is going to be paramount as we head into 2021 and beyond.

If well-designed and thought through, there are many benefits of virtual training tools that will not only improve staff performance but also ROI.

For example, having interactive training material will create a higher staff retention rate. Engaging with the information in a digital medium, for example in a watchable maintenance video or video highlighting new product specifications, increases staff ability to retain information. A study by Insivia found that viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch it in a video, compared to 10% when reading it in text form. 

There’s also the benefit of having readily-accessible information 24/7 for employees, who can dive into the training as a reference at any point, whether they are out in the field or on a quiet coffee break at home. The tools can suit the staff member’s own schedule, which is especially useful in remote working environments and provides flexibility as well as an increase in morale as it demonstrates the employer’s trust in their own activities

While acting as a more dynamic approach for educating staff, virtual training tools also encourage consistency and standardised procedures throughout the entire business no matter the size or location. It makes for a global workforce that provides that same quality of care for all of your customers regardless of where in the world they are working and how many are being trained. 

At the same time, customers are now expecting an omni-channel approach for services. Websites, ecommerce, social media are all going to be necessary to fulfil their needs, but

printed catalogues are increasingly becoming a relic of the past due to remote working

As businesses additionally focus on providing a touch-free Covid-safe environment, the ability to visualise products within their intended context is going to be a challenge for most manufacturers. 

Augmented reality is just one technological solution that can help service/sales staff visualise and solve the customer’s problem by bringing the product into the customer’s own setting. With real, live context, reps will be able to understand the customer and provide the best possible product for their needs. 

It also enables the customer to ‘try before they buy’, so they can compare products and assess their usability, building a similar level of confidence as it would have as a physical, touchable product in a ‘brick and mortar’ showroom. 

For a recent real-world example of AR in action, EPM Digital’s recent work with Hamworthy Heating Ltd involved the creation of a new user-friendly app using the latest AR technology. With accurate-to-scale 3D models of their boilers included (the image included in the picture accompanying this article is a 3D model believe it or not!), as well as a video carousel available for its engineers, the new app helps Hamworthy Heating maintain support and facilitate connections with their customers in this socially-distanced climate.

The video carousel provides a standardised maintenance training tool for their engineers, while the 3D models are created to scale using CAD data and original blueprints. Using the device's camera, the boiler models can then be virtually placed in their desired locations so that the customer can visualise Hamworthy Heating's boilers within a real environment context, and even open them up to view the inner workings of each boiler.