When lockdown restrictions changed so much of our lives at the start of the pandemic, it wasn’t just offices and schools that shut their doors.
Corporate training rooms were closed as well, almost overnight, creating a massive challenge for those delivering face-to-face training.
We worked with Media First, a company that provides communication training to 40 per cent of the FTSE100, to make its courses available online. Video lessons were scripted and recorded and combined with compelling copy and interactive content to help the company’s clients continue to develop their people and prepare them for media interviews and presentations. The first course was available - and being used by clients - after just a few weeks. Additional courses were quickly added to meet customers needs. And the range of courses has constantly expanded.
Now delegates can improve their presentation skills, learn how to create video on their smartphones, and write engaging content – to name just a few options – without having to enter a classroom or even leave their home.
And they can complete the training whenever and wherever they want, with the courses working on laptops, smartphones and tablets.
Now, the courses can be used as both standalone on-demand training options and, increasingly, as part of a blended programme. Here delegates learn the theory – or refresh their memory if they have worked with Media First before - when it is convenient for them and then put that learning to the test in either a face-to-face session or through videoconferencing options like Zoom and Teams.
We had been looking keen to create online courses for some time. In fact, we’d been busy creating online course content, but customers were nervous about making the move to online or virtual training. Covid changed this and gave us an opportunity to prove to our customers that it could work. The team at Thirty Seven helped us make the move when the pressure was on, quickly producing bespoke online ‘on-demand’ courses that ensured we could continue to help our clients overcome their communication challenges even though we could not see them face-to-face. Even when lockdown restrictions eased, the courses have remained popular. And we receive regular praise from the delegates who complete them. They are now a crucial part of the learning we offer, and we are expanding and evolving our range, including using them as part of a year-long training programme for comms professionals.
— James White, Managing Director, Media First
Media First designs and delivers bespoke media and communications courses that use current working journalists, along with PR and communications professionals, to help you get the most from your communications plan.
