Worried About Setting Up a Group Training for Your Staff During COVID-19?

Worried about setting up a group training for your staff during COVID-19? NFSA has a solution!

Most people agree that in-class trainings are the gold standard in adult education, particularly on topics that generate a great deal of discussion. But what do you do when local laws and company policy prohibit you from gathering your staff together?

Performance Systems Integration (PSI), a Portland-based company that delivers fire and life safety services throughout Oregon and Washington, has contracted with NFSA over the years to provide in-class training to its employees.

Previously, classes were held in the corporate office training room. Employees from the Seattle area traveled to Portland for the seminars, allowing all personnel to hear and discuss the same information. Dialogue during the NFPA 25-related seminars are particularly valuable to service staff members, making NFSA’s ITM classes best delivered in an in-class format.

With COVID-19 restrictions in place, PSI worked with our team at NFSA to deliver live training remotely to its satellite offices. This allowed all PSI service technicians and staff to attend the class at the same time while maintaining social distancing and reducing travel.

Holly Garvey in NFSA’s Training Department and Dennis Wood with the NFSA Operations team developed a protocol and procured required equipment.

NFSA instructor Brad Cronin delivered the class in Portland to socially-distanced staff in the training room and other offices, while live-streaming the class to the Washington-based employees. NFSA Regional Manager Suzanne Mayr helped monitor the questions that came in from the off-site participants, facilitating discussion among all attendees.

“The livestream helped PSI reduce COVID-19 exposure risk to employees while retaining the in-class experience,” said Doug Vandecoevering, Service Manager. “We were able to all share the same information.”

If you are interested in setting up training in this format, contact your NFSA Regional Manager.