Why Secure Virtual Classrooms are a Must for High-Consequence Training

Training, learning and development, and compliance procedures are a necessity in any line of work. For government agencies and professional organizations, this is even more amplified, because of the use of high-consequence training in these specialized fields. As more large enterprises take advantage of virtual classroom platforms, the need for safeguards increases.

In this discussion, we’ll explore what high-consequence training means, examples of the types of organizational and government training improved by virtual training experiences, and why a secure training platform is a must.

What is high-consequence training?

The Training Industry defines high-consequence training as “training that prepares individuals for situations where risk is high, and the consequences of failure will be significant if an individual fails to properly perform the expected task, activity, or process. Such high consequences could include bodily injury, loss of life or limb, and/or severe negative outcomes with failure.”

High-consequence also refers to the severity of the impact if there is a security breach or a loss of PII or other data shared within training platforms. Where the consequences would be catastrophic should the data be compromised.

These circumstances are highly prevalent in government agencies where sensitive data, physical harm, and other high-risk circumstances are directly impacted by the ability of team members to comply with important directives and instructions. There are also numerous professional organizations across a variety of industries that face these and other risky situations. Like government and defense, healthcare, pharma, financial services, and utilities are industries where these risks are the highest.

How can virtual training aid agencies and industries?

High-consequence training is often necessary in less-than-ideal circumstances. For government employees who work on the ground where infectious diseases are spreading, gaining access to experts in person for appropriate procedures is often not possible; however, with a secure virtual training platform, workers can get the relevant information they need without losing precious time. These environments should demand the most secure and compliant infrastructures in which such training is delivered.

The industries impacted by these situations are vast, from pipelines being installed in remote areas safely to overseas agents complying with annual security training. As Lorri Freifeld points out in her article for Training Magazine, “For other high-consequence industries, such as health care and oil and gas—and even the automotive industry where technicians must ensure that the cars they build and maintain are safe for families to drive—failure is not an option. Simulation training helps to standardize responses, improve communication, and react effectively to situation variation.”

Virtual vs. in-person training

When it comes to government training, compliance training, or any necessary learning and development, effectiveness and efficiency must be at the forefront of a chosen process. While in-person training has served as the norm for many organizations and agencies for decades, virtual training platforms can enhance both effectiveness and efficiency.

With virtual and compliant secure training, teams are no longer bound by physical proximity or shared time zones. Team members and agents across the globe can stay up-to-date while also complying with top-level security requirements such as FedRAMP or HIPAA. Agents and team members can perform asynchronous training on their own schedule, and with enhanced metrics, agencies and organizations can get a deeper analysis and understanding of how effective the training modules are, the areas certain individuals may need to sure up, and other insights that were previously unavailable with in-person training.

These opportunities are limitless; from oil rig workers off the coast to astronauts in orbit, a secure connection can be the difference between life and death. Even industries outside of government agencies can benefit. As Daksha Academy notes, “A high consequence situation like the financial security of business, protection of the business property, and papers that are very much important for the survival of the company, requires a high consequence training to be imparted to its employees. It helps to prepare the people and the organization to work in a high-risk situation to succeed.”

Why security matters

The best-in-class virtual training platforms have built-in security approvals that meet the regimented compliance of government agencies and other professional organizations. With the U.S. federal government, these approvals are guided by the FedRAMP and DISA requirements. One should be sure your provider has these stamps of approval. When looking for a virtual training platform to make the leap into greater access and analytics, any provider that falls short of the strict compliance requirements is easily crossed off the list. With organizations in health care fields, make sure your provider has met the rigorous standards that accompany HIPAA certification, and is willing to enter into BAA contracts. This committed adherence provides additional peace of mind that the highly valuable information being imparted as part of government training, security training, healthcare or compliance training remains protected by the agency or organization while providing next-level access.

Leveraging a secure virtual classroom platform

The reality is that secure training, learning and development, and shared compliance are true difference-makers for agencies and organizations, alike. In a time where workers are increasingly looking to take advantage of technology to increase their mobility around work, organizations and agencies must look to offer this same flexibility where possible, as well. Taryn Oesch adds, “Most companies use a variety of [high-consequence] training modalities and focus on virtual training and e-learning. These methods can provide just-in-time access to content for situations where immediate access is vitally important.”

Providers who have FedRAMP or StateRAMP-approved infrastructures should be leveraged by government agencies to reduce risk with high-consequence use cases. Likewise, healthcare and pharma corporations should make sure their training is delivered via platforms with HIPAA-approved infrastructures. Are you ready to take your government training or organizational compliance training to the next level with a virtual secure training platform? Talk to a Class team member today, and let’s reduce the risk of your high-consequence training and turn it into high-octane results.