The webinar versus the seminar

Picture the situation: You find a course that you really want to attend because you think that it will help you and your business become cost-effective.

You do further research and upon a deeper inspection, you realise that the course is available to view either by attending a seminar personally or by sitting and watching a webinar from your desk. But which option will be more beneficial to you?

A webinar is a "web-seminar" that you can sit and watch live from your computer.

Webinars are a great way for you to attend the course or training that could potentially help increase your profitability simply from the comfort of your own desk. There is no need for lengthy drives or train journeys, parking costs or disappointment were it to be cancelled or you can't find the location. The only thing you need to attend a webinar is an internet connection, a computer or laptop and a phone line for you to dial in to listen to the webinar.

So, what benefits are there for attending a webinar?

First of all, as you have probably already guessed, there is a massive reduction in the travel time and cost. Simply turn up to work for normal as you would usually do and you are set.

In addition to this, the webinar is usually a live broadcast that you are directly tuned into. This means that you have no interruptions, you can hear easily and the presentation is directly on your screen meaning you can watch without worrying about your view or hearing being impeded (which could happen at a seminar event).

There is also an opportunity for you to send questions via a chat applet during or at the end of the webinar.

Furthermore, because you remain in your office, you are also there to deal with any enquiries that may be urgent from your colleagues (or also have a valid excuse to ignore people for an hour or so) which means that you don't have to put things on hold because you are leaving the office for half a day.

However, with a webinar, while you gain the benefits of being in familiar surroundings, you lose out on the one-to-one feel of an event.

What are the benefits of attending a seminar in person?

With a seminar that you can attend in person, it is a great opportunity for you to network and meet like-minded individuals that could be in a similar position to you. This learning experience is excellent for small and medium businesses that can share their experiences of a certain situation and learn from others new and innovative ways to deal with them.

There are also no distractions at a seminar, either. You are fully engaged with the speaker and your attention is dedicated to them and the taking of notes.

Attending seminars in person could even present business opportunities for you. If you attend a seminar and realise that your business can offer a solution to any problems people may have: grab those LinkedIn details and put them to use! Seminars are increasingly becoming two-way situations where organisations hosting can learn an equal amount from the people attending.

At IRIS, we started our auto enrolment journey in very much the same way that you did. We had to learn everything we know now about the legislation and we did this by collaborating and establishing dialogue with others in similar situations to us and this helped us to develop the fantastic solutions that we have today.

This massive piece of legislation is one that shouldn't be taken lightly and isn't something that can be guessed. It is extremely beneficial to you to attend some sort of training in order for you to make sure you are properly clued up with the legislation and what it will mean to you and your business. Don't forget, you will become the main source of information for your employees when they start wondering why they have an extra little piece of their pay deducted each month, so prepare yourself well with the correct training.

So, whether you feel that attending a seminar in person or sitting at your desk with a webinar is the best course of action for you, IRIS caters for both eventualities. 

According to our own research of people that attended IRIS Training sessions; via webinar or seminar; 95% of them said that the training met their requirements. In addition to this, 91% of people said that they would recommend IRIS Training to a friend or colleague.

Feedback that we have received from people that have attended the course:

"Very good, the trainer took the time to answer all the questions which were put ot him and was happy to remain on the query until we were comfortable that it answered exactly what we were asking."

Lynn Egginton, Delta Leisure Group Ltd

Our training webinars are perfect for you to learn everything you need to know about auto enrolment from the comfort of your own desk or at a networking opportunity seminar. See our available course dates and locations below:

Find out more about IRIS Auto Enrolment Training

Also back by popular demand is our free webinar on "7 Ways to streamline your auto enrolment process" where you can learn how to achieve a more cost-effective method to implementing and running auto enrolment.

Book your free place now