Training in any organization, whether it’s for new hires or existing employees is often the first thing that gets axed when there is a budget crunch. Yet, with today’s technology, companies can enable learning from the desktop at considerably lower cost than sending people offsite.
Elearning is a very viable, flexible and effective means of training new hires.
But just how well does elearning work in onboarding programs? What are the main benefits to both the learner and the employer?
5 Key Benefits of New Hire eLearning
- Provides a richer learning experience
Though the classroom has and still is an excellent method of training new hires, many would argue that elearning is capable of providing a more engaging learning experience. Using media such as video and game-style features, elearning can make the onboarding process a more enjoyable and interesting one for new hires. Elearning can also be made accessible to new hires for extensive periods of time, allowing them to re-take their initial training. For the employer, they get enthusiastic employees and re-use of their training software over time.
- Reduces time spent in the classroom
One of the main advantages of elearning is that it eliminates the need to spend the entire training program in a classroom. Elearning is often used as part of a blend with classroom training, and it can quite often be taken by employees outside the classroom. The added benefit for the employer is that elearning can allow employees to transition into their new roles faster than a traditional “classroom-only” onboarding process might allow.
- Provides role-specific knowledge
Depending on whether you opt for an off-shelf elearning solution or a custom solution, elearning can be designed with the needs of the specific learners in mind. The content of elearning can be specific to the role of the new hire, enabling them to get maximum benefit from their training which provides information most relevant to their role. From the employer’s perspective, this is good as it helps new employees more easily adapt to their roles.
- Improved employee retention
Organizations that train their employees have a better rate of staff retention. Statistics show that employees who receive good training are generally more likely to succeed in the roles from an early stage and are happier in their role.
Those who use elearning in new hire training have the opportunity to make it a more engaging and enjoyable experience for the learner. Developing elearning programs for new hires can create a great impression on employees from an early stage, give them a positive perception of their new employer, and increase the length of time they stay in their role – good for both employee and employer.
- Reduces the carbon footprint
This is a significant benefit of elearning and is one of the best examples of why elearning is more economical than more traditional forms of training that require the need for paper and materials.
Many elearning courses are entirely self-contained, presenting all learning content online. They provide alternatives to paper-based forms of communication through such tools as email, PDF manuals, synchronous classrooms, and other web-based tools.
Examples of New Hire Elearning
Interactive Services has been developing custom elearning for organizations globally for over 25 years. During this time, we have worked on many new hire elearning courses that have been very successful in terms of the results they produced for clients such as Iron Mountain, Walmart and Thomson Reuters.
See examples of some of our new hire elearning courses or contact us today to discuss your onboarding needs.