Onboarding is an important activity in any organization, no matter how big or small. The new hire process is all about getting your new hires excited and engaged about their new roles. And when you take on new employees in any department – sales, product, compliance, or otherwise – the learning and support part of the program should set the tone of the new hire experience.
The goal of any onboarding is behavioral development. It’s all about getting new employees to adapt to a new work environment and a new work culture. It’s also about inspiring confidence, motivation and dedication to the organization they are now a part of.
But what features define a great onboarding program? What makes onboarding so effective that it starts to develop leadership immediately? The answer lies in the training.
“Organizations with a standard onboarding process experience 54% greater new hire productivity and 50% greater new hire retention”
Establishing the Characteristics of Great New Hire Training Programs
Training new employees should be a great experience rather than a list of mundane tasks and processes. Therefore it is highly important that an organization gives a lot of consideration to how an onboarding program should be structured.
Analyzing the goals of your organization and the needs of your existing workforce is the best way to determine what your new hire training program should include. Questions that should be answered are:
- What are our organizations values?
- What are our overall performance objectives?
- What knowledge, skills and support do our employees need to do their jobs effectively?
In 2013, Interactive Services ran a webinar on “Developing Leadership and Talent from Day One”. To learn more about the characteristics of new hire training programs, watch this recording in our webinar archive.
Once you have clearly established what the objectives of your onboarding should be, choosing the right form of training is the next step as training is the core part of the process.
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Classroom Training
Despite newer, technology-based training such as e-leaning and m-learning, it is still the most widely used method of training and is still proving to work very well. Many people would argue that technology cannot replace the personal connection one gets in a classroom and as such, it is still very popular for new hire training.
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ELearning
In the modern organization, e-learning is a highly popular form of training. And it has proven to be extremely effective, either as a stand-alone training course or as part of a blended solution.
E-learning is a highly engaging, convenient, cost-effective and eco-friendly (paper-less)form of training. It often incorporates scenario and game-based learning, making the training a more enjoyable experience for new hire learners.
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Mobile Learning
“Can I get that training to go?” I hear you ask. Well, thankfully with mobile, now you can!
Mobile has become our go-to place for information and BYOD policies have been introduced in many organizations in a bid to leverage mobile for increased success.
Mobile makes a great delivery platform for learning and training content. It is likely that the number of organizations adopting mobile learning both as part of new hire training programs and other L&D initiatives will continue to increase.
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Blended Training
If you are unsure about what would work best for your new hire training, a blended solution may be the best option for you. For example, a mix of classroom learning with elements of virtual training might be more effective than confining it to one form of training alone.
A blended learning approach ensures that not only is the learner engaged more and driving his/her individual learning experience to some degree, but also since different learners have different learning styles, a blended approach is more likely to cater to those varying needs.
Regardless of the type of training you choose for you onboarding program, you should never lose site of your objectives. Let your objectives dictate the style of your onboarding and the method in which training is delivered. Ensure that your organization’s values are built into every aspect of the program so that new employees understand that they are becoming part of something special and begin their new job feeling satisfied that they have made the right decision in joining your team.
Read more about new hire orientation and the onboarding process in this Forbes article.
Want to know more about developing new hire training?
Interactive Services has over 25 years of experience in developing training for new hires, compliance, sales, product and manufacturing across multiple industries.
Contact us today to discuss your training needs.
References:
Aberdeen Group, 2011 – https://www.aberdeen.com/Press/Details/New-hire-onboarding-standardization-and-automation-powers-productivity-gains/132.aspx