The 20 something workforce typically is heavily into some form of online activity or the other and needs no special orientation to online learning. At best, they demand an equally engaging and entertaining experience from it as they do from their various online activities such as gaming, blogging, surfing and the use of social media. Fair enough. But how do you tackle a target audience that may be slightly less tech-savvy or whose daily work does not involve working on computers and hence they feel hesitant about using them? It’s not just learners who may be averse to eLearning, it could be a lot of different groups of people within your organization who need to be oriented to this medium.

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The other day, my friend was ranting about attending a training session at her new company. She has over eight years’ experience in her field of work, but still has to attend training sessions organized by her company. Her ranting reminded me of my training sessions with the company I joined just a year or two ago. Despite finding the whole process boring, I was glad I attended the session as it helped me know more about company, people, work responsibilities and more.

Not all positions in an organization require a fresher. Some positions demand experienced new hires. Many newly hired experienced employees expect to start right away in to their new job as they feel that their experience and knowledge are more than sufficient. This is true to a certain extent, but many companies ask its new hires, fresher or experienced, to undergo induction training.

Every company has its own set of culture and standard practices that determine how each employee should go about doing their job. The entry of experienced employees into an organization requires him or her to maintain and get accustomed to its culture and decorum. Not adhering to one’s organization’s style of work can cause conflict leading to negativity, lack of motivation and enthusiasm, causing the employee’s performance to suffer. An induction training and orientation program helps new employees to be familiar with the culture and practice of the organization.

Besides the regular induction program, newly hired experienced employees need to develop a level of competency set by the new company to perform well in his or her new role. Despite having the required experience, training in developing competencies can help achieve great results.

When a new employee joins an organization, the chances of conflict arising are high. Training new hires on ways of getting along well with subordinates, colleagues and seniors will benefit them as well as the organization.

If an organization has to train its experienced employees, it is essential that they offer significant training programs. Irrelevant training sessions are a complete waste of time for the organization and the employees. Organizations should hold training programs that impart further knowledge and develop new skills on the job. Training can be off-the-job (lectures, conferences, case studies, role-play, simulations) or on-the-job (orientation, internships, coaching, instruction training).

The goals of the training program should relate to the needs of the organization. Goals should include milestones that help take an employee, fresher or experienced from his or her current position to where he or she desires to be. Allowing employees to participate in goal-setting of training programs increases their success rate and motivates employees.

The purposes of training programs are to:

• Increase productivity
• Reduce employee turnover
• Increase efficiency resulting in financial gains
• Decreased need for supervision
• Building an efficient, effective and highly motivate team to enhance the company’s position in the market
• Encourage employees to adopt and use advanced technical know-how to increase productivity.

Do share your thoughts with me on the same.

In my first job there was never a formal orientation for new employees or an introduction procedure in place. On the other hand, at my second job, I was astonished to be part of an hour-long employee introduction plus orientation. The introduction of each employee of the company along with a one-on-one meeting with my Project Manager and team members made me feel really welcome. Besides the introductions, I also had a two-hour session with the HR Manager and his team to know more about the company, its products, services, etc. At the end of the day, I knew about the company, policies, regulations and more.

I wonder how different things would have been if I wasn’t introduced to my manager, teammates and other colleagues. I would have felt unwanted and unwelcome. No wonder, orientation and training of new hire are considered a must these days.

If a new employee leaves before the end of his or her probationary period, the company loses a capable employee to its competitors and increases costs of recruiting and training new candidates.  Training and orientation sessions offer the new hire the much-needed knowledge on the various departments, workgroups and interaction amongst them.

Besides lessening the fear, new hire orientation training helps the new employees understand the company, its culture, organizational structure, ground rules, policies and procedures, office timings, products and services, and so on. Also, helps them to build a can-do-it attitude and become knowledgeable about one’s roles and responsibilities.

Investing in a new hire orientation program to increase the new hire’s confidence in his or her decision to join your company will motivate the new hire to produce his or her best work immediately. This will increase the new hire’s chances of continuing with your company in the long run as it infuses a sense of belonging.

A good way to test the effectiveness of new hires’ training and orientation is to give them a short questionnaire or web-based test at the end of the session.  To test the effectiveness of the training of the job requirements, it is ideal to wait for a month or two to rank their performance. To appraise the employee on a daily basis, assess his daily job responsibilities, methodology and his code of conduct while dealing with a problem.

Do share your thoughts on the same.