This blog gives training managers and HR personnel, the right reasons to choose e-learning for employee onboarding. The tangible benefits shared in the blog are ones that our client experienced.
There’s an old adage that says “You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression”. That probably explains why training managers and HR personnel want to deliver the best onboarding experience for new hires in their organization.
Organizations across the globe have realized that not following a proper onboarding process, and trying to disperse a lot of information about the company to new hires in an intense series of classroom sessions does not help their cause. With the emergence of e-learning, an increasing number of organizations are looking to unleash the power of e-learning to deliver world-class training. We recently developed an e-learning course for employee onboarding, for one of our biopharmaceutical clients.
Let me discuss why e-learning for employee onboarding is a better option than the traditional ones.
Break the Barriers of Space, Cost, and Time
Good old classroom training programs have always been popular for employee onboarding. But the flipside to it is the high recurring cost. In organizations where employee onboarding happens frequently, the cost of training may become prohibitive. Also, in today’s scenario, training needs to be delivered to employees in different locations, to suit diverse time zones.
Before introducing e-learning for employee onboarding, the client had conducted a classroom training program for new hires at one location, and virtual instructor-led training (VILT) for those at another location. This was found to be a very time and resource-consuming exercise.
By choosing e-learning for employee onboarding, our client could save on training dollars, and break down the barriers of time and space. A face-to-face training program cannot match the flexibility offered by an online training for employee onboarding.
Deliver a Consistent Learning Experience
In instructor-led training, the instructor can make or mar the success of the training program. If different instructors are involved in delivering onboarding training across locations, there is a high risk of inconsistency in training delivery creeping in. Our client faced a similar problem with instructor-led training because in many instances the new hire training was unengaging and inconsistent.
On the other hand, e-learning for employee onboarding delivers a consistent learning experience for learners, irrespective of their location and time zone.
Customize the Onboarding Training
Any kind of training content, if not tailored to your business goals, becomes irrelevant for learners. Learners do not want to go through a general onboarding policy. They want to know how your onboarding process is aligned with their roles and the goals of the organization.
By opting for custom e-learning for employee onboarding, our client could deliver an engaging and immersive experience to the new hires. The course gave them insight into the values, culture, mission, and vision of the company. It also took them on a virtual tour of the campus, giving them an overview of the different departments in the organization.
This is a sample snapshot from the customized course. Each building represented a department or topic. On click, each building revealed the functions of the department.
Make Onboarding an Interactive Process
Onboarding programs, in general, are considered to be boring where a lot of information is dumped on the learner. By opting for e-learning for employee onboarding, our client succeeded in making the learning process interactive.
Here’s one example of an interactivity that was included. New hires needed to know more about the key team members in the organization. We designed an interactivity that resembled a card game. The learner could choose a particular card, drag and drop it in the box provided. This revealed the team member’s picture and displayed more information about them.
Including this interactivity evoked the learners’ curiosity and they were all set to explore more information on the key team members. If this information on key team members had been presented in a classroom training program, it would have been nearly impossible for new hires to recollect the information. An e-learning course on the other hand lets them review the course as many number of times as they want to. This helps in knowledge reinforcement.
A successful online new hire onboarding training can boost employee confidence, increase retention rates, improve role clarity, and boost employee productivity. Have you used e-learning for employee onboarding? If yes, please use the Comments section to share the benefits that you have observed.
