Let´s face it. Training is a must solve issue today since workforce expands geographical boundaries and digital workplaces begin to proliferate.
Employee turnover is also a major problem which leaves companies with various learning gaps and onboarding systems usually end up receiving the harder part of the deal as finding the “suitable candidate” is not as easy as going shopping for a new shirt or picking up groceries at the local supermarket.
Indeed, even if you find the right candidate your ability to scale and drive value will depend on making learning available company wide. You can find the best VP of sales in the world, but if he does not learn your product and service characteristics, the principal sales systems and other company related information, it’s like having an Olympic gold medalist without a running track to showcase his talent. In short, a waste of time and money.
Given all these issues, what can companies do about it? If you are already treating onboarding with online training systems then you are in the right path. However, you might be missing out on a few secrets. Read on to find out five things you never guessed eLearning could help you accomplish in the onboarding process.
1) Reduce training costs
Building classrooms companywide might sound like a suitable option if your team is local and shares the same working space. But then you will need someone available at different moments to coach and teach teams, in other words someone will have to sacrifice valuable working time to teach others.This is not a bad thing of course, but you might need him selling your products to clients instead since sales can´t be affected.
Also if you are a million dollar firm, it´s probable that your workforce is global, so centralizing new hires to a single location for a specific period of time is just really costly.
2) Bring experts to new hires
If you have eLearning material where animated figures guide you through the entire learning process, we recommend a different approach where experts take center stage. No one will deny that awesome animated content helps maintain attention levels high but in companies you need to nurture culture and networking.
Create your eLearning content directly with managers, record them and bring them closer to people. Not only is it a less expensive approach but people will value more having experts teach them directly. Why learn about sales from an animated figure when you can have your VP of sales transmitting knowledge and lessons learned?
3) Make critical knowledge available 24/7
E-learning should focus not just on regular induction-training programs but rather help develop and transfer critical knowledge. This type of knowledge is related to the company objectives and usually only few subject matter experts are able to transmit it.
If it can be readily captured and enhanced through eLearning content then you will have a key catalyst for value generation. This will prove valuable for new hires who must access critical knowledge in order to make smarter decisions.
4) Nurture networking and global collaboration
Traditional eLearning systems usually make viewers sit back and listen to the content. Little interaction goes on as everything is already recorded and animated. Modern eLearning tech now takes into consideration collaboratively tasks and tools.
For example, using forums to engage students, developing activities where people have to engage deeply in order to work collaboratively. This way you can proactively engage new hires which might be sharing goals, common problems or task.
5) Help turn knowledge into action rapidly
With so many eLearning platforms out there (fully cloud operational as well), choosing the right learning management system might seem complicated. However, whether it be Drupal or Dokeos, the richest experienced is obtained from the satisfaction generated by the user who has assimilated knowledge in a dynamic and simple manner.
From the company´s point of view, turning knowledge into action rapidly is the prime success factor. Get started by understanding what type of content is better suited for your company. Remember that working with your experts creates a bigger impact so choose the right team to help you develop great eLearning content for your workers.
The above points demonstrate the benefits eLearning can bring in your onboarding process. Just remember not to get carried away with choosing the right LMS and leave aside content. The richer the experience, the more valuable knowledge will be made available for new hires.
Sameer Bhatia is founder and CEO of ProProfs, a provider of online learning tools for building, testing, and applying knowledge. You can find him on Google+ and Twitter.
