Employee Onboarding & How to Effectively Train from Home

Even before the recent changes to the nature of work and social interaction, the corporate world was in the process of evolving. As the years have rolled by, we have become more dependent on technology to do business—the recent health crisis just happened to speed up that process. Digital transformation has brought about new and exciting challenges when it comes to remote work, efficiency, and systems training. Yet, the pressure to find solutions for those challenges has been compounded.

On one hand, several organizations have found that much of their work can be done from the comfort (and perhaps discomfort) of an employee’s home office or kitchen table. In some cases, this has provided employees more flexibility and even reduced the cost for employers. On the other hand, employee onboarding, and subsequent employee development has become much harder with most human interaction being cut out of the equation. This is where the importance of training strategy becomes evident.

Digital Transformation Technology Trends

Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be the foundation of many business strategies and processes going forward. Forbes predicts by 2025 that businesses that use AI will be 10 times as successful as companies who do not adapt to the technology shift. Using AI in business endeavors will no longer be just for innovation’s sake, but for survival and growth.

By 2025 that businesses that use AI will be 10 times as successful as companies who do not.

This monumental shift towards digital transformation will force employees to learn how to work frequently with emerging technology as their roles change accordingly. Going forward business owners will need to be mindful about how they change job responsibilities and required skills during the interview process. Moreover, reskilling current employees to prepare for this digital shift may become the norm for large organizations. It’s often less expensive than hiring new employees with the appropriate skills. Beyond that, the short lifespan of technical skills training doesn’t often accommodate rehiring as a long-term strategy.

Digital Challenges and Best Practices

Making sure employees have the education to effectively use new technology will be one of the biggest challenges companies will have to overcome moving forward –particularly, for remote employees. It is going to take more than the usual email correspondence to give new hires the support needed to get up to speed. And speed to competency is one area we cannot let suffer. The use of tools such as Slack, Zoom or GoToMeeting, and Microsoft Teams have certainly become commonplace. But do you already have a solid eLearning knowledge base in place for those platforms? If not, then you may find more frequent problems with communication.

Employee Onboarding Solutions for the Virtual World

Consider taking your mentoring program online.

Onboarding new hires is tricky to deal with in the digital age because we lack a social element.  But consider taking your mentoring program online. Video calls with an experienced peer can make all the difference in building connections and increasing company loyalty.

Making sure your employees understand your internal business and operational platforms is also important for day-to-day functions, but that might require more of a custom eLearning strategy. So, here are a few things to keep in mind for your training design:

• include providing real-world experience through simulations
• organize content in palatable chunks with microlearning techniques
• keep learning continuous

Conclusion

As you continue along the path of digital transformation, your employees are going to need support. That may include anything from social immersion to systems training, but the role of employee training and development teams is to make that transformation easier. So, equip them with the training technology tools and peer support necessary to succeed, and your organization will reap the benefits.