If you’ve ever experienced the onboarding process yourself or you’ve tried to organize it for new hires, you understand just how overwhelming it can be. Organizing a facilitator and a meeting place is costly and time-consuming. It also isn’t as effective as you may think it is. No one wants to sit through hours of lectures. Employees are going to get bored, and they’re going to have a harder time retaining the information being given. When you’re taking the time to plan it out and spend the money on it, this can feel like a waste–and to be frank, it just may be. But that doesn’t mean that you’re out of luck.
Rather than following the traditional classroom
format of training, which can be draining–and potentially drive employees away–you can opt for eLearning. It eases the employees into the onboarding process, encourages current employees to stay with your company, offers everyone involved ultimate flexibility and allows for complete and total customization. And these are just some of the benefits. If this is something that you’ve been considering for your business, but you’re not sure if it’s right for you, we’re here to help you feel more confident in the decision. We’re breaking down four ways eLearning can help onboarding and employee retention.
Why Should Employers Give Importance to Onboarding?
Many companies underestimate the importance of integrating new employees into a company. Not only does it help them acclimate to their new role quicker, but it also helps boost retention and productivity levels. This means higher profits for you and less time spent worrying about whether or not an employee is going to show up. Yet a
report done by Gallup shows that only 12% of companies feel that they onboard well.
When you focus on the onboarding process–especially eLearning–your employees are far more likely to remain engaged and feel a strong connection with the company. And while this may seem like a small feat, it can drastically affect your business.
Let’s Dive Deeper into Why Employers Should Incorporate eLearning Design to Help with Onboarding and Retaining Current Employees.
When it comes to onboarding and retaining current employees, one of your main focuses should be eLearning. With many benefits, we’re breaking down just a few to help ensure you feel confident about incorporating them into your business.
eLearning Makes the Onboarding Process Manageable
It’s a bit naive to think that people don’t have things going on in their personal lives that affect their work–specifically the time that they have to dedicate to work. Of course, while in-person onboarding means that they have no other choice but to participate in the onboarding, eLearning enables the new hire to consume the onboard training in their own time. A study by
Edgepoint Learning showed that eLearning takes between 40-60% less time than traditional training. When you don’t have all the time in the world to train, this time saved can make a
big difference.
We know what you’re probably thinking. If they’re doing so on their own, you run the risk of them not doing it at all. However, this isn’t the case. When you have information thrown at you from every direction, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. Breaking it up into smaller, bite-sized pieces allows them to take breaks when needed and revisit a section they may need more help with. This will ultimately help them retain the information.
Utilizing eLearning Design Allows for a Personalized Training Experience
One of the most important aspects of training is the ability to be personalized. Everyone has different learning styles–from visual to auditory to kinesthetic. Because of this, training shouldn’t be treated as one size fits all. With eLearning design, you can customize the training experience for employees. With the help of videos, quizzes, and visuals, you can make it entirely yours.
Not only that, but you’re also creating a learning environment that they can pick and choose from, as we mentioned earlier. Some lessons are going to be more necessary than others, and when an employee is given a chance to customize their lesson plans, retention levels are going to improve.
Allows Flexibility for New and Existing Employees
Just because an employee has been with a company for years doesn’t mean the training should stop. Putting new and existing employees into training at least once a year is imperative to keep them sharp and help them learn any new existing information about the industry. Trends and technologies are ever-evolving, and staying on top of them is crucial if you want to remain relevant within your field.
With eLearning, you can offer multiple pieces of training throughout the year that can be tailored to each individual. Whether they’re onboarding or they’ve been working for you for ten years, you can customize the training as needed. It also allows the facilitator and trainee to be in two different spaces to learn the material. There is no set location or time, meaning they have the flexibility needed to make it work for their schedules. When you’re trying to maximize everyone’s time and resources, this is ideal, as both parties benefit.
Applying eLearning Design Techniques for Training Help Companies Save Costs and Resources
Due to costs, we understand that companies may be wary of onboarding and training. If you’re doing everything in your power to keep expenses down, you likely don’t want to spend money on onboarding. Or, at the very least, you want to keep it as inexpensive as possible. Luckily, eLearning design can actually save you money and help you use fewer resources (i.e., your company’s conference room for training).
Facts and Factors reported that for every penny spent on eLearning, a $30 increase in output was reported. Plus, 42% of businesses say that it has helped them improve their revenue.
You’re eliminating the need to hire a facilitator while not needing a venue to host the training. If you’re a small firm or don’t have any open space in the office, this can be pricey. Instead, you’re spending money on a one-time investment that repeatedly pays off far beyond the payment.
The Impact of Effective eLearning
There is no denying that eLearning is effective. That’s why
it’s projected to grow to $370 billion by 2026. A study by
SHRM found that 69% of employees are more likely to stay with a company for at least three years if they experienced a strong onboarding process. Glassdoor also found that a thorough onboarding process can help boost productivity levels by over 70%. That’s quite a high percentage for something that’s so simple for you to implement into your business.
Partner with eLearning Development Consultants at Clarity to Make Your Onboarding Process Simple and Effective
Are you ready to maximize the talent that you’re currently hiring and that of those already working for you? Then it’s time to dive into
eLearning design. Here at
Clarity Consultants, we work on ILT and HMTL conversions, learning experience design, gamification, and multi-media production to ensure you’re getting the training you need for your employees.
Sound like what you’re looking for? If you’re ready to take your business to the next level, get started by
contacting us today!
