When applied to employee onboarding, instructional design strategies and best practices are highly advantageous. The core instructional design principles often focus on boosting engagement and knowledge retention, both of which enhance the experience and increase the training success rates.
Adopting the various instructional design best practices is also relatively simple, making them easy to incorporate into employee onboarding. If you want to elevate the new hire experience and achieve better results with your onboarding, here are some instructional design strategies to embrace.
Make Onboarding Interactive
The onboarding processes of yore weren’t particularly engaging, relying heavily on paperwork and presentations coupled with lectures. Ultimately, those strategies are dull, and many new hires eventually disengage from the process.
By adding interactive elements, onboarding is far more engaging. Participation encourages focus. Plus, activities can help keep new hire energy levels higher, all while creating opportunities for fun.
A variety of opportunities to interact can work well. Asking new hires questions, conducting quick polls, having them navigate scenarios, and similar strategies can all boost engagement. Additionally, incorporating different elements throughout the process is even more effective, so consider mixing it up when possible.
Use Mobile-Friendly Design
Many onboarding processes have digital elements that new hires handle independently. These could be preboarding activities like completing required paperwork or other necessary training like instruction on workplace safety.
Most companies design these segments of the onboarding experience with desktops or laptops in mind. However, many new hires may prefer to use mobile devices, including smartphones and tablets.
The displayed pages can adapt to any device type using a responsive web design. As a result, candidates can use the one that’s most comfortable or convenient, elevating the experience.
Embrace Microlearning
Microlearning is an instructional design concept that breaks down broad topics into bite-sized chunks. Along with allowing for the creation of shorter modules, it makes it easier for new hires to focus on one subject at a time. Along with making the information more digestible, it creates ample opportunities for breaks. As a result, the onboarding experience isn’t as overwhelming, making it more pleasant and boosting knowledge retention.
Often, it’s best to keep modules below 15 minutes. Additionally, ensure they’re highly focused on a single topic. When possible, add interactive elements and use multiple mechanisms for conveying information – such as text, images, audio, and video – to ensure engagement is as high as possible.
Ultimately, the instructional design principles above are highly effective and can dramatically improve your company’s onboarding experience. In turn, new hires have an easier time navigating the process and learning the information, leading to better results.
At Clarity, we have 30 years of experience in L&D, giving us the knowledge and expertise to assist companies looking to enhance their onboarding experience by incorporating instructional design best practices. Plus, if you’re trying to expand your internal L&D team, Clarity can be your candidate search ally, connecting you with top talent when needed.
Contact us today.
