Designing a Winning E-Learning Course for Onboarding

happy employee on the computer
Stories
Folksy
January 17 2023

Too many companies make the mistake of thinking that the onboarding process for new employees is a mere formality. In reality, onboarding has a vital role to play.

Not only is a smooth onboarding process essential for employee engagement, but it also has a significant impact on employee retention. With a well-designed onboarding process, your company can set its new employees up for success.

A negative onboarding experience, on the other hand, can have serious financial consequences for your company.

>With these stakes in mind, let’s take a closer look at how you can design a successful onboarding e-learning course that resonates with your team.

What is E-learning?

The term e-learning is used to describe education delivered through online digital resources.

Although e-learning is typically associated with an academic context, it has been shown that online learning resources can be highly valuable within organizations and companies, especially when it comes to the onboarding process.

As e-learning is engaging and interactive, it can resonate more effectively with new team members and give them an active role in their own experience.

What are the advantages of E-learning onboarding?

When it comes to onboarding new team members, using e-learning resources offers several key advantages.

Firstly, the format is engaging, so employees are more likely to retain the information they receive. Secondly, employees can progress through the material at their own pace, giving them enough time to absorb everything they learn.

Online resources usually have assessment tools, so companies can see how well the new team member is progressing.

Another benefit is that e-learning allows for company-wide standardization of the orientation process for new employees, so everyone can enjoy the best start possible. Because e-learning is always available, onboarding can begin as soon as the new employee starts work—there’s no need to wait until the right team member is available.

5 ways to create an effective onboarding E-learning program

1) Make your onboarding training easy to understand

A significant onboarding mistake that many companies make when onboarding new employees is underestimating how overwhelming the whole process can be. There is a lot for new hires to take in, and it isn’t surprising that some of the information often goes over their heads.

Making your onboard training easy to understand is important. Break down the content into small chunks to ensure that new staff members have enough time to absorb the material.

This approach will also make it easier for new hires to see how far they’ve progressed in the course while providing a seamless learning experience.

2) Integrate new employees gradually

It’s important that the e-learning course you develop doesn’t have to be taken all at once. By making training a gradual process, new employees can be integrated more effectively into the company.

There’s no need for everything to be done on their first day. You should include all the essential paperwork and policies within the first day of onboarding and then gradually incorporate ongoing onboarding activities as the new employees begin to take on their daily responsibilities.

This approach allows new employees to receive ongoing support. At the same time, it makes it clear that the company is there to support them throughout their careers, not just on day one.

Although most onboarding activities are focused on the first few days after the employee starts work, you should always schedule regular activities and follow-ups during the first 90 days of the new hire’s employment.

3) Use videos and other rich media

Videos and other media-rich resources are more engaging for employees than simply asking them to read your onboarding manual.

Employees have reported that they prefer using rich media to learn effectively.

Even better, videos allow you to introduce new employees to company executives in a direct and personal way without intimidating them.

Media-rich resources are also especially important for remote employees to have the same onboarding experience as on-site employees.

4) Personalize the learning experience

While it’s important to standardize onboarding materials across an entire organization, it’s also important to personalize elements for specific employee roles.

If onboarding training programs are modular, each new team member will only need to cover the topics that are relevant to them.

Making each new employee feel like an individual from the beginning is essential. No one wants to be just a cog in the machine.

You can set this process in motion from the moment the new employee accepts the job by implementing a preboarding experience.

Even before the employee has their first day at your company, they can start to familiarize themselves with your company so that they feel connected from the start.

One way to effectively personalize the onboarding experience is to introduce an onboarding buddy for each new hire.

This personalized attention helps new employees feel welcome in their new roles and eases the adjustment process.

5) Evaluate training success

An important part of the onboarding process is making sure new employees retain and internalize the information you have given them.

After all, you want to be certain that they have a clear understanding of your company’s policies, compliance requirements, and other vital information.

Therefore, you need to develop a way to analyze how well they are progressing through your course; virtual quizzes could be the ideal solution.

Quizzes give new employees a sense of accomplishment during the onboarding process and clearly delineate topics.

Make sure you design the quizzes to address problem-solving skills and allow for role-playing in more complex scenarios.

In addition to quizzes, analytics and onboarding surveys are a great way to find out what learning materials the employee looks at, how often, and what areas they may find problematic or confusing.

You can then use this data to determine if the new hire needs additional materials or further clarification.

Wrapping Up

Ensure a more integrated, in-depth training experience when onboarding new employees by using an e-learning process implemented with the help of an education app development company.

By creating personalized materials that help to foster a sense of connection with the company, you can get each new employee off to a good start, strengthen their bond with the company, and improve their job performance.

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