Top Two Reasons New Employees Gain More From a Customized Online New Hire Orientation

Stop and consider the learning demands your new employees face during the initial weeks on the job. 

Now imagine that you can provide your new employees immediate access to an online orientation and onboarding process that guides them through the most important online information sources, tools and resources. 

They can easily access everything they need from the very first day of employment.

Top Two Reasons New Employees Benefit From Online New Hire Orientation

Here are two reasons why you should switch to an online orientation and onboarding platform:

Reason #1.  Protects and Enhances New Employee Ramp-Up Time

Protect and enhance the ramp-up time new employees need to take to efficiently gain the required information about their new job and your organization. Don't just throw them into the job and hope for the best.

There’s a high value window of opportunity (first two weeks) for new employees to explore and learn before they need to become job productive.  If they lose this 'leaning' time or it's not used wisely, then it takes longer for them to become job competent.

What better way to ramp up their competence than to give them access to a fully customized online orientation and onboarding experience.  Their attention and energy will be focused on the most important information in the right way at the right time.

For example, you can pre-determine the most important pages of your corporate web site for them to explore.  You can also identify the highest value intranet sites they need to know about and bookmark the most important sections/pages.  You decide ahead of time what online information, tools and resources you want your new employees to explore.   

A simple list of the most important 'links' to browse will reduce the information overload most new hires experience, as well as focus their time and energy on high value information assets. 

Reason #2.  Managers' Spend More Valued Time With New Employees

Managers are super busy people.  They know their new employees need a lot of their dedicated time and effort to help integrate them into their jobs and the team. 

However, there’s the reality that your managers are hiring new employees because they are short-staffed, have increased departmental workload, are required to resolve organizational issues, or need to support the launch of new products and/or services.

A customized online orientation and onboarding program reduces the stress and guilt managers feel when they are swamped with other priorities. They know their new employees are able to be onboarding self-sufficient to a certain extent.  They can take the initiative to learn online what they need to learn and when they need to learn it. 

New employees aren't waiting for the manager to orient and onboard them.  They can orient and onboard themselves. Millennials especially appreciate this self-directed, technology-based approach.  It’s a win-win. 

Of course, managers aren't totally off the hook.  They need to book time with their new employees to conduct Checkpoint Discussions to fill in any information gaps and to answer their questions.  But it's all part of being a great manager.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Valerie Dixon, M.Ed., CTDP, President of Learnware Design Inc., (www.learnware.com) is a leading learning efficiency and effectiveness strategist and thought leader in the field of workplace learning and performance.  Valerie has over 40 years of experience in all aspects of performance needs analysis, learning organization strategy development and learning design.  She is the creator and designer of programs and products that accelerate job competence™.

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