Training and onboarding new hires thoroughly is crucial to the success of your business. You want all members of your team to not only be prepared for their jobs, but to also feel comfortable joining your team.
This is a good reason to investigate the ways technology can be used to improve on these processes. The following are merely a few examples to consider. They may help you offer your new hires a more rewarding experience.
Virtual Reality Training
Obviously, the more time employees spend training, the better they’ll perform on the job.
However, it can be difficult to provide employees with as much training as they genuinely need. The bare minimum isn’t enough to build a thriving workforce. The problem is, it may be all that you can offer if your workers need to train for certain tasks that require being in real world environments. You can’t exactly train your delivery drivers from a conference room, for instance.
That might no longer be the case. Businesses ranging from Walmart to UPS have begun using virtual reality to provide employees with supplementary training programs. Its potential applications in job training are numerous.
UPS trains drivers with VR. Walmart uses VR to simulate interactions employees may have with customers. Hospitals have even begun using VR to train surgeons.
You may find your own uses for VR. Consider it as a means of enhancing worker training, not replacing it.
Video Tours
Remote work is becoming more common these days. If your company hires remote workers, you may need to adjust your onboarding procedures.
Onboarding doesn’t simply involve covering practical information, such as workplace policies. It also involves introducing new hires to the company culture. This is key to engagement. It’s also difficult to achieve when new employees don’t report to your main office.
However, some companies address this issue by offering new hires video or virtual tours of the office. While it’s no replacement for the real thing, it’s a smart substitute when bringing a new hire to your office simply to show them around isn’t necessary (or possible).
The tour should highlight your corporate culture. You want to make remote workers feel like genuine members of the team. For instance, if you run a hip startup with a “work hard, play hard” culture, use a video tour to show employees both working energetically, and having fun with each other in break areas.
eLearning
You shouldn’t expect new hires to thrive in their roles immediately. Even after undergoing training, people often have questions, forget key points, or simply lack confidence performing certain tasks.
Sometimes they can turn to a supervisor or coworker for help when this happens. That said, this may not always be an option. Address the issue by providing new employees with access to elearning resources during the onboarding and training processes. These can include videos, articles, ebooks, and any other training resources employees would benefit from having direct access to.
It’s worth noting this is also an effective way to boost engagement. Employees tend to be more engaged when they’re provided with opportunities to learn and grow.
Most importantly, stay on top of new tech innovations and developments., particularly those developed for use by HR professionals. New tools for improving new hire training and onboarding are always in the works. By proactively taking advantage of them, you’ll be more likely to cultivate a strong workforce.
