Who doesn’t dread the hiring process? Hours, days, and weeks devoted to sifting through stack after stack of resumes and applications; calling candidates only to find out they’ve applied for the wrong position or are no longer interested. Trying to schedule around the busy schedules of a team that insists they all want a role in the process but can’t seem to set aside the time to do so, understandable because they’re likely playing catch up all throughout from the missed productivity.
To put it simply: Hiring isn’t easy. Unfortunately, the frustrations and lost time devoted to hiring leads to many companies sacrificing time spent on the onboarding process to make up for it. It’s hardly uncommon for a business to spend four months hiring for a position it will devote four hours of training to.
This is problematic though. Without implementing proper standards and procedures and training employees on what these procedures look like, you risk your business devolving into a company without uniformity and unable to solve internal issues in a time-sensitive manner. You also put new workers in a position where they’re left to feel awkward or embarrassed by not knowing proper protocol on duties, a problem that can lead to otherwise talented employees growing frustrated and seeking opportunities elsewhere.
You may be thinking, “Well, sure, every company would have a proper training program if it were cost effective.” And you’d be right thinking that in the past, when onboarding programs typically involved hiring outside firms to install and manage them before handing them over. Nowadays, modern onboarding largely is managed by software that can be purchased at an affordable rate, featuring high levels of customization and user-friendly interfaces.
How do you distinguish between training software? Here are seven tips to consider when searching for software to augment your onboarding efforts:
#7: Find a Cloud-Based Online Training System
Say goodbye to relying on in-office networks for your training program needs; cloud-based online software is a must when choosing an onboarding software. Cloud-based systems allow users to access materials from anywhere in the world at any time. They also eliminate the need for an IT professional to manage your onboarding software through a network; everything concerning hosting is out of your hands. There’s also a greater range of customizable options that include social media integration, automation features, open Application Programming capabilities, customizable user permissions, and a slew of other interesting features to augment your onboarding experience.
#6: Make Mobile Access a Mandatory Feature
Year by year, more Millennials enter the American workforce, and with them comes a dependence on mobile devices for an abundance of work-related tasks. Instead of pushing back against this movement, it would be wise to embrace it. How can you do this? By using onboarding and training software that is compatible with mobile devices. This type of software should be able to take training materials and seamlessly convert them for mobile use.
It’s great for a couple of reasons. First, if you want to encourage continued, focused training, why not use a medium that is well liked? This just furthers motivation to learn. Second, there’s an added benefit of letting employees put their training programs in their pockets to take with them everywhere they go. Whether on the couch sipping a glass of wine or on the subway ride home, mobile devices greatly expand the scope of training access.
#5: There’s a Benefit to Software that Promotes Employee Bonding
This feature is social media inspired but with good reason. Studies have shown that collaborative learning experiences far outweigh individual study. Find an onboarding software that allows employees to pinpoint moments in material where they have questions, and assign those questions to team members for them to give input. For ongoing training, the best programs will allow users to interact, share thoughts with each other, and ask questions and provide answers and feedback for peers.
This method of training is great for maximizing retention and instilling a sense of unity within a team. Integration with workplace social apps such as Yammer is a nice bonus, as are software programs that create subgroups, allowing users to chat further about specific topics.
#4: Video Capabilities Are Vital
People aren’t exactly enamored of the idea of poring over hundreds of pages stapled together inside onboarding packets. They lose interest relatively quickly. What engages interest? Video. Video has been shown to greatly enhance retention while learning over text materials. It’s more interesting and stimulating.
Look for a software that embraces video. You want a software that either allows you to record, edit, distribute, archive, and search within videos, or a software that integrates with a video content management system that has all of those features. For effective, modern training, consider video capability non-negotiable.
#3: Get Analytics Involved With Onboarding
If you can’t measure performance, then how will you ever know if the onboarding program is working? Get onboarding software that allows you and your employees to analyze their performance. Specifically, look for a program that will measure rate of retention through customized testing. Track these numbers, look for areas that are improving, and continually design materials based on this data.
#2: Learn About Adaptive Learning Features
Adaptive Learning is a software’s ability to adapt to specific learning needs of individual employees. A software with these features will be made up of complex algorithms that analyze each user’s data and continually customizes itself, altering onboarding materials based on assignment and previous performance.
#1: Stay Simple
If your team members have to spend the bulk of their time examining the FAQs of the onboarding software, there’s a problem. Find software that’s user friendly so your HR team can administer it instead of an IT technician, and so your team can get the most out of it. The best software will allow you to upload pre-existing onboarding materials in virtually any file type to get your employees used to the new platform while developing new material.
Sean Gordon is CEO of HIRENAMI. He has an extensive track record recruiting, hiring, training, and unlocking the talent of people. For 20 years, Gordon has been on the front lines of business across North America. He started with AT&T, where he built award-winning teams in sales and operations from coast to coast. He delivered equally stellar results for EMC, Aetna, and West Corporation before becoming CEO of a technology company in need of innovation. Gordon founded HIRENAMI to take recruiting challenges from painful, inefficient, and time consuming to quick and effective, for employees and employers. He has created new lines of business, reinvigorated stagnant company cultures, and mentored hundreds of employees who have gone on to do great things. Connect with Sean Gordon on LinkedIn.
