Digital Onboarding: How to develop new starters during a pandemic
As we enter our second month of isolation and social distancing, we hope that individuals and employers are starting to find their feet. Covid-19 has brought an unprecedented shake up to the way we work and a lot of businesses have been ‘all hand’s on deck’ as they navigated the crisis. In our most recent blog, we look at the opportunity this has brought about to digitally onboard new starters.
Fast Action
According to a CIPD study, 19% of employers described their business’s level of ‘pandemic preparedness’ before the outbreak as ‘non-existent’. A further 31% described it as ‘not very comprehensive’ and 39%, only ‘reasonably comprehensive’. For many businesses, fast action was needed to equip their employees with what they needed to continue to deliver.
More than ever, People and Learning services need to adapt to find agile solutions for their clients and customers and that’s why at Rise Learning Group, we have been in touch with our wider business community to ask what they’re current pain points are and what problems they expect to encounter upon return to the workplace.
One predominant concern among our contacts echoes that of the CIPD research – a lack of in-house digital options and know-how to deliver training remotely, especially to new starters.
So, we’ve been working hard on how we can support your digital onboarding and induction solutions.
The Remote Working Revolution
Due to new social distancing rules brought about by the Covid-19 outbreak, we now have more remote workers globally than ever before. As this significant change to the way we work becomes the new ‘norm’, individuals still have expectations of their employers and managers, including engagement, health & wellbeing support and development opportunities.
Although digital platforms are already embedded within some businesses, others may feel they have been ‘thrown in at the deep end’. This new way of working can seem daunting, but these unique circumstances are likely to cause a Remote Working Revolution that will continue after social restrictions are lifted.
Luckily, there is a lot of support available regarding how to work remotely and use technology effectively. Rise Learning Group can help you embed this into your existing onboarding and induction processes.
Plan for Success
During the lifecycle of any employee, one of the key touch points will be their onboarding and induction process. Within the current global climate, many new employees will no longer be inducted face to face, a style that is used by most employers.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, businesses will continue to recruit and as restrictions lift, this will increase. As we see from the CIPD survey regarding pandemic readiness for many businesses, now is the perfect opportunity to get ahead of the game in terms of your remote employee offering for now and the future. Plan your activity now so that when you are ready to bring new people on board, you are ready to go!
The Benefits of Remote Delivery
Within the last couple of months, more and more contact has taken place over platforms such as Zoom, Teams or Skype. These platforms show us that many of our traditional face to face meetings can absolutely be as engaging and effective remotely if we consider our audience and create engaging content.
Some other benefits include:
- A wider geographical reach – Bring new starters together from around the globe as one team
- A consistent new starter experience – You can be sure that all learners are accessing the same content online
- Flexibility – Learners choose when and where to complete their learning, when they’re at their most productive
- Cost-effective – Save money at a time where many businesses are curbing non-essential spend and protecting cash flow
A well-structured, organised and engaging remote session can be a fantastic experience. Remember to include humour, interaction, take breaks and keep it active!
Join the Remote Working Revolution!
There are many ways to create engaging, remote opportunities for your new starters and Rise Learning group are here to help.
We have a wealth of experience in working with different types of organisations with different needs so if you need guidance on how to create effective, agile onboarding and induction solutions, get in touch with our friendly team today.