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Managing Virtual Onboarding And Online Training In 2020

Managing Virtual Onboarding And Online Training In 2020 by Never Grow Up®

Remote work has become everyone’s reality in wake of the 2020 pandemic. While it initiated a sudden shift to an almost virtual workday, there is a grey area of scheduling, formalities, re-written rules of engagement, and productivity maximization. 

Employers all over are adjusting to virtual onboarding, corporate training, and online internships. From an optional advantage to a budding necessity in these times, we explore the ways of the online workplace below.

A Guide To Virtual Induction

Organizations face the challenge of setting up virtual onboarding that offer value to their teams as well as to the new employee. There’s no perfect solution, but you can tailor your induction programs according to their requirements with the following tips:

  • Plan: Setting a broad strategy of what you hope your employee takes away from this internship and asking them the same. It helps you set mutually beneficial goals.
  • Onboarding: Prepare a pre-joining list of reading material. A company handbook serves as an excellent way for employees to get a feel of the organisation. Making a standardised onboarding process could prove beneficial. Organisations that do so have seen 62% greater new hire productivity.
  • Social Onboarding: For employees looking forward to cubicles and coffee machines, the office space feel could be brought about with video-call coffee breaks and end-of-day catch-ups to ensure social bonding with the team.
  • Choosing Projects: Assign projects that are the right match for the team and the new joinee. Choose relevant areas of expertise to introduce the employee to, while also ensuring that the project has many stakeholders, allowing them to learn from each member.
  • Clear Communication: The team’s way of functioning and communicating should be explained clearly, along with email protocols, file-sharing platforms, weekly job lists, and assigned roles of respective members.
  • Catch-ups: It’s easy to check up on employees when in office. You can pick up on subtle cues, and they can quickly reach out for guidance. Working from home creates barriers to this type of seamless interaction. A daily check-in at the end of the day or mid-day could help with an in-person experience.

In The World Of Online Corporate Training

Around 120 million workers in the world’s twelve largest economies might need re-training in the next three years; not just to keep up with trends, but also to accommodate shifts in work processes. 

With platforms like Zoom and Microsoft Teams enabling seamless video communication, effectively conducting training sessions is crucial. Here are ways to ensure your online training sessions hit the mark each time:

  • Content: Keep refreshers, quizzes, and mini breaks along the way to avoid learning fatigue. Adding images for explanations could increase information retention.
  • Complete Concentration: Keep in mind that your audience will have multiple distractions as they work from home. Request them to shut off other devices and refrain from checking emails/messages in between.
  • Pre-Session Activities: Gather reading material, videos, or articles about the topic and set them as a pre-session activity. Giving a little pre-text helps employees get in the zone.
  • Session Checklist: Create a checklist of topics and tasks to tick off as they are completed during the session. This helps monitor employees’ progress and track their learning progress through the course.
  • Interactivity: Take breaks and hold discussions. Communication tools like the chat box allow employees to type in their doubts and enable you to respond to them as you would in person.
  • Post-Training: Share the material and create chat groups for discussions and doubts. Encourage employees to discuss and share what they’ve grasped. The rest can be addressed by a follow-up session held later.
  • Future Sessions: Record the session and keep it accessible for all. After your first few sessions, note the obstacles faced and make changes accordingly. This practice also facilitates creating toolkits and activities for upcoming programs.

In Closing

Since virtual onboarding and corporate training programs are all the rage during COVID-19, organizations need to make it effortless for their workforce to upskill during the pandemic. The content needs to be smartly structured to avoid learning fatigue and ensure effective training.

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