Create an Unforgettable First Impression with e-Learning
You never get a second chance to make a first impression, and nowhere is this more true - or more important - than new employee orientation. It’s a time to introduce company executives, promote company culture, review corporate history and explain your mission, even help set employee expectations for career growth.
Moreover, a well planned orientation can provide a consistent introduction to the company, its policies, its values. These issues are particularly important if your company is experiencing rapid growth through mergers or acquisitions. And when teamed with on-line e-Learning, you can reach all of your employees with a consistently targeted message at a time and place convenient for both of you. Even more, there’s no need to tie up valuable staff delivering repetitive content.
EASY UPDATES
So what should be included in an orientation program? Prospective topics are nearly endless – safety standards, government regulations, security and confidentiality issues, policy matters, proprietary software tutorials – all can easily and consistently be delivered to employees via e-Learning. When the content needs to be updated, the modular nature of well-designed e-Learning makes revisions a snap.
USING TECHNOLOGY FOR A PERSONAL TOUCH
One company we worked with at JPL Productions had a wonderfully charismatic president whose enthusiasm was contagious. Those whom he came in contact with approached their jobs with an evangelistic fervor. What did he talk about? The excitement of working for a company committed to providing a great experience for every customer, his confidence that tomorrow would be better than today, and his absolute delight that he and the new employee would be on the same team.
But since a busy schedule and the sheer size of the company prevented him from meeting with every new hire, we videotaped him as part of an on-line e-Learning orientation. The result? New staff came away with the impression of having had a one-on-one encounter with the company president on the first day on the job.
Of course, the president’s message was only a small part of the overall e-Learning package. Other components described the company’s sexual harassment policy, appropriate e-mail and Internet use, benefits, and paid time off. To keep it friendly and personal, we used photos, illustrations and voice-over narration to lead users through the program, delivering a consistent message every time.
Another client wanted new employees to learn how to access information using the company intranet, so JPL created a step-by-step guide showing users how to find what they needed.
SPECIAL NEEDS EMPLOYEES BENEFIT
On-line learning is also an excellent way to reach employees with special needs, like the visually impaired who require screen readers. E-Learning can be designed to meet Section 508 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act standards to make your orientation available to everyone regardless of disability. And for those for whom English is a second language, alternate language tracks can be seamlessly incorporated into the program.
MORE THAN JUST ORIENTATION
Employee training needs, however, don’t end with orientation. A growing business invests in its staff by constantly updating their knowledge and skills. Once again, e-Learning is the method of choice. When built by experienced developers, e-Learning can be easily and economically updated and delivered, providing just-in-time training to employees when and where they need it.
Unfortunately in today’s litigious society, employers sometimes need to document both what they’ve taught and what employees have learned. If e-Learning has been used to deliver the material, employers can point to the exact content presented, the time and date it was delivered, and the employee’s score on test questions to demonstrate his or her knowledge.
AN AFFORDABLE INVESTMENT
The question on everyone’s mind, of course, is “how much will it cost?” The real question, however, should be “how much does it cost to keep doing it the same way we’re doing it now?” When you add up the costs of paying staff for repeatedly presenting the same material, duplicating handouts, renting training rooms, and providing refreshments to attendees, the economics of e-Learning become very attractive.
With e-Learning there is a one time up front development investment after which programs can be updated incrementally as new information demands it. It can be delivered to the employee’s work station where it is available for instant reference, negating the need for handouts.
So next time you plan an orientation program, remember to consider not just the content but the method of delivery as well. E-learning provides a cost effective way to consistently reach and impress your most important asset – your employees.
Steve Hulse is manager of e-Learning at JPL Productions. He has worked with dozens of companies to help them harness the power of e-Learning to train employees and inform customers