Learning Management Systems 101 is a weekly blog series exploring how employers can rethink traditional employee training and move toward e-learning solutions, which are faster, easier to access, and more cost effective. “LMS 101: Why Technology is Crucial to Onboarding” is the third post of the series.
A staggering one third of new hires leave their position within the first six months, according to the Society for Human Resource Management. Reasons for quitting include not receiving clear guidelines regarding their responsibilities, inadequate training and lack of an effective and engaging onboarding process.
If you want to avoid employee retention pitfalls, consider how a learning management system (LMS) could play a valuable role in eliminating many new-hire challenges, turning disenfranchised employees into employee advocates who aid in driving impactful business results.
LMS at a Glance
An LMS is a software-based platform that provides the framework and tools needed for online training and learning. The system enables users to deliver, manage and track online learning content. Also, it comes with real-time communication tools that allow team members to easily share their knowledge with each other.
Onboarding Challenges and the Role of an LMS
Regardless of your industry, the goal of onboarding is to ensure that new hires are provided the proper foundation for a mutually beneficial relationship that lasts for years to come between an organization and its new employees. Onboarding is the pivotal moment in which new employees adopt your company’s vision and commit to their place within it.
New hires need to know:
- the mission, values and culture of the organization
- what their responsibilities are and how to perform them
- who their managers, supervisors and colleagues are
- the organization’s operating policies and procedures
- any legal and company guidelines they need to follow
Imparting this information via classroom training can be time-consuming and expensive. Materials and instructor costs along with employee time away from work are just some of the expenses to cover. While in-person trainings has its proven benefits, trainings recorded for an LMS has the added benefit for individuals to easily revisit training presentations and documents.
An LMS can automate your new hire processes and allow you to design training programs that meet the needs of individual employees. HR professionals, managers and supervisors can develop straightforward courses that walk new hires through orientation and job-specific practices.
Eight ways an LMS strengthens onboarding:
1. Pre-onboarding – An employer’s ability to start the learning process actually happens before day one. Through a self-service portal, new hires can start on-demand trainings prior to their first day on the job. The course assignments could be a quick company welcome message and meet the team video, or it could assign the handbook or a short course pertaining to their actual role. This should be part of the ideal onboarding checklist that each new hire goes through prior to starting. Ultimately, any training done beforehand helps new hires become more productive and acclimate to the company culture faster.
2. Monitoring – Participant attendance and completion status can be monitored. This serves as proof that you delivered critical information, such as workplace discrimination and harassment policies. You’ll also be able to see whether new hires are responding well to orientation and training and whether corrective measures need to be taken.
3. Testing – New hire progress can be evaluated through quizzes and tests, allowing you to gauge employees’ competence and determine the roles for which they’re best suited.
4. Goal setting – Allows you to set clear goals and objectives for new hires, on a group or individual basis, resulting in a more well-defined and streamlined onboarding process.
5. Self-service – Employees can retrieve course information as needed and track their progress by simply logging into their self-service app.
6. Multiple formats – Learning content can be created and presented in multiple formats, including PowerPoint presentations, videos and podcasts. Videos are especially effective for conveying not just job-specific training, but also the company’s values, mission and culture – as most people are visual learners and will recall what they see over what they read or hear.
7. Redefining the classroom – New hires can access training 24/7 from any computer or mobile device with an internet connection, eliminating the expense of classroom training and minimizing business downtime and disruption.
8. Universal programming – Orientation programs that are universal by design – such as benefits enrollment and general safety compliance training – can be assigned to all new hires across different departments and locations with the click of a button.
Ultimately, an LMS is more than an onboarding platform. It is also a vital resource for monitoring job performance and developing employees to their greatest potential even beyond the onboarding period.
To learn more about the evolution of corporate learning, how to refine your approach to employee training, be sure to check out the first two posts of this series.
