5 Tips To Create An Appealing Employee Handbook For Onboarding Using Microlearning
Though it is not mandatory by law, most organizations have an employee handbook that is given to employees as part of the onboarding process. An employee manual helps by:
- Providing information on the company’s policies and procedures
- Setting expectations about the responsibilities of employees
- Outlining the rights of employers and employees
With the advent of the digital age, many organizations have moved from the traditional formats of employee handbooks (hard copies of binders and manuals) to digital formats (PDFs, PowerPoint presentations). Converting the employee handbook to a digital format makes it easier for new hires to look up information when required. But the essential question is, do your new hires want to go through the handbook? Is it appealing enough for them?
Microlearning is a strategy that you could leverage to make your employee handbook appealing to new hires. Remember, not all sections of an employee handbook can be converted to microlearning assets. But there sure is a scope for utilizing the power of microlearning, and here are a couple of ideas to do that.
1. Begin With A Warm Welcome
Almost every employee handbook begins with a welcome note for new hires. The message briefly explains the company’s background and how each employee matters to the organization. Why not make this interesting through a microlearning nugget? Include a welcome message from the CEO in the form of a video. Disperse this video as a microlearning asset and inspire new hires to do their best at the workplace.
2. Share The Company’s Vision, Values, And Culture
Your company’s vision and values can run through multiple pages in the employee handbook, but you can convey the same message in a shorter time with visuals. One way to leverage microlearning to make this part of the employee handbook appealing to new hires is to make use of animations. Apart from sharing the vision and values of the company, animations can also introduce new hires to the company’s culture.
Perhaps you can have an animation featuring a new hire who asks questions about the company’s values and culture, and show a senior team member answering these questions. Animations are not only engaging but deliver the same information in less time.
3. Introduce New Hires To Employee Policies
Every organization has policies and rules in place for leaves, travel, performance reviews, career advancement paths, and so on. It may not be possible to cover this extensive information through microlearning. What you can do instead is make use of quizzes in microlearning. Ask employees a couple of questions on the information they are required to know. Let them know that they might have to refer to the employee handbook to get the answers.
This is one way to ensure that new hires go through the employee handbook. For example, when you want your new hires to know how well in advance they should apply for a leave, include this question in the form of a quiz and get them to search the employee handbook for the answer. Let new hires get used to finding information on their own, by referring to the employee handbook.
4. Set Expectations On Employee Behavior
Every organization has certain mandatory compliance training programs in place, such as anti-harassment policies, workplace safety and security. Of course, your organization might have full-fledged eLearning courses that are mandatory for new hires to go through, and you might also have mentioned the same in your employee handbook. But how do you motivate new hires to complete these courses?
Simply make use of an infographic delivered as a microlearning module. Let new hires know in a nutshell why they need to complete these training programs. Infographics offer a blend of text and graphics, and work well when you need to present complex ideas in a simplified manner.
5. Let Them Know About Employee Benefits
Most organizations offer benefits to attract and retain talent. Some of the benefits, such as healthcare, insurance, education assistance, flexible working hours, retirement savings plan, may be part of the employee handbook. But have your new hires paid attention? Microlearning comes in handy when you want to let new hires know about the various benefits that are in store for them. You could consider using podcasts to tell them about the various benefits offered by the company.
An employee handbook that’s not accessed or referred by learners is of no use to your organization. How do you let your new hires know that the simple employee handbook is a storehouse of useful information? Perhaps, it’s time to give microlearning a try!
