How To Help The New Hires Of Your Company Using Corporate eLearning
If your organization already has robust eLearning programs in place to deliver training materials and help new employees navigate the onboarding process, you may have the tools at your disposal to extend the reach and efficiency of these tools. How? By using these resources in order to find and cultivate the new talent and skill sets that your teams require, you can maximize the return on your eLearning platform investment and grow your office at the same time.
As technology continues to change the corporate landscape, there is now a higher demand for hires who possess advanced technical certifications, robust experience, and digital expertise across a range of industries. Thus, finding these ideal candidates can prove challenging for HR recruiters, who have to wade through stacks of resumes and rows of emails when they post an opening. In fact, according to industry research, the average corporate job search returns 250 interested resumes. From there, only around five people will be called in for an interview, and one person will ultimately secure the position.
This means recruiters have to determine, from their overwhelming piles of resumes, which applicants are the best fit for the job. While there may be some pre-determined screening measures in place, there is also the potential that someone has the ability to learn the skills required if given the opportunity to pursue further training.
In these cases, eLearning programs can offer an ideal way for HR managers to pre-screen candidates and ensure the completed applications they do receive are from vetted, reliable sources who are capable of keeping up with the demands the job entails. To this end, let’s explore 5 ways that online learning and talent acquisition programs can help make this project as seamless and successful as possible.
1. Use The Platform To Vet And Pre-Screen Candidates
It goes without saying that an HR manager or recruiter must optimize his or her time management. Sorting through resumes and applications that don’t correspond with the job at hand or are lacking in critical skill sets can put the entire job search process behind. Instead, they can include a link to their online eLearning modules to pre-screen and vet candidates before they move any further in the application process.
These modules can be designed to be as specific and technical in nature as required. For instance, you might ask candidates to solve complex problems they can expect to encounter in a real-world position. Or, you might use this platform to test soft skills as well. How quickly does the applicant make decisions? Is he or she able to get the hang of the eLearning tool fairly quickly, or are you flooded with emailed requests for more information? Knowing the answers to these types of questions at the onset can help you determine which candidates will fit well within your organization.
2. Synchronously Perform Training And Onboarding Endeavors
The days, weeks or months before an employee joins your company is a critical time. You can use it to your advantage by offering free online training courses to help new hires get the hang of the job before they even begin. Not only does this afford them the opportunity to do hands-on work and learn what the expectations surrounding the position are, but it may also help them realize whether or not the job is a right fit on their end.
Even if you’ve vetted the candidate and feel comfortable with your hiring decision, there’s always the chance that once the position is filled and routine expectations begin, they might realize the job is too demanding, too difficult or even not stimulating enough to meet their needs. This is likely why, according to one recent survey, 3 out of 10 new hires quit within the first 90 days of starting a new job. When pressed on why they made that decision, 43% said they decided to leave because the day-to-day role was not what they thought it would be.
It’s best to find this out before a new member becomes integrated into your existing team atmosphere. eLearning and training programs allow both the HR department and the new employee to get a feel for how it will be working together. How is the employee’s work ethic? Are training modules being completed on time or are they falling behind? These details can be difficult to discern in an interview environment but they can come to light when the hands-on application is required.
3. Develop Role-Specific Online Certifications
While there are some standard industry certifications that new hires must possess, you might find that the conglomeration of skills required to perform well in a specific job isn’t encompassed by one pre-established certification program. From healthcare to education to IT, there are a range of hiring challenges that can be mitigated by ensuring every candidate is aware of the knowledge base, skills, and industry experience required to perform well in the position. As such, you may decide to create your own company-wide certification that new and existing hires can work toward.
By completing the modules and working through the eLearning courses, employees can test their skills, learn new ones and display their proficiency in higher management. Along the way, HR managers and team leaders alike can recognize and reward top employees who possess the qualifications that their organization needs. For instance, some employees might obtain a handful of certifications in a relatively short timeframe, while others might go after more advanced certifications that require in-depth studying and practical application. Both efforts can prove beneficial to upping your team’s collective value.
4. Create Interactive Games To Display Company Culture
In that same survey on new hires who leave within the first 90 days, 32% left because the company culture wasn’t what they expected. To this end, it’s important to be as transparent as possible about the way your organization operates as early into the application process as possible. Do you take more of a laid-back approach to communication and organization? Are you highly employee-centered with deep investments in training and development? Do you run more of a formal, very professional office where everyone is expected to come to work in a suit? None of these approaches is favored more than the other, but it’s important to let employees in on that information before they agree to join the team.
This is where gamification comes in. eLearning programs that include elements of gaming can help employees more accurately gauge your culture, and allow you to interject your brand personality into your professional training programs.
5. Facilitate Two-Way Communication
By integrating webinars and live-chat functions into their eLearning platforms, HR managers can encourage two-way communication and an ongoing dialogue with potential new hires. If candidates have any questions about how to fill out the application, what skills are required and which can be learned, how to answer a specific question and more, they can hop on and speak directly with someone in an authoritative position.
You may also consider bringing C-suite executives, managers, and directors together to host an interactive webinar covering these kinds of topics and more. If you go this route, you can post the link to your social media feeds or directly into the online job posting and encourage all interested applicants to join at a set time to learn more. You’ll need the required video teleconferencing equipment on your end to facilitate this endeavor, but it can be an ideal way to answer all questions at once, explain the job requirement in more detail, and determine if there are any topics that need to be made more clear. Once the conference is completed, you can maintain the link on the application or social media post so those who missed it can go back and view it on their own time.
Leveraging eLearning To Streamline The Hiring And Training Process
Ultimately, eLearning platforms can facilitate a range of corporate initiatives, from current employee development to onboarding and training programs. In this case, custom modules can be created to help vet candidates, make them aware of the job requirements, better understand their hard and soft skill sets, and allow them an inside look at company culture. They can also be used to help initiate a dialogue among management, team members, and candidates to help clear up any confusion around the application process.
At the end of the day, successful implementation relies on the creation of modules that are accurately representative of the job in question, allowing everyone who accesses them to clearly understand what’s being discussed, implemented and, ultimately, expected.
