Dive Brief:
- Onboarding is a critical factor in the performance and retention of new hires. Janice Chaka, writes for business.com that, "Research has shown that by using onboarding tactics, such as formal meetings, lectures, videos, printed materials, and computer generate orientation, to introduce new employees to their roles; they will be more loyal to you."
- A SHRM research study advised that 69% of new employees who had attended a well-designed onboarding program were more likely to remain at the company for up to three years. Additionally, a survey conducted by interactive services advised that, "54% of businesses who continually update their onboarding programs, have a greater hire retention rate years later."
- Chaka expands on the 4 Cs of onboarding that SHRM has created, including compliance, clarification, culture, and connection — to tie these concepts to the 4 learning styles most often seen in the workplace: Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic (hands on), and Reading/Writing oriented learners.
Dive Insight:
Creating effective onboarding training by honoring the learning styles in workplaces is not a new concept, but Chaka provides thought provoking tips. She advises bringing in instructors to teach real-world skills, modeling actual job tasks, and using technology to produce live conferences and on demand training videos.
Onboarding training must happen immediately in order to produce the best results. It should be taught by multiple instructors who can connect with different learning styles, and because it can be stressful, there needs to be adequate and regular downtime to absorb and reflect on the learning materials.
