You need your new hires to learn company policy and improve their task proficiency as quickly as possible. There are some training topics that call for full-length online training courses, such as complex skills and compliance protocols. However, others require a more distilled microlearning approach. This gives new hires the chance to get the information they need and get back to business as usual.
Here are seven microlearning activities that are just right for your onboarding online training.
1. Orientation simulations
The first day on the job can be a nerve-wracking experience. New hires are still dealing with a learning curve, and the workplace is unfamiliar territory. Fortunately, you can give them valuable experience before they start their new position. Orientation simulations mimic every aspect of the job, from everyday tasks to the working environment itself. Employees have the opportunity to explore their surroundings and try out new equipment and software. To achieve the best results, include realistic images, sounds, and branching scenarios so that employees know what to expect. In addition, focus on one specific task or topic to make it micro: for instance, a five-minute online training simulation that centers on the return process or takes employees on a tour of the sales floor.
2. Skill-based branching scenarios
Certain skills are difficult to master on the job. Experience may be the best teacher, but a bad experience may cost the company loyal customers and revenue. For example, communications skills are essential for customer service employees. However, building this soft skill calls for face-to-face interaction and emotional awareness. Even body language and facial expressions are part of the equation. Branching scenarios feature realistic characters and situations that help employees build vital skills. Every choice they make takes them down a different path. As such, they’re able to see how their actions and behaviors affect the outcome. A negative attitude leads to dissatisfied customers, which results in lost revenue.
3. Proficiency self-assessments
Self-assessments are ideally suited for onboarding online training because they give employees the chance to track their own progress so they can evaluate their proficiency and identify areas for improvement. If an issue requires their attention, they’re able to seek out additional online resources to bridge the gap. The key to creating effective micro-assessments for online training is targeting one objective or topic at a time. For example, traditional onboarding online training courses may include a half-hour exam that covers every task, skill, and company policy, whereas microlearning online training assessments concentrate on a single skill set or work process. Thus, employees have the power to retake the quiz at different time intervals to monitor their own growth.
4. Compliance serious games
Companies like Adobe feel that compliance online training is typically boring, tedious, and frustrating. It’s mandatory, which means that new hires inherently dread the online training experience. But you can transform your compliance online training courses into fun and engaging microlearning games. You can even gamify not just the content but the whole experience. Serious games feature memorable characters, storylines, and challenges. Employees must overcome each obstacle to advance to the next level or defeat the fictional foe. In most cases, they don’t even realize they are learning safety procedures or company policy until after the fact.
5. Company policy podcasts
Let’s be honest: Nobody wants to sit through an hour-long lecture about company standards and protocols. After a short while, their minds start to wander, and the next 55 minutes are simply a waste of time and resources. Company policy podcasts have the power to change all of that by making the information more manageable. Each podcast covers a different topic, ranging from the history of your organization to your health and safety standards. Employees are able to listen to the episodes when it’s most convenient so that they fully absorb the ideas. To make online training even more effective, create a podcast-viewing guide that features episode categories—for example, one section covers compliance procedures and another deals with the company dress code.
6. On-the-job online tutorials
Certain occasions call for on-the-spot online training. For example, a new hire is ready to ring up their first purchase but can’t remember how to use the system; or an IT employee needs to troubleshoot a customer issue and isn’t able to use the diagnostic tool. New staff members don’t have the time to access the LMS and take a 20-minute online training course. Instead, they need specific information right now to ensure superior customer service. Microlearning online tutorials serve as a valuable online support resource, providing the key takeaways. They may be in the form of slide shows, virtual presentations, or even bulleted lists. Whatever the case, they impart need-to-know information quickly and are easily accessible. New hires and experienced employees alike rely on these online resources time after time to brush up on their professional knowledge.
7. Product training-video demos
Your current employees have the chance to gradually add new products to their mental catalog. New hires don’t have that luxury. They must learn about product features, specs, and benefits for every item in your inventory. Microlearning online training demos allow them to absorb the information in an easily digestible format. They can explore one product before moving on to the next, and even rewatch the online training-video demo to refresh their memory. Try to include in-depth walkthroughs for products that are more involved. In addition, incorporate charts, diagrams, and images to showcase all of the minute details. Your new hires need all the information they can get while they’re still learning the ropes.
In a fast-paced corporate environment, there’s no time to lose, and getting your new recruits up to speed is of the utmost importance. To achieve this, you need an intuitive, mobile-friendly LMS that delivers all kinds of learning such as online, offline, activity-based, and self-paced training on desktops and mobile devices as well. Adobe Captivate Prime is a striking example of one such LMS. To begin with, you can assign roles, courses, and learning programs to new hires in a jiffy with an intelligent search engine called “Smart Enroller.” Once the onboarding process is complete, quickly roll out personalized learning plans so you can initiate them into the system and therefore achieve your business goals faster than usual. Give them offline access to your eLearning training content, like short videos or slide decks, so they can refer to it anywhere, anytime. Learners acquire knowledge and skills much faster when they are enjoying themselves. So, take advantage of popular gamification features like leaderboards and badges to encourage them to embrace learning rather than dodge it.
Microlearning is an ideal addition to your onboarding online training. It gives employees the opportunity to brush up on skills and explore job-related tasks in a fraction of the time. Use these seven microlearning activities to enhance your corporate eLearning program and give your new hires a successful start.