Module 5- Onboarding, Training & Development

Question 1

Onboarding

Answer 1

Aims at integrating the new employee into the org. quickly

Onboarding- orientation mostly

Operate specific equipment – must be trained

Question 2

Successful onboarding essential to:

Answer 2

Get the new employee being productive quickly

Avoid errors and/or accidents

Reduce new hire attrition

Set expectations on performance levels

Familiarise employee with org. policies and regulation

Reduce employee stress/anxiety

Reduces grievances

Reduces need for disciplinary measures

Question 3

Successful onboarding

Answer 3

= important for long term success of relationship of employee and employer b/c saying “never get a second chance to make a first impression” – getting day one right is essential, impact how employee thinks about the company

Question 4

Integrating Includes orientation and socialization

Answer 4

Onboarding- orientation mostly

Operate specific equipment – must be trained

Orientation = formal part

Socialization = informal part (understand cultural organizational company)

Question 5

Orientation

Answer 5

• Usually, formal training
• Online or face-to-face
• Need to be done by experienced facilitator
• Should familiarize employee with the org. as a whole
• Can take a few hours to a few days

Question 6

Socialization

Answer 6

• Newcomer to understand org. values and “how are things done here”
• Takes much longer, weeks even months
• Usually, more informal
• Often done through observation of peers
• If it fails, chances are employee will leave

Question 7

Onboarding Best Practices*

Answer 7

Introduce (key) team members
* IT set up ready
* Assign a buddy
* Badge/physical access granted

Paperwork (e.g. benefits selection) ready
* Manager to be available on day 1
* Do not overwhelm the newcomer
* Set expectations right (critical initial timelines)

Tour the facilities
* Workspace/desk clean
* Welcome gift(s)
* Enroll in required training

Question 8

Most important

Answer 8

it’s a very common mistake (lots of paperwork) – can be overwhelming even for long term employees

Question 9

Introduce

Answer 9

Address basic needs of employee first- ex. Show where washrooms are, food, water, etc. – know how to get from a to b

as manager try not to be absent, or gone get other manager to take care of – meet as soon as possible
–be mindful of start date of hire- don’t start on first of august – then go away for 3 weeks

set up regular check points at least once a week to see how doing, ask you questions

Question 10

Training – The Basics

Answer 10

To be useful for employer, training has to be aligned with org. strategies and needs

Limited training budgets to be used where impact is the largest (budgets vary significantly during business cycle)

Question 11

Basics Cont.

Answer 11

Comprehensive needs assessment essential by:
Manager
HR department
Employee

BUT if done by employee: may not align with org. strategies and focus on employee’s (personal) interests instead

BUT if done by manger: may be done to get employee to leave the team

Training outcomes need to be clear, e.g. what is it the employee is expected to do after the training?

Buy-in of employee essential for lasting training success and impact

Question 12

Training is HR discipline

Answer 12

rewarding, lots of employees like going in person, meet colleagues

Question 13

Training

Answer 13

-determine who to send and for what (some is for everyone ex. New travel booking tool)
-other is more job specific
-training that focuses on employers needs usually has positive impact- ex. Safety training may lower workplace injuries, and show care about employee
-training also allows employees to meet each other

Question 14

The Goodies of Training: For the employer

Answer 14

Increased productivity

Fewer accidents

Less attrition

Cost reduction

Increased profits

Better image/reputation

Question 15

The Goodies of Training: For the employee

Answer 15

Increased engagement

New skills/competencies

Potential for promotion

More confidence

Sense of growth

Retain employability

Question 16

Training - How People Learn

Answer 16

• Verbal – learns by using words, both written and verbal
• Aural – learns by hearing, topic should be reinforced by sound
• Physical – learns by touching, experiencing and doing things
• Logic – learn through reasoning and logic
• Visual – learns through pictures, images and spatial understandings
• Social – learns in groups and with other people
• Solitary – learns alone and through self-study

Question 17

Learning sticks if:

Answer 17

-It is relevant
-It is transferable
-It is repeated
-It allows participation
-It provides feedback

Question 18

When training adults ensure

Answer 18

Training relates to previous life experience

Training facilitates achieving a certain goal (not training for the trainings sake)

Training is practical

Question 19

The 7 learning styles

Answer 19

Verbal, aural, physical, logic, visual, social, solitary

Question 20

4 main ones

Answer 20

aural, physical, logic, visual

Question 21

For training to be successful

Answer 21

must cater to the learner, adults learn different than young people- must be tailored to them and be relevant to them

-clear to employee how training applies to practice, how can apply to daily work

Question 22

Outlines the main learning style-

Answer 22

most people use multiple but tend to have a dominant one (knowing it helps success)

Ex. Listening is best way of learning (might listen more than once)

-if verbal learner might prefer read textbook or work through powerpoint slides

-solitary learners vs social (in groups- join study group)

-logic – no interest in learning by heart

-physical – find in trades (mechanic) –best way is to go out and do it

Question 23

Traditional Training Methods

Answer 23

• On-the-Job
• Off-the-Job

Question 24

On-the-Job

Answer 24

In practice, most effective

• Traditional OTJ Training
• Job rotation
• Apprenticeships
• Job enlargement
• Job enrichment

Question 25

Off-the-Job

Answer 25

In practice, most common

• Lectures/formal training
• Simulations & labs
• Role play
• Digital training
• Self-study

Question 26

Best way to train

Answer 26

is to train on the job

Contrast is off the job training –less effective , certain aspects can be, like online tech stuff – or simulations and labs (docs and nurses )

Question 27

Which method to use
depends on

Answer 27

Different factors which determine type of training

Costs (venue, trainer)
Content of training (certain types of training need certain settings)
Expected outcome of training
Availability of required facilities
Preference of trainer
Preference of participants
Availability of trainer
Regulatory constraints (e.g. visa requirements for participants) if certain people can even come – out of country, vaccine, etc.
Time contains

-digital training has exploded over past few years

Question 28

Digital Training

Answer 28

Seen huge uptake b/c of pandemic

Question 29

Common digital learning tools

Answer 29

• Webinars
• Virtual reality
• Open online courses
• Wikis
• Blogs
• Pre-recorded videos

Question 30

The Good

Answer 30

Cost-effective

Available 24/7

Allows easy customization

Flexibility for learner

Appealing to younger workers

Question 31

The Bad

Answer 31

Limited ability to ask questions (unless synch. session with trainer)

May not be appealing to older workers (e.g. gamification)

Motivation of learner can be challenging if no interaction with others

Technical hiccups

Quality concerns over badge issuance

Question 32

Limitations can be significant

Answer 32

at workplace- no live sessions (cant ask questions about material), suitability depends on the context (theories vs maintenance), lots of technical hiccups (in future get better), digital badges (some take long time to gain others easy 1hr )-unless look at how long/quality/comprehensiveness of the training – don’t be impressed by a lot of badges

Question 33

Employee Development (ED)

Answer 33

Aims at preparing employees taking on increased responsibility in the future

Very often used in Management
Development (e.g. Assessment Centers)

Usually focuses on communication skills, change management, conflict resolution, or other competencies

-Usually part of training department
-enhance skills in hopes of one day being able to take on more responsibility

-Assessment centers- where potential managers are sent for 2-3 days, asked to solve a wide variety of problems, communicate bad employee review, etc. and final report summarizes how well suited for role (not a pleasant experience)

Question 34

Challenge is how to use limited ED budget:

Answer 34

for all employees – e.g. if everyone should enhance certain core competencies

for “high potentials” – e.g. only for those who should take on management/executive positions in the future

for all managers/leaders – e.g. if leadership capabilities need to be improved in the org.

in large organisations, approach may vary between different business units

teaching employees how to deal with conflict, etc.
Can’t send everyone to everything- pick and choose who goes to what
Depending on which issue want to target– maybe only for certain groups (target people for training)

Question 35

ED requires financial commitment (usually not inexpensive) but tends to improve org. performance by:

Answer 35

Increasing:
-Better retention of key talent
-Internal talent pool available in case of unexpected short-term vacancy of key role(s)
-Greater job satisfaction
-Greater engagement/commitment by employees
-Better corporate image/reputation

Money spent of employee development is money well spent, employees usually appreciate it (younger people looking for this)
-higher commitment from employees when give them extra training

Succession plans- identify employees one or two roles away from taking over – process assessed through employee development