3 Onboarding Strategies to Equip Your Employees for Long-Term Success

Lay a solid foundation and commit to long-term employee success on day one

New employees value onboarding experiences that get them up to speed as soon as possible—and companies benefit from employees who are productive from their first day. Team members who have had good onboarding experiences have been shown to be eighteen times more dedicated to their employer. Crucial to employee retention, your onboarding program must be engaging from day one.

So, what sets apart the organizations that give new hires a reason to commit to long term success? Effective onboarding programs—which are shown to increase employee retention by 52 percent—lay a strong foundation that provides new employees with clear expectations, robust training programs, and ample opportunity for feedback.

In this post, discover the benefits of using e-learning to create great employee onboarding experiences that keep new hires engaged, increase job satisfaction, and build a positive company culture.

Benefits of a great e-learning onboarding program

The onboarding process is often the most fast-paced, stressful, and sometimes boring part of a new employee’s experience. New hires are taking it all in—company culture, values, expectations, how to set up benefits—all the while learning new things and filling out numerous forms.

With 20 percent of turnover occurring within the first 45 days on the job, it’s no surprise that employee retention is top of mind for many decision makers.

Highly successful e-learning onboarding ecosystems contribute to employee retention with the following benefits:

• Increased employee engagement. Employees should feel like valuable contributors from day one, setting them up for long term engagement and commitment.

• Increased productivity. A well-trained employee is more likely to contribute to productivity sooner, benefitting the individual and the organization as a whole.

• Stronger company culture. Positive workplace culture from day one helps employees feel more aligned, more dedicated, and more likely to stick around.

Key components of successful e-learning onboarding programs

In the post-covid work environment, many organizations moved to a virtual or hybrid onboarding and hiring process to accommodate remote employees. You may feel stuck between delivering onboarding programs as quickly as possible or focusing on quality to foster more well-rounded employees. Both are possible.

An efficient employee onboarding process should do the following things for new employees:

• Provide clear expectations. New hires jump into their role more quickly when they know exactly what their responsibilities are. Realistic expectations can help new team members set realistic goals.

• Personalized, accessible, and structured training. E-learning onboarding programs should offer accessibility for all employees, as well as personalized training specific to the necessary skills for their role. Whether its assistive technologies like screen readers and closed captions or soft skill training, it should all be reachable at a moment’s notice—and accessible for people of all abilities.

• Mentorship and feedback. Pairing new employees with experienced team members gives them a low risk avenue to ask questions. Weekly role-playing sessions using scenario-based learning with mentor feedback can quickly build confidence.

• Social connection. Beyond their mentor, new hires should be interacting with other team members and even other departments frequently. Use gamification strategies in online onboarding training like leaderboards, and utilize employee message boards, forums, and chat platforms with dedicated channels to foster connection online.

3 must-have e-learning strategies to set new employees up for success

According to the Harvard Business Review, many Fortune 500 companies onboard their new hires for the entire first year of employment. During a new hire’s most vulnerable time, it makes sense that they would need the most support.

So, what does that look like? Handing a new hire the employee handbook and having them read it section by section isn’t enough. When 80 percent of newly trained employees who feel undertrained plan to quit, it’s important that you create onboarding content that’s informative and engaging.

To promote confidence and long term engagement with your onboarding training, try these e-learning strategies.

1. Use gamification to teach organizational intelligence

New employees need to know how things work and quickly assimilate to the company culture. Use gamification to make the learning process more engaging and effective—especially for tasks like learning the endless acronyms they’ll encounter from day one.

2. Use scenario-based learning to teach technical intelligence

New employees need to have a clear picture of what success looks like. Early wins will keep them engaged and ready for more, increasing productivity. Use scenario-based learning to help new hires apply the deep knowledge they come in with to their new position, affirming their value within the organization. Another benefit: Because exercises take place online, reps get all of the practice in a low-risk environment.

3. Use microlearning courses to teach social intelligence

New employees need to feel a sense of community from day one. It doesn’t just help them feel accepted—it reveals to them the vast web of support that will carry them through the first few hectic months. Use microlearning to create quick-hitting courses that teach organizational alignment—who will their success benefit and vice versa—and help new hires make connections faster.

4. Leverage AI for more efficient course creation

When you need to create refined courses in a pinch, look to leveraging AI to make the process faster. Quickly create knowledge checks, generate custom images, and build whole courses that cover key topics like brand history, growth opportunities, and company culture so you can spend more time on stakeholder review—or creating other courses.

Essential onboarding techniques engage employees with early wins and ongoing support

Helping new hires find their footing from day one is essential to employee retention, engagement, and dedication. Create great onboarding programs that supply new employees with early wins, ample opportunities for feedback, and give new employees the opportunity for long-term success.

Go beyond the employee handbook with an e-learning platform that leverages microlearning courses, gamifies content, and uses personalized learning to get new hires up to speed faster. Inspired to learn more about how to address your team’s onboarding needs? See how Peachtree Group’s shift to e-learning helps them deliver intuitive onboarding training to over 2,400 employees across the U.S.