How to easily create and launch your onboarding in weeks, using blended learning

Written by Rebecca Fisk | Jan 24, 2020 10:10:28 AM

Still haven’t launched your digital onboarding program? No worries! Here is our 7-step process to planning and launching your onboarding in weeks, using a blended learning model.

Onboarding sets the foundation for high job satisfaction, good experience, and employee engagement. So, by investing in creating a strong onboarding practice, you are helping your business enhance new hire retention and productivity. There are numerous reasons to get a structured onboarding process in place. Stats from FinancesOnline, 2019 and 2020 show that:

77% of employees who had a formal onboarding hit performance goals
54% of companies with an onboarding program report higher employee engagement
25% increase in employee retention rate due to onboarding programs.

What is blended learning?

In digital learning, the physical classroom methods are often replaced by webinars or virtual kick-offs, making learning even more accessible and convenient. Blended learning, also referred to as hybrid learning, usually involves both online learning and instructor-led learning. The latter can be classroom based or conducted through webinars which allow remote learners to engage more easily.

Through blended learning, your onboarding program becomes an integrated learning experience that is convenient for the participants as they are able to manage the learning pace. It is also more time-efficient and cost-effective for you as a hiring manager and for the organization.

Why and how is blended learning relevant for onboarding?

Blended learning allows you to sharpen your existing onboarding and set up the process to be even more successful, effective, and convenient. With a blended learning solution you get to incorporate the perfect mix of face-to-face training and digital training.

The Preboarding Checklist: How to excite, engage, and prepare your new hire before Day 1

The onboarding process – before, during, after

For an efficient blended onboarding, split it into "Before Day 1," "First Week," and "First Month/First Quarter" phases. Determine which aspects suit online delivery and which are better in a classroom setting – all to ensure a well-rounded and engaging experience for your onboarding target groups.

Here are 7 steps to create and launch your digital onboarding

Set your onboarding goal

Before diving into content planning or revamping, clarify the primary objective of your employee onboarding process. What is the ultimate goal? Beyond imparting knowledge, skills, and behaviors for their role, it's crucial to define specific outcomes for the onboarding program. Consider the learners' expectations, desired skill set, and the brand experience they should encounter even before day one. Be clear on these aspects to ensure a focused and effective onboarding process.
Use what you already have

For a solid foundation in onboarding, leverage your existing traditional program. Embrace an agile approach like Learnifier, continuously creating and iterating. Launch your current program and optimize it based on valuable feedback from new hires, employees, and hiring managers.
Define what to digitize and not

Embrace the blend and enhance engagement while saving time and money. Where possible, convert class-room training to online training, focusing on information-rich elements. Involve new hires beforehand through digital pre-boarding with valuable video content on company culture, practical information, teams, and key tools training.
Decide on the right tools
Goals, content, meetings and timelines are all significant aspects to plan. But in order to execute smoothly and offer a successful onboarding experience, you want to choose a modern tool. Assess if you current HR system can deliver a seamless onboarding experience for new hires (who still do not have a corporate email address.)

Optimally, you'd desire a tool that empowers effortless learning journey creation, content and video uploads, and engaging quizzes. Moreover, the tool should enhance productivity with automated messaging and triggers for onboarding new hires.
Design the onboarding flow

Now that you have your blended learning setup, let's dive into the onboarding experience. Get creative by using storyboards and post-it notes. Consider the following key questions:
1. How can we keep the new hire excited, informed, and connected before, during, and after their first day?
2. Which HR members and high-performers can contribute to the onboarding process and content delivery?
3. What type of content is necessary to make face-to-face meetings most effective (achieving the perfect blend)?
Stay focused on these questions as you map out the onboarding experience.
Set up your learning content

Now that your onboarding flow is set, focus on content for both mobile and laptop use. Mix easy-to-watch-n-learn videos with substantial intros to key tools. A quick win is repurposing classroom training by selecting informative elements. Great Leaders excels in leadership training with their DISC model introduction. Through blended learning, employees first familiarize themselves with the DISC model digitally. The classroom training then focuses on practical application and deeper understanding. Additionally, they offer valuable online post-learning content to ensure knowledge turns into action.
Launch (and iterate)

Embrace progress over perfection. Launch your onboarding even if it's not fully complete. Internal reviews can help you improve, but direct feedback from new hires is invaluable. With blended learning, you can iterate and refine the program. Building it in weeks is just the beginning – optimizing and extending it throughout the year holds immense potential. Don't fear the quick launch, as your new hires will appreciate your swift action.
Let our client inspire you!

The Swedish Real Estate Group Svensk Fastighetsförmedling converted their traditional onboarding of 5 classroom training days in Stockholm into a Blended Onboarding. They successfully transformed this intense introduction period into a digital ‘Preboarding’ phase with a following 2-day classroom training. Result: More cost-effective onboarding that engages new hires early on.

“The moment new hires sign their contract that’s when they are most excited and eager to learn everything about their new workplace. That is why we decided to run the onboarding as a preboarding, giving them the opportunity to learn and talk to other colleagues in their network before their first day at the office. That way they become brand ambassadors early in the process”, says Dan Sjöholm, Svensk Fastighetsförmedling

Success Case: How Svensk Fastighetförmedling saved time, patience, and money by transforming their onboarding into a blended learning experience (only in Swedish)

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