The Onboarding Continuum Using E-Learning to Extend Reach and Results Jim Delaney VP, Learning Strategy There is growing concern over high salesforce turnover, especially within the first year of employment. In looking for a root cause, the finger often points in the direction of the new hire or onboarding process. An obsession with “time to competency” is driving information overload standards — hit the new hires with everything in the first few weeks, then send them off to the field to produce. The problem with this premise is that it puts consistency at risk and leaves carry through to nonmeasurable job shadowing once sales representatives are out on their own. Companies need to build a learning-support framework with milestones that sustain knowledge retention. In addition, this framework needs to be adaptable to an individual learner’s skill sets and needs. Technology, when used appropriately, can be a key element in executing a coordinated strategy of learning activities that fosters employee satisfaction and improves performance and retention. There are several tactical opportunities that companies can employ to tie into their onboarding game plan. The Tradition: Training and Information Excess A large part of any onboarding process generally includes a significant amount of home-office training. Classroom-based learning is here to stay and will continue to have a large share of the overall instructional blend. It makes perfect sense when used appropriately. But in all fairness, a lengthy session made up of mostly slide-driven didactics will result in low retention. There’s no reason to have employees spend a half-day in an orientation class learning all about company acronyms. Adding to their confusion is the clamor by other departments in the organization for “face time” with the employees during their first few days they’re on the job. New employees are left to prioritize what’s worthwhile and what is less vital. More importantly, how do they determine what they need to know right now and what they can worry about later? Not Everything Needs To Be “Training” There have been improvements in the blend of learning used within an onboarding process to at least shorten the laborious process, but the solutions often still fail to capitalize on the appropriate design and modality. For example, just about everyone, especially sales personnel, needs to learn how to use the organization’s expense report application. What are the learning options? Perhaps give these employees a hands-on lab session during home-office training, or maybe build (and maintain) a two-hour Web-based training course that gives them everything they would ever need to know about expense reporting but were afraid to ask. In either case, a lot of time and money is regularly invested up-front to make this happen. And if the application is updated as often as most, the training needs to be redesigned and delivered fairly frequently. But here’s the real problem: the reps can be out in the field for a month (or more) before they first need to use the expense application. Will these employees remember how to use the application from Day 3 of their new hire orientation class? This is an unreasonable expectation that will likely drive learners (and the help desk) crazy. A solution might be to build a simple performance support solution that targets the critical tasks the learners need to know to use the application effectively. This may be something as simple as “The Top 10 Tasks for Managing Your Expense Report,” which presents small, digestible application demo sequences that can be accessed anytime, anywhere. Another benefit is that the two-hour course has been reduced to 10 two-minute sequences or less. This solution has the potential to: • Reduce the time and cost of designing and maintaining application training • Shorten (or eliminate) this activity during the onboarding process • Improve employee preparedness and satisfaction by giving them what they need, when they need it The Virtual Classroom: Dictatorship vs. Democracy Organizations are starting to adopt the virtual classroom as an effective ingredient in the learning mix, which is a great way to get various people together to share views and information in a way that wouldn’t, in the past, have been possible. This medium also offers on-the-job intervention opportunities that the initial onboarding process can sometimes overlook once the reps are sent back to the field. But, at times, training groups can get stuck in the mindset of using this platform to further deliver bullet-point knowledge dumps with the occasional polling question — “Are you still awake?” — rather than harness the real power of collaboration these environments can support. There is a way to overcome this challenge. With a pilot group of new hires, design a virtual classroom session that presents a follow-up, in-the-field activity (i.e., objection handling) that is scheduled for no more that 30-minutes. The real test is not to use more than four slides. The slide content should only provide context and instruction to help facilitate the collaboration. Trainers can include managers as cofacilitators to help lead simulated doctor and rep call scenarios. It’s important to include activities that require both group and individual participation. Participatory activities can help: • Improve the time and value of instruction through the discussion and application of best practices • Individualize the learning that adapts to varied skill levels • Enhance accountability and consistency of manager coaching and support • Assess employee knowledge retention and satisfaction Test Early, Test Often It’s safe to assume that sales representatives get hit hard with tests early on during the new hire process. Most can’t show up in the home office to finish their training if they don’t pass various product knowledge and compliance assessments. This atmosphere creates a false sense of security. The potential for memorization techniques versus applied comprehension to impact results in this shortened time period and the lack of check-point knowledge refreshers and field assessments to confirm retention levels can lead to a substantial decline in knowledge transfer during the first few weeks and months of the job. There is a correlation between knowledge retention and job satisfaction: “If I feel knowledgeable, I feel confident, therefore I’m satisfied that I can perform my job at a high level.” Trainers need to understand where and when the knowledge drop-off occurs. There’s no reason to wait for the exit survey when it’s possible to measure satisfaction (and hopefully improve it) sooner. For starters, quarterly Web-based product knowledge checks can allow trainers to re-assess knowledge and skill retention and to identify gaps in competencies that need to be addressed. It might be useful to integrate a Level 1 survey to measure satisfaction at this same check point. Consequently, it might be possible to spot trends with satisfaction feedback and knowledge results. These data can help drive remedial interventions to bridge the gap in learning requirements and improve performance on an on-going basis. In summary, there are numerous realistic technological solutions to improve onboarding success and enhance employee performance and satisfaction. Trainers don’t need to revamp their overall onboarding curriculum; simply identify relevant, manageable opportunities to pilot online training and support programs that are “just in time,” such as virtual classroom sessions and performance support tools. If the proof of concept validates the approach, employees will have confidence in their abilities and will be excited to be onboard. There are numerous realistic technological solutions to improve onboarding success and enhance employee performance and satisfaction. Trainers don’t need to revamp their overall onboarding curriculum; simply identify relevant, manageable opportunities to pilot online training and support programs that are “just in time,” such as virtual classroom sessions and performance support tools. NXlevel Inc., Hopewell, N.J., is a technology-based learning company founded and operated by experienced learning and media professionals who have been engaged with interactive media for more than 20 years. For more information, visit nxlevel.com. May 2006 VIEW on Sales Training E-Learning

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