Though onboarding may seem like a single, early moment in any individual’s professional lifecycle, in reality, what happens during onboarding sets the stage for everything that comes after. Unfortunately, even within the same business, onboarding practices tend to be inconsistent, leaving workers unequally prepared to succeed. That’s why, both for onboarding and upskilling purposes, businesses should consider shifting to digital programs, giving all workers equal access to the information and skills they need to thrive.
Demand For Digital Programs
There’s been at least some pressure on businesses to invest in digital onboarding and upskilling programs for years now, but with more businesses operating remotely, there’s been an undeniable need for such programs. With employees dispersed and typically working from home, it’s impractical to attempt to offer traditional training, but shifting to digital onboarding isn’t just beneficial when dealing with remote business setups.
In the long-term, shifting to digital onboarding practices reduces costs, ensures access to the most recent policy documents, and allows employees to work at their own pace and go back to reference material as needed. It can even help ensure employer compliance regarding certain training practices and paperwork.
Standardization And Equal Access
In addition to the convenience value of digitizing your business’s onboarding and upskilling resources, providing digital education tools can ensure a standardized, equitable alternative to older training models, while also taking the pressure off of other staff members who would normally provide this instruction. Instead, by investing in a platform like IVS’s VALT for corporate training, businesses can create an educational repository, accessible to staff whenever it’s needed.
Access and equity will always be pressing issues when it comes to training and upskilling, but when changing formats, these issues should be at the forefront. For too long, biases about who should hold positions of leadership have been present, and so training programs and promotion choices reinforced these norms. As such biases have come to light, though, businesses have faced pressure to upskill to increase diversity, bringing leadership into alignment with industries as a whole.
Time For Transformation
Whether your business is primarily concerned with onboarding issues or is trying to close a major skills gap via upskilling, at the heart of the process is the work of digital transformation – and digital transformation is critical for all businesses today. What many companies misunderstand about the digital transformation process, though, is that it’s not about technology. Digital transformation is about people. It’s about giving your staff the tools they need to do their jobs, evolve with a changing professional culture, and connect with each other. The technology is a tool, but it’s not the core reason for engaging in this process.
Leading a digital transformation process is hard work, and it means guiding staff through major changes to organizational structure. Some of that means simplifying complex processes – including onboarding, but in other cases, it will mean pushing up against tradition and habit. It’s not always a smooth process, but it is a necessary one. And, if remote work is what pushes your business to take that step, then embrace that because it’s time for a change.