When it comes to onboarding and training new employees, there are lots of variables. The speed of training vs. the thoroughness of training, on-the-job training vs. classroom training, length of the training period, and types of training are all things that can be tweaked in certain ways to lower costs and improve training quality. We can't possibly analyze a specific organization in this article, sure, but we can give you 2 key general tips on how to accelerate employee training and onboarding while saving money in the process.
Introduce Mobile
If you read our blog, you would see that we are obsessed with using mobile. It isn't because we love our phones (which we do;) it's because mobile training is one of the easiest solutions to rapidly improving the speed and quality of employee training while saving your restaurant or retail business money. All of the time that is spent in the classroom, learning, can be utilized outside of the classroom as well. Giving employees the ability to have a knowledgebase at their fingertips is no small matter. Let's take employee Kyle as an example. Kyle completed classroom training and is now on-the-job. Instead of having Kyle shadow an employee for a few weeks or having him work micro-shifts that are overseen by a manager, Kyle can now tap into a knowledge base that informs him on-the-job. Kyle's not sure how to work the register yet, so he does practice modules and reads register information between customers. Kyle is learning faster, capable of more, and still producing work output immediately after training. Way to go Kyle!
If you aren't convinced that mobile training is for you, here is a quick bullet point list of the benefits that introducing mobile into your training provides.
- Disruption-Free: Giving employees the ability to conduct mobile training while on-the-job prevents employees from having to return to a specific work environment to accomplish training. Employees have access to all of the supplementary materials that they could ever need right at their fingertips.
- Location-Based: Mobile training allows integrated targeting of eLearning materials. If you just opened a franchise in Germany, mobile learning can automatically deliver material that has German subtitles. Being able to target learning material by location has a broad range of sociocultural benefits.
- Generational: They way that organizations train is evolving. The number of mobile-connected devices is higher than the number of humans on the planet. Mobile has become standard, and failing to use it as a platform for learning is a critical mistake. The mobile eLearning market is booming for a reason.
- Competition: The simple fact is; your competitors are using mobile training. The industry growth is at an all-time-high, and the benefits of mobile training are becoming apparent. Your competition is leveraging the ease-of-use and interactivity of mobile eLearning, so you should be as well.
- Devices: The great thing about introducing mobile eLearning is that you don't have to purchase the equipment. Sure, some organizations need higher security standards, but most restaurants can rely on the devices that employees already own.
Want to know more about how the use of mobile can drastically improve employee training? Are you thinking about launching a mobile training system at your job? Check out our free eBook. Don't worry; we have your back.
Integrate Modern LMS
If you are still using an older SCORM-based LMS (Learning Management System,) upgrading to xAPI is probably the most significant boost in your employee training experience that you can make. Experience API doesn't only improve employee performance in the classroom, but it accelerates the learning process. Let's say Kyle is still on the register. He completed his register training and played with the simulated video register that his xAPI-based LMS gave him. Great job Kyle! But, in his first week, Kyle has had to make 5 refunds due to messing up functions on the cash register. Don't fret yet. Experience API can track the mistakes and give that information to the manager. Now Kyle's manager is having him take a simulated course on his cash register again. Time for a reminder Kyle. By the time Kyle is back out on his shift, he now knows far better how to use the register. Next week, Kyle makes only a few mistakes on the register; he's improving.
These are just two of the ways that you can improve employee training while saving a mint. Don't worry; we have more. Check out our free eBook "Trust the Data: How Modern Learning Impacts Your Operational Performance" for some more tips.
