New employees are being sought after in all industries - from our impressions of the HR Innovation Roadshow, we know: "New workforce" is currently the focus topic for HR managers! Using the example of our own blink.it team, we show how onboarding can be supported online effectively, flexibly, and profitably for employees and companies.
Concentrated Startup Power at the HR Innovation Roadshow
To discover trends, sometimes you have to look more than once - and often in different directions. That is exactly why we were at the HR Innovation Roadshow for the third time this year.
After our great start in Frankfurt, we went via Cologne this time to Stuttgart on October 9th.
The concept of the HR Innovation Roadshow has remained true to itself: various startup companies present their innovative ideas for companies in short presentations.
The focus is on using new digital concepts to find solutions for old or current problems in HR. And to get new impulses on the still-young products through exchange. True to the motto: Learning by presenting!
Recruiting and New Forces in Focus
As different as the event cities are, the audience and the most burning issues were also different.
Hans-Martin was on site for blink.it and reports his impressions:
In Frankfurt, a large portion of the visitors were from the banking or insurance sector. It was all about training and further education. In Stuttgart, there were many HR managers from the technology and automotive industries, and the focus was very strongly on the topic of recruiting and hiring.
Where recruiting is the focus, the goal is to bring as many qualified employees as possible into the companies - to improve processes, better distribute tasks, or simply grow with positive company developments.
And where many new employees are hired, important questions arise for managers and companies:
How do you train new employees in such a way that they become independent and productive as quickly as possible?
How do you convey extensive knowledge about the company and its workflows and structures?
How do you find a balance between the guidance and independence of new employees?
How do I bring new employees together with colleagues and superiors?
Every employee and every manager who has ever trained someone new in a department knows: guiding a new employee all day costs a lot of time and demands constant attention - there is a risk that other important things go undone.
In addition, new processes take time to be fully understood and independently implemented - questions and multiple repetitions until the new knowledge is secure must also be factored in.
At blink.it, we naturally do our onboarding... with blink.it!
But since personal experiences say much more than examples, today I want to show you how smart onboarding can work - first-hand, since I have just gone through (and am still in the middle of) our "doubly accompanied onboarding".
How does "blended onboarding" work, how does it feel from the perspective of the new employee, and what can you learn from it for yourself and your company?
Practical Example 1: Onboarding in a Video Diary
The focus here is on keeping a close eye on the learning status of new employees, promoting self-reflection and repetition of newly learned content, and establishing a good getting-to-know-each-other phase between new employees and colleagues.
To do this, new employees at blink.it record a short selfie video (maximum 2 minutes) with their own mobile phone for the first 2 weeks after each working day and report what they did and learned that day. Starting from the third week, the videos become weekly. The videos are uploaded to a video diary course, and all employees can watch and comment on the videos. Or also upload response videos with ideas, suggestions, and praise.
Onboarding video diary - Laura & Jessi. A short introduction and one chapter per week with personal report videos and direct feedback from Konstantin
Shooting a video every day - that sounds like a lot of work. But it isn't! After 2 or 3 days, you get the hang of it; it takes a maximum of 5 minutes to shoot the video and upload it to the blink.it course - and a maximum of 2 minutes for colleagues to watch it and know exactly what the >newbies< are actually doing and capable of.
Perfect for: Reflection. Repetition of new knowledge. Feedback.
Practical Example 2: Onboarding in the blink.it Course
Accompanying the personal discussions and briefings on various topics concerning the company, processes, and projects, an online course for formal and content-related matters is ideal.
All content that is important for the new employee (i.e., me) in the first few days or weeks is compiled in a blink.it course. Different topics are divided into chapters. Choosing from texts, documents, links, and videos, a suitable medium can be found for every piece of information. The content is released gradually, tailored to the learning process in daily work.
Onboarding in Inbound Marketing: Personal introduction, various chapters, and short impulses
Active learning in the new job and e-learning mesh to enable a learning process that is as fast, effective, and sustainable as possible - which, from my personal experience, is also really fun. And of course, the learning content is preserved and can be used again and again. This saves time during the next onboarding and brings all employees in the team up to speed.
Perfect for: Basic knowledge. Workflows (Top: Videos!). Impulses. Exercises.
Personal Experience with "Blended Onboarding"
In onboarding, blended learning can play all the trump cards that it also has in further training and development courses:
In personal coaching, workflows and important basics are taught, which are repeated in the online course and reinforced with impulses and documents. In the process, the content can be worked through independently and accessed and repeated again and again.
As a "newcomer", you feel directly integrated and supported with information, input, and feedback. The learning curve is steep, the knowledge is firmly anchored, and the training is fast - and was a lot of fun for me and all the other colleagues!
The result at and with blink.it: Independence and the bond to the new company are perfectly supported from day 1. And it saves those responsible (team leaders and managing directors) a lot of time and money!
Conclusion: Creativity Enables Countless Areas of Application
Blended onboarding makes the integration of new employees more flexible, repeatable, and at the same time relieves those responsible in the company.
We took many ideas away with us again from the HR Innovation Roadshow. And the conviction: blink.it offers you diverse possibilities to develop and support innovative and creative learning processes. Not only for training and further education, but also for countless other areas in the company:
Onboarding? Change of department? Taking on new tasks? Or a little help for the next holiday replacement? Get creative and use blink.it in a versatile and individual way!
Please feel free to leave us a comment below on how else you would use blink.it or how you already use it to support your colleagues or participants. We are looking forward to it!
Frequently Asked Questions and Answers
What is blended onboarding?
Blended onboarding combines the personal integration of new employees with digital learning content. Discussions and practical briefings are supplemented, for example, by online courses, videos, documents, or exercises.
What content is suitable for a digital onboarding course?
Basic knowledge about the company, recurring processes, important documents, short learning videos, further links, as well as exercises and impulses for everyday work are well suited.
What advantages does a video diary offer during onboarding?
A video diary supports new employees in regularly reflecting on and repeating what they have learned. At the same time, colleagues can follow the current learning progress, give feedback, and promote personal exchange.
How does blended onboarding relieve managers?
Recurring information can be provided digitally and accessed independently by new employees. As a result, managers do not have to personally convey every piece of knowledge multiple times and can use their time more for individual guidance.
