HR managers face the task of creating systems that keep employees in the building or under contract. High employee retention saves resources. Those resources can then be put to a better use than recruiting, onboarding and training batches of replacement employees every three months. With growing numbers of Millennials and Generation Z workers in the workforce, it’s time to shift your thinking as an HR manager. Employees need training platforms they’ll want to use. Now, ‘old school’ training manuals and printed materials serve as supplements to video training modules.
It should be noted that employee training programs can and should be used for more than just new-hire onboarding. Employees today, particularly younger generations, are looking for the next opportunity, the next step forward in their careers. It’s been said, young workers are always looking for the door. But if your company offers ways to advance and build their competencies through training, they’ll have more incentive to stay.
So, where does this changing dynamic leave HR managers trying to develop effective training programs? To connect better with diverse workforces, more companies are investing in video training programs and shifting other processes, like onboarding, to the online modules employee preferences have been gradually migrating towards for a while.
The Training Stigma
Even younger employees have likely been through a few onboarding and training programs by the time they reach your company. Training is often thought of as the most unpleasant part of the employee experience. It’s often the most important, too. And it can also be pretty disruptive. Training programs can get in the way of regular work and slow days at the office to a crawl.
In general, employee training hasn’t evolved in the same way that employee communications and engagement programs have. Many companies still put employees through slow, paper-laden processes and orientation programs that perpetuate the watching-paint-dry employee-training stigma.
In order to combat this, HR managers need to meet their employees halfway. Part of that includes offering training via technology employees know and like using. Especially for younger segments of your workforce, that means video communication has to move to the forefront. Trends have been showing (for the last few years) that users prefer video content to text-heavy packets and other materials. Making better use of video technology is one way to battle the doldrums of employee training.
HR Managers and Digital Solutions
Video technology is all the rage in human resources. At Flimp, we have several digital and HR video solutions to help boost overall employee engagement and provide workers with the information they need in a variety of situations. Video is flexible. That’s part of why video is such a popular training tool among those being trained. They can progress at an individualized pace. They can go back and review when they need to. Video works with them. But it isn’t the only tool they need, especially for new hires. Explainer videos don’t work for everything. Forms need filling out and skills need to be tested. The right training solutions can put those resources at your workers’ fingertips alongside the videos that walk them through the process.
When new employees join the team, your job as an HR manager is to ensure they get the resources and information they need to perform. Flimp Communications can help prepare your employees for success.