Online learning/eLearning/mobile learning continues to grow, fueled by workers often not based at a central office, increased interest in learning (especially for early career employees) and growing access to learning materials.  In 2014, online learning with no live instructor increased by 2.6%, and an estimated 44% of companies were shopping for online learning in 2015.

Perhaps your company has shopped for online learning, or you have individually.  There are certainly advantages to online training over classroom training.  Assuming that it’s asynchronous (i.e., learners can access content at their leisure rather than have to convene at a specific time), it is highly flexible with regard to when and where learning sessions happen, and the pace.
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Over the past several years as I authored an online learning course, and now have online learning programs in my portfolio (authored by others), I have become more aware what is found in quality online learning, and have scrutinized what I see available.  Simply put,I can’t believe how much junk is out there.  Just because it’s available online, doesn’t mean that it should be classified as “online learning.”  If that were the case, then we could consider reading the online New York Times as “online learning.”  (Note: there is an emerging classification of “informal learning,” and in that category, reading an article online about a topic related to work would count, but that still isn’t what can be fairly considered as “online learning.”)

Is this new employee going to be your next star, or your next disappointment?

Think about a new hire who you quickly knew would not work out…and one who you knew were going to be great.  In both situations, what were the signs you saw?  You had more than a  hunch, but often it is hard to put our finger on these clues.

Whether your new employee is a senior executive or a recent college graduate, three indicators tell us their trajectory.

Whether it’s one key employee you’re supporting in their development, or a large-scale training program across a company, there are consistent strategies that drive the success of such endeavors.  These are applicable regardless of the development channel: formal learning (classroom or online), on-the-job training, stretch projects, etc.

Tis the season for planning!  So, where are you with your planning for next year?  Are goals set?  Strategies in place?

Most importantly, did you address the two planning questions that will determine your success or failure?

To illustrate the importance of these questions, I want to introduce you to Jane, at ABC Tech.  All too frequently I find myself across from Jane and her colleagues when they have not asked the critical planning questions, and they need help picking up the pieces.

ABC Tech provides outsourced IT management and support for small to medium sized businesses.  Jane was one of the first employees, and has overseen Client Service since she joined.  By all accounts she has done a brilliant job building this function of the company and her success has been key for the company’s growth. She had a team of 3 last year, and then added 1 new person this year.  Business is booming and next year her team is slated to grow to 10.

Have you been secretly (or not so secretly!) cheering over recent articles about companies like Accenture and Deloitte ditching their performance reviews? These are probably the most universally dreaded job function and with good reason: they often have little value, are awkwardly navigated, and require ridiculous amounts of time to prepare.

Providing feedback in meaningful, healthy ways drives performance and supports high morale, so we cannot eliminate reviews entirely. Although the headlines sound dramatic, other companies aren’t abandoning them, but they are reinventing them. A Harvard Business Review article explains how Facebook approached modifying their review process. You can reinvent yours as well.

So what are alternatives to the 6-page form that takes as many hours to complete? Here are two models to consider.

Think back to experiences you’ve had starting a new job.  How often did you have a fantastic first day and first week?  What made it great?  What do you remember being awkward, disappointing, or frustrating?  What kind of experience are your new hires having?  How clearly are they being shown the way to being successful in your company?

​There used to be a strong attitude toward new employees of “You’re so lucky we even hired you,” and little attention paid to the new hire experience.  But as our economy becomes more service-based, and as our employees have increasing expectations for delivering great customer service to internal and external clients, this attitude and poor new hire experiences just don’t work.

It’s increasingly important to provide new hires with positive starting experiences.  This speeds up their productivity, saves you money (you don’t have to undo so many mistakes or potentially replace them), and fosters positive relations within your company and with your customers.
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Here are three key strategies for giving new hires a positive start.

1. Get the tech in place – When she arrives on the first day, make sure that her computer and any other technology specific to her is ready to go.  Her e-mail downloads correctly. She has server access.  Her phone just needs for her to record her message.  Yes, this means that someone will need to devote some time to doing this in advance.  But having your new employee start without her key tools being ready is like having people over for dinner, but they show up and you’re still in your work-around-the-house clothes, the meal has hardly been started and the house is a mess.  Is that a disaster?  No.  Is it a really awkward and perhaps unrecoverable poor start to the night?  Yep.  When you do the equivalent to your new hire, it implies that you are unaware of the needs of others or that you don’t have your act together.  This diminishes confidence and enthusiasm on the part of the new hire.  By having the tech ready to go, you demonstrate that you are thoughtful, conscientious, organized, and eager for her to start contributing.
2. Assign a sherpa – When we start a job, often someone talks with us about the handbook, key policies, etc.  Rarely does someone talk to us in a healthy way about the “inside scoop” about our company and our people.  Are birthdays a big deal at your company?  Or distinctly not celebrated?  Does the boss always want to park in a certain place?  Is there a team member who takes an especially long time to warm up to new people?  This is the stuff that newbies don’t know, which leads to having diminished confidence and making stumbles that can be avoided.  A new hire’s boss has a lot of responsibility for teaching the core business information.  Supplement this knowledge transfer by assigning a sherpa to help the new hire learn the “inside scoop” about your company.  Now, this is not carte blanche for gossip!  This role of this guide is to help the new hire feel welcome, be an immediate “go to” person for the information that may not be comfortable to ask the boss about, and help the new hire norm to your company relatively quickly.
3. Establish success indicators – Have a short list of success indicators for 30 days and then 90 days and share these on day one, or even late in the interview process (“I want to show you what we’d focus on if you were to join us…”).  These success indicators complete the statement, “We know you’re on the right path when we see…” You know in your head what these are, or at least you know the disaster indicators, right?  “If a new sales hire isn’t reaching out to clients after the first week, I know we’re in trouble.”  That statement can easily be turned into a positive success indicator.  “Within the first 30 days, new hire has made contact with all clients in portfolio and established/completed introductory meetings with at least 1/3.”  Something like, “Is building client relationships,” is NOT specific enough.  My sample Prelim Success Indicators show this idea more specifically.

I hope this inspires you to take a little time to think through a new hire’s initial experiences with your company.  The payoff will be worth it, I promise.