Ensuring Employees Are Set Up for Success

Many people think that onboarding is simply a few days of orientation. But the truth is, onboarding is so much more; it’s about rooting your new team member(s) into their role, your team and company culture (Singh, 2022). The need to develop training programs that transfer knowledge, engage employees, support building and strengthening a company’s culture, and develop mentoring opportunities is vital. Educator-centred learning environments need to move to learner-centred instruction, where the instructor serves as a facilitator, coach, and mentor (Gunawardena et al., 2019, p.92).

Honing and learning new skills

For many jobs in the corporate world, technology is an integral part of day-to-day functioning to complete assigned work. That said, most corporate trainers, HR professionals and managers do not have a background in education. Hence the use of technology is simply an extension of how the material is presented, such as PowerPoint presentations or watching videos and learning theories are not contemplated.

My mission is to educate, nurture, and empower people to have the confidence to think differently and share their knowledge through storytelling. My interest in the MET program and ETEC 524 is to continue to learn and apply the theories and principles of education to hone my skills in the hopes that I never have to terminate another employee struggling to succeed.

Implementing learning theories for employee success

Ramorola (2013) states there is little evidence regarding the integration of technology nor information on how to plan and implement technology effectively to support learning in the corporate world. I believe technology holds promise for enhancing and supporting deep and meaningful learning. By changing curriculum standards to job skills and learning outcomes to proficiency, Ramorola’s (2013) approach can apply to corporate training. Like classrooms, common ground must be secured where the educator and employee discussions are free, and employees feel comfortable discussing their ideas or concepts without inhibitions (Powel & Kalina, 2009).

Using a cognitive and social constructivism approach allows for scaffolding and integrating personal experiences with a training program incorporating technology in multiple ways – video, research, and individual and collaborative exercises. Gunawardena et al. (2019, p.20) highlight the significance of cultural and historical contexts and the need for social interaction, peer collaboration, and the construction of new knowledge with the guidance of adults and peers.

Different but capable

Corporate educators must understand that some employees will pick up quickly while others will struggle. According to Lim et al. (2019), understanding workplace learning based on neuroscience provides new perspectives and insights and may result in more effective learning designs and delivery.

Additionally, some learners may not benefit from traditional instruction (Bell, 2022, p. 279). In the most simplistic terms, learning disabilities (LDs) affect one or more ways a person takes in, stores, or uses information (LDAO, 2015). Learning requires innovative support systems to engage learners to make learning relevant, personalized and engaging (Bell, 2022, p. 228). Corporate educators must implement effective teaching strategies using appropriate educational technologies (LDAO, 2015).

How marketing and leadership influence how I educate

A favourite quote by marketers and product managers is, “Your opinion, although interesting, is irrelevant” (Pragmatic Institute).  It’s a mantra I have used over the years to remind myself that the answer to most of our questions lies not in our opinions but in the consumer’s voice. As a leader and educator, I have learned that when communicating, unconscious bias and groupthink run rampant whenever a diverse group of people are together, meaning my intention may not equal the impact on my audience.

Lustig & Koester (2013) point out that culture affects behaviour and that people can find guidance in their culture on handling different situations and how to solve problems. From a corporate perspective, the same holds but is confounded by the fact that culture is two-fold: the person’s and company’s culture.

According to Gudykunst & Kim (2003), the strength of our identification, and the content of our identity, are two dimensions of our cultural identities that affect our communication with people from other cultures. Samovar et al. (2009) also consider knowledge as an essential component of culture, adding the aspect of the accumulation of knowledge. In a corporate setting, the strength of our cultural identification and level of knowledge plays a role in communication, team building, the transfer of knowledge, the willingness to acknowledge colleagues as subject matter experts, and respecting those in leadership roles.

A cookie-cutter approach will not provide successful outcomes

As an employee, I have left jobs both voluntarily and involuntarily. Having climbed the ranks from supervisor to vice president, I understand the impact of employee churn on your team, higher training costs, low employee morale, and operational inefficiencies. Effective onboarding helps define your employee’s future success and experiences.

Successful knowledge transfer through corporate training programs is not easily achieved; at best, only 15% of the learning during training gets transferred (Banerjee et al., 2016). Access to a participatory culture benefits learners, including opportunities for peer-to-peer learning, diversification in cultural expression, development of skills valued at the workplace, and a more empowered conception of citizenship (Jenkins et al., 2006).

Ultimately, understanding what theoretical frameworks can assist me in evaluating, selecting, and using various learning technologies is what I hope to master. As a storyteller, I know that good stories do more than create a sense of connection; they influence the learner to be more open to what is being shared. Being able to implement appropriate learning technologies for assessment, collaboration, communication, and content creation that are informed by theoretical models of technology integration will improve my ability to share, deliver, and help learners retain content from the modules I create.

 

References

Banerjee, P., Gupta, R., & Bates, R. (2016). Influence of organizational learning culture on knowledge worker’s motivation to transfer training: Testing moderating effects of learning transfer climate. Current Psychology (New Brunswick, N.J.), 36(3), 606-617. https://10.1007/s12144-016-9449-8

Bell, J. (2022). Extract from Chapter 12 Using the 21st-century framework for a global education: What educators working with special education students need to know. In Meeting the needs of students with learning disabilities in reading. New considerations and best practices for training special education teachers. (pp. 227-246). IGI Global.

Bell, J. (2022). Extract from Chapter 14 Assistive technology and electronic education in the disability and special education sector. In Meeting the needs of students with learning disabilities in reading. New considerations and best practices for training special education teachers. (pp. 277-291). IGI Global.

Gudykunst, W. B., & Kim, Y. Y. (2003). Communicating with strangers. An approach to intercultural communication. Boston: McGraw Hill.

Gunawardena, C. N., Frechette, C., & Layne, L. (2019). Extract from Chapter 2 Theoretical foundations of learning in online communities. In Culturally inclusive instructional design. A framework and guide for building online wisdom communities. (pp. 17-28). New York, USA: Routledge

Gunawardena, C. N., Frechette, C., & Layne, L. (2019). Extract from Chapter 7 Distributed Co-Mentoring. In Culturally inclusive instructional design. A framework and guide for building online wisdom communities. (pp. 92-109). New York, USA: Routledge

Jenkins, H. (2009). Confronting the challenges of participatory culture: Media education for the 21st century (p. 145). The MIT Press.

Learning Disabilities Association of Ontario (IDAO). (2015). LDs/ADHA in depth. Retrieved September 9, 2022, from https://www.ldao.ca/introduction-to-ldsadhd/what-are-lds/.

Lim, D.H., Chai, D.S., Park, S. and Doo, M.Y. (2019), Neuroscientism, the neuroscience of learning: An integrative review and implications for learning and development in the workplace, European Journal of Training and Development, 43(7/8), pp. 619-642. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJTD-03-2019-0033.

Lustig, M. W., & Koester, J. (2012). Intercultural competence: Interpersonal communication across cultures. NY, USA: HarperCollins.

Powell, K. C., & Kalina, C. J. (2009). Cognitive and social constructivism: Developing tools for an effective classroom. Education, 130(2), 241-250. https://docdrop.org/static/drop-pdf/Powwel-and-Kalina-U6g4p.pdf

Ramorola, M. Z. (2013). Challenge of effective technology integration into teaching and learning. Africa Education Review, 10(4), 654-670.

Samovar, L. A., Porter, R. E., & McDaniel, E. R. (2009). Intercultural communication: A reader (12th ed.). Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Singh, Y. (February 9, 2022). Employee onboarding essentials and best practices for 2022. Flint.  https://www.flintls.com/employee-onboarding-essentials-best-practices-2022/

The Pragmatic Framework (n.d.). Pragmatic Institute. Retrieved September 8, 2022, from https://www.pragmaticinstitute.com/framework/