Every employee, whether permanent or contract, starts their journey with an orientation. This is a great way to introduce them to the company, their surroundings and what’s expected of them. Most companies also use this opportunity to impart some knowledge in a blended learning approach that includes policies and procedures as well as health and safety information. An orientation can be delivered in many formats:
- Face-to-face training whereby a number of representatives from different departments talk new starters through a presentation followed by a knowledge test
- Digital training whereby the learner self-orientates in front of a digital device usually containing presentation type material in video, slides, audio and graphics followed by a knowledge test. If this is online it can be accessed anywhere
- A blended learning approach is a mixture of both of these
Most companies adopt some form of blended learning approach whereby some information is delivered in an online or digital format (such as an e-learning course or an introductory video) and the information which requires interaction is delivered in a face-to-face format, whether that be a classroom style training session or some on-the-job training. A blended learning approach is successful for many reasons:
- It keeps it interesting. Using one format only can be boring for the new employee, particularly if there are large amounts of information to get through
- Online training can be used for the more mundane information, such as rules and policies. Face to face training can be used for training which requires human assessment such as manual handling or ergonomic awareness
- People like to learn in different ways. For example a visual or audio learner may prefer a digital learning experience while kinaesthetic learners may prefer a more interactive learning experience
- You get the benefits of both face-to-face training (such as giving the learner the opportunity to ask questions live) as well as digital training (such as greater efficiency, consistency and flexibility – any time, any location, any device)
For contract employees, a slimmed down version of the orientation can be applied and it is still useful to apply blended learning, saving the face-to-face training for any higher risk type of work to be carried out.
GoContractor has implemented a new feature which allows companies to manage their blended approach. After a new user (employee or contractor) has registered for your company, you can continue to deliver an unlimited amount of online courses throughout the year. On top of that, you can now record any ‘offline’ courses, no matter what format they are in. You can even set reminder notifications for the user and yourself to know when the course has expired. Each user profile will contain all of their historical and future training, all of which can easily be pulled together into a report.
