Training Industry Magazine - May/June 2021 - 47

up and becoming stronger and better for
each new group to experience; this had
the side effect of the newly built training
team also becoming more proficient and
synergized in performance.

professional bonds were also created
that later resulted in corporate loyalty
and stable career pathing.

Since part of the job requirement
was having minimum experience with
computers and software within this
division, the trainees quickly adapted
to learning the technological solutions
provided and even became part of
the evaluation process in offering
improvements. This enabled young
trainees to play a crucial role in giving
their voice to the onboarding structure,
resulting in increased loyalty.

KNOWING THAT
LEARNING DOESN'T
HAPPEN IN A VACUUM
NO MATTER THE AGE,
SOCIAL LEARNING
OPPORTUNITIES WERE
PROVIDED THROUGHOUT.

Knowing that learning doesn't happen in
a vacuum no matter the age, the trainers
provided social learning opportunities
throughout the new hire program,
starting with real world role-playing,
hands-on performance exercises,
mentorships between a new hire and
a high performing employee and job
shadowing, as well as leader shadowing.
Combining all these social elements
gave a deeper understanding of the
job expectations, as well as the team,
divisional and organizational cultures.

FOUNDATIONAL RESEARCH-BASED
METHODS
Even though most of the solutions
implemented by the training leader
were technology or eLearning based,
the foundational concepts of solid adult
learning theory and instructional design
played throughout, starting with a thorough
analysis, nurturing key stakeholder
partnerships, feedback opportunities
at every level for full transparency and
course corrections, tangible analysis and
measurements to show the return on
investment from the training organization,
as well as building and supporting a
seasoned and passionate training team.

The training leader noted that a happy
and intriguing discovery surfaced by
providing such deep social learning
opportunities within the new hire
onboarding program; the trainee
became deeply invested in the success
of the team. Strong friendships and

Knowing the learning curve was beyond
steep for the trainee, great effort was
taken by the training leader and the
training team to methodically lay out the
instructional design aspects of the new
hire program to layer the concepts in
the hopes that the trainee would learn

SOCIAL LEARNING

a new concept, practice to proficiency,
and then move on. This was reinforced
with the mentorship program in order to
offer support where needed, especially
during times of confusion or frustration
to keep trainees pushing through.
This resulted in a very low drop out
and termination rate as observed and
tracked by the training leader.
IT WASN'T ABOUT AGE AFTER ALL
Although the retiring workforce was
starting to exit at an ever-increasing rate,
shifting the age and experience level of
the incoming employees, implementing
a new hire onboarding program that
focused on technology modalities, social
learning opportunities and foundational
adult learning methods offered a robust
and successful training solution that
resulted in highly engaged, proficient
and loyal employees within this growing
and thriving division.
The combination of all three solutions
provided for a stimulating and fully
immersive learning experience for the
trainees. It was determined that age
really isn't a factor in the equation when
a new hire onboarding program is done
correctly via taking both the learner and
the business into consideration.
Ivy Cowgill is a performance improvement
consultant, coach, NLP practitioner, and
the CEO of Rockin' Leader, specializing in
building and transforming teams, as well
as providing strategies to professional
women stuck in taking their careers to
the next level. Email Ivy.

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Training Industry Magazine - May/June 2021

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