Accelerate the Learning Curve to Boost Employee Productivity

The average employee can take at least six months to get up to speed in a new job. It’s a daunting, long process – and sometimes, an unenjoyable one. New employees are adjusting, and they are likely to encounter a learning curve as they adopt new skills and discover how your business operates.

 

To reduce turnover and fast-track onboarding, employers must focus on employee learning and development (L&D) initiatives. This includes providing necessary resources and development tools to ensure new employees are positioned to succeed – with your support. 

 

This is especially true in today’s talent market. Changing jobs has become its own contagion since 2020, with many workers quitting and bouncing from job to job. If you want to retain your employees, you need to find ways to make onboarding and job success easier. 

 

So, how exactly do you make the learning curve more approachable for new employees? Let’s talk about it.

 

What Is a Learning Curve?

 

We throw the term “learning curve” around a lot, but many of us don’t really understand what it means. In the simplest of explanations, a learning curve is an indicator of how easy or difficult it is to comprehend something. 

 

In an office setting, employees must learn and adapt to new environments while quickly adopting the skills needed to perform their job. At some jobs, this learning curve can be staggering – at others, it can be fairly minimal, depending on the employee’s role. 

 

The steeper the learning curve, the harder it is for employees to quickly grasp a new skill or tool. As a manager, business owner, or employer, it’s essential to consider your company’s level of curve and how it affects performance and productivity.

 

According to an article by Harvard Business Review, companies that provided formal training to new hires experienced 62% more productivity and a 50% increase in employee retention.

Clear Company, a talent management platform, further reiterated the importance of effective employee training. It revealed that leadership training can enhance one’s ability to learn by as much as 25% while improving performance by 20%.

 

Additionally, up to 91% of employees expressed a need for personal and relevant training. If that weren’t enough, up to 94% of employees would remain employed at their organizations if they invested in their careers.

 

In view of these numbers, employers must create training processes that are well-structured and tailored to their employees’ developmental needs. This will ultimately create a more productive workforce and set the organization up for long-term success. 

 

But how do employers do that? Here are a few tips for helping employees embrace the learning curve, right from the get-go.

 

1. Begin Training Immediately – And Keep Up With It

 

If possible, start employee training as soon as new hires join so that they can be successful in their new roles. Doing so helps reduce the learning curve, allowing employees to adjust quickly and feel engaged, supported, and empowered. 

 

By training new hires immediately, employees can easily transition into their new roles and understand all aspects of their job from day one. 

 

Providing onboarding training during an employee’s first few weeks also sends a powerful message: that your company values employee development and all the perks that come with it — innovation, professional advancement, better productivity, engagement, etc.

Keep in mind that it’s not just about offering a 3-day workshop upfront or answering new employees’ first questions. For training to truly be effective, it needs to begin right away and continue throughout the employee’s first weeks, months, and even years.

 

2. Use Microlearning Technology

 

Utilizing the right technology helps organizations manage large amounts of data efficiently and create more customized learning resources. 

 

Code of Talent’s cloud-based microlearning platform offers companies powerful tools to develop personalized employee development tools. Our tools are capable of processing data from various sources and transforming it into comprehensive and engaging materials. 

 

These tools and platforms help shorten the learning curve for new hires as they can access more insightful, relevant, and personalized materials that would otherwise take longer to acquire. This improvement in training efficiency has positive implications for the organization’s overall performance, as new employees become productive faster. 

 

With this in mind, organizations should consider leveraging data-focused platforms to ensure that their training processes are up-to-date and incorporate the latest advancements in technology. 

Furthermore, microlearning will also help organizations save time and money by reducing the need for manual data sorting and entry. By relying on Code of Talent’s proprietary technology, employees receive the best possible learning experiences faster and easier.

 

With the right microlearning technology in place, organizations can be confident that their onboarding and training processes are up-to-date, relevant, and effective.

 

3. Provide Mentors for Trainees

 

Mentorship is a valuable initiative that can speed up the learning curve. When companies pair less-experienced employees with senior professionals, employees learn essential skills while receiving the support they need to become more comfortable in their roles. 

 

The benefits don’t end there. According to a 2022 case study, employees who were part of mentorship programs were 49% less inclined to leave their jobs. Another survey revealed that 92% of employees felt that mentorship improved their performance and career success. 

 

So, mentorship is an all-around win. Tenured employees and new hires feel more valued and confident since they have opportunities to form meaningful relationships with colleagues. 

 

Make the Learning Curve Easier With Microlearning

Employee training is critical in any organization. It equips workers with the skills they need for their jobs and helps them function more efficiently. It also keeps them engaged and motivated, and it shows that the company cares about their learning and development.

 

Of course, companies need quality employee development tools that make the learning curve easier and more manageable. Onboarding can take weeks and even several months, but a personalized, insightful, and technology-enabled approach allows you to train countless employees at the same time – without losing out on any L&D benefits. 

 

Meet the Learning Software Designed to Support New Hires 

 

If you want your employees and your business to succeed, L&D is an integral component, and Code of Talent is here to help. Our product uses  engaging, easy-to-learn, and relevant modules to get new employees where they need to be – without wasting any time. 

 

We combine the latest microlearning technology, powerful AI capabilities, insights, and best practices that make the learning curve less steep and more attainable. Schedule a virtual tour and visit our website to learn more about our innovative employee development tools.