🔍 What an optimized onboarding actually looks like in Trainual

😏 What are you doing tomorrow? Trick question: Because you should be attending Workable’s “Remote Work Excellence” webinar! 

The what: Top tips for recruiting and managing remote talent.
The who: Leaders from Deel, BPM, and Trainual.
The when: Tomorrow, May 16 at 11 a.m. PDT/2 p.m. EDT. 
The how: Register here! (Can’t make it? Register anyway to receive a recording!)

For your reading pleasure:

• A template for your business’ guidelines on developing individual skills.
• Podcasts could be the answer to boosting your bottom line. 
• What an optimized onboarding experience actually looks like.
• And how to avoid becoming someone’s company horror story.

STARTER PACK

Template of the week: Individual Skill Development Policy

When you start brainstorming ways to grow your business, chances are good that things like marketing strategies, customer acquisition, and product development come to mind. But it’s so important that you don’t forget about the people behind all of those operations. Because when you invest in your employees, they can boost your growth, too! 

Employee development is essential for business success. After all, your people are the key drivers of innovation, efficiency, and quality products and services. If they aren’t learning new skills (or improving existing ones), their productivity could plateau — leading to stagnant business processes. 

👉 So make sure your team knows you support them in their professional development endeavors — starting with this Individual Skill Development Policy template. It covers the “why” behind your support, how to research learning opportunities, and tips for developing a structured learning plan.

‍Check out our entire template archive of free and customizable policy, process, and role starters. New to Trainual? Get a demo.

ARE YOU LISTENING?

How businesses can boost their bottom line with podcasting

Let’s skip the introduction.
Everyone knows what a podcast is these days. (And if you don’t, get to your closest Spotify and educate yourself.) But did you know that podcasts could actually be the marketing tool of your dreams? Let us get into some stats for you:

• A whopping 43% of Americans (aged 12 and up) listen to podcasts on a monthly basis — and those numbers are expected to keep rising.
• Three-fourths of listeners say podcast hosts are their most influential media figures.
• And over 80% of podcast listeners take action after hearing a host-read ad. (Yes. Eight-zero.)

Now let’s think about it: What happens if you start a podcast?
As a business leader, you have expertise and experience — and no matter the niche, there’s someone out there who wants to hear what you’ve got to share. 

If you start a podcast, create interesting content, and produce shows consistently, you can build authority with an audience of people who are probably looking for the solutions that your business provides — and that means you can glean the benefits of speaking directly to your target audience.

And if you’re not certain about becoming a podcast host, sponsorship may be the option for you. Remember that eight out of 10 people take action after a host-read podcast ad — so, if you can find a podcast audience that aligns with your customer personas, your ads could reach some high-value prospects. 

🎙️ Speaking of podcasts… “Inside the Process” has a new home! For almost a year, co-hosts Mallory Glessner and Shawn Jensen (two of our star employees — we’re so proud 🥹) have chatted with the best and brightest on everything from hiring the finest folks to creating engaging training and building good business systems. 

And now you can catch all the episodes — along with some great resources and suggested actions for your business — on the Trainual website!

And what’s even better: We’ve got a live episode of “Inside the Process” happening next week! Join us Wednesday, May 22, at 9 a.m. PDT/12 p.m. EDT as we chat with Adam Lovill, our very own VP of customer experience, about what really goes into decision-making processes — and how to ensure every person on your team is making the right decisions. Register here!

TRAINUAL TIPS & TRICKS

How this company makes consistency the default with optimized onboarding

As a fully remote software company serving gym and fitness studio clients, PushPress faces the challenge of maintaining a cohesive workplace culture across a dispersed workforce. 

And with 90 employees spanning multiple countries across the globe (we’re talking four continents), the gym management software provider needed to find a way to effectively train new hires while reinforcing their company values from day one.

Can you guess how they created an onboarding program that actually worked for employees? (Hint: It rhymes with “schmainual.”)

👉 See how they lay everything out in their Trainual account.

QUELLE HORREUR

How not to be an employee’s onboarding horror story

There’s the “good” type of onboarding:
Introduces the company in a fun and relatable way; trains new hires on everything they need to know; and settles employees into their new role and environment. It also helps when there are awesome people at the helm.

‍And… there’s the “bad.”
Pushes employees into the deep end; doesn’t set expectations; and doesn’t include any kind of preparation. And what’s worse — when bosses on that team let it happen, all while acting as if it’s normal.

But with the Internet age, bad onboarding gets exposed quickly.
Like when this Gen Z worker shared her recent experience with a horrible onboarding. And while this is an extreme case (is this what Britney was singing about?), consider this: Does your current onboarding have any issues that could put it in the “bad” category? 

Look at it from the perspective of a fresh-faced new hire — they want to feel welcome and valued from day one. They need to be eased into their new role and responsibilities, while learning the expectations that your company has for them.

Your review is an important to-do if you haven’t already optimized your onboarding recently. Or you risk becoming that business that your old employees shudder to think of.