From top management to new employees, everyone can agree that employee training is a huge part of the hiring and onboarding process. Less attention, however, is placed on new employee orientation, which is every bit as important. New employee orientation, which is crucial to establishing a productive and successful work environment, is typically done in person at a great cost to the organization. So today we’re going to take a look at some of the reasons companies are choosing to offer employee orientation in an online setting instead.

Online orientation is more cost-effective

The most obvious cost savings associated with online orientation is that you no longer need to print hundreds of copies of orientation information. Instead, the materials are all right in front of the new employee on his or her computer screen, smart phone, or tablet, so there’s no need to print anything. You can even require an eSignature on important documents for peace of mind.

You don’t need to offer multiple sessions of the orientation, having to pay a facilitator to repeat the same information over and over again. Say goodbye to the days of reserving a conference room or off-site space and the need to pay for the facilitator’s travel expenses and time. When orientation is offered online, your new employees just need to log in and get started.

Online orientation is more convenient

Everyone likes the words easy and convenient so why not incorporate these ideas into your employee onboarding process? When you offer online orientation, new employees can go through the orientation from their desk on their first day on the job or, even better, they can access the orientation materials from home before their first day of work. They don’t have to travel to an off-site location or waste time on day one—instead, they’ll be ready to hit the ground running.

Online orientation mimics real work experiences

With online employee orientation, your new hires can learn about the company culture, policies, and their basic job duties before their first day of work. The options are endless—you can include the employee handbook, information about benefits, and a brief customer service training module—pretty much anything and everything that needs to be included can be included. When you include job-specific training and interactive exercises, your employees will be better prepared to handle any common problems that may pop up when they’re on the job.

Online orientation can be just as interactive

If you associate online training with bad PowerPoint presentations, we’re here to tell you that online learning has come a long way. In fact, online training now makes it possible for your employees to participate in group activities, even if they are aren’t in the same room. With the ability to incorporate message boards, photo galleries, and live chats, new hires can communicate with each other remotely while they’re going through the orientation materials. And if you have 50, 100, or more people in your in-person orientation sessions, how much personal attention and engagement are they all really getting anyway?

Online orientation makes it easy to track progress

Since employees won’t be coming in for orientation, you may worry that you won’t know who’s reviewed the materials and who hasn’t. Rest assured, there’s nothing to worry about. The easy-to-use learning management system makes it easy to run reports and stay on top of who has completed the entire orientation program—or who hasn’t even started.

If you’re leaning toward transitioning from in-person employee orientation to an online presentation but you’re not sure how or where to start the process, we’re here to help!

5 Reasons to Put your Employee Orientation Online