One way to judge the quality of an organization’s onboarding process is by how quickly new team members are ready to contribute.
The sooner the new team member is ready to make an impact, the better the onboarding process.
Learning to solve problems and pursue opportunities in a new workplace requires context and practice. That’s why the onboarding process typically involves exposing new team members to a mountain of information for background and a series of practice simulations to prepare them for action.
Best-of-class onboarding processes include a heavy dose of what in education circles are called “Worked Examples.”
Instead of asking a new team member to work through a set of real-world scenarios to test their skills, a Worked Example is a model of a problem that has already been expertly solved.
A Worked Example provides learners with the origin of a problem or challenge, the procedure or step-by-step process used for solving the problem, and the high-quality solution.
Research has shown those new to a workplace who receive lots of Worked Examples learn new content and approaches more effectively than those who are asked to solve the same problem for themselves.
Unlike models, a Worked Example always includes the steps required to create the outcome. But, similarly to models, they serve as a practical guide for learners to follow when tackling similar challenges.
The best part is that they can be created for virtually any procedural task.
Learning sales strategies, how to craft presentations, engage in negotiations, write or compose messages, create models, conduct decision analysis, and scores of other common tasks benefit immensely from Worked Examples.
They are particularly powerful when learning something brand new or during the acquisition of unproven skills or competencies.
Leaders who incorporate a large set of Worked Examples into the onboarding process help new team members gain faster traction and learn the ropes more quickly. Whatever tasks and processes they must master in order to contribute are ripe for such examples.
The best leaders offer new team members the chance to see what has worked in the past and the specific steps that were used to create successful outcomes.
With these Worked Examples at their disposal, new team members leap forward and are ready to tackle real work.
Onboarding is all about getting people ready for action. Worked Examples get that done.
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