Training Industry Magazine - May/June 2017 - 47
SET EXPECTATIONS
FOR ONBOARDING EARLY
INTEGRATE
SOFTWARE
INTO THEIR DAILY
WORKFLOWS.
materializes through learning pathways
that take learners through a welldefined experience. This can also be
accomplished in different ways when
more flexibility is needed. Rather than
create an onboarding experience that
makes users hunt for resources, it's
possible to make additional learning
opportunities highly accessible. One way
to do this is by cross-linking resources.
This is done by providing access to new
content upon completion of a relevant
resource. If students are learning through
on-demand training in an LMS, direct
them to similar help content in the
company knowledge base at the end of a
lesson. Collaborate with product support
or documentation teams to insert links
to extended learning opportunities in
help content. Actions such as these can
encourage customers to learn more about
a certain topic or reinforce knowledge
through immediate application.
While providing related resources in
different formats is a step in a positive
direction, it's also helpful to crosslink prerequisite concepts. If a certain
concept requires an understanding of
other product features or characteristics,
linking to that information enables
customers to easily acquire any
knowledge they may need to achieve
their desired goal.
While the content and format of the
learning pathways dictate a large portion
of a customer's onboarding success,
another critical component is customer
buy-in. Since customer training is
often voluntary, customer success and
training professionals need to work to
ensure that their customers are prepared
and committed to the onboarding
experience. One way to do this is to
set customer expectations around next
steps from the sales process through the
realization of value. This involves creating
a clear process around onboarding and
defining the key components within it.
For example, one process may contain a
project kickoff call and one on-demand
training course, followed by two inperson training sessions. Presenting
all pertinent details and commitments
needed from customers and reviewing
this information with the customer early
can provide them with more time to
plan and prepare accordingly.
After customers understand the stages
within onboarding, devise a way to
surface progress, so they can easily
find information on what they have
accomplished so far and what remains
to be done. If progress is being tracked
in an LMS, it is possible to automate
completion triggers and distribute
badges. If it's not, a customer success
professional can keep track of the stages
on a shared document.
This alone won't always keep customers
on track. Calls to action through mediums
such as email campaigns encourage
users to reinforce new behaviors and
help them get a firm grasp on what
needs to happen between each step in
the process.
to put a cohort of new users into a Beta
program. Testing can help evaluate the
quality of the training program, highlight
any points for improvement, and
provide a forum for receiving feedback
on the overall experience. Deepen this
approach by implementing an A/B test
and providing different pathways or
processes to different testers. Observe
learning, request real-time feedback,
and compare success and satisfaction
among the groups.
Linda Schwaber-Cohen's expertise lies in
building and growing onboarding and
training programs at software startups. She
currently serves as head of training at Skilljar,
a Seattle-based customer training platform
and LMS. Email Linda.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
* Identify and simplify essential
knowledge and skills to
prevent learner fatigue
and improve retention.
* Spend time learning about
buyer personas and create
role-based and goal-based
learning pathways.
* Cross-link between resources
for an improved and more
enriching learning experience.
* Plan an onboarding journey
and present it to customers
to set proper expectations
around training commitments.
* Conduct user experience
testing of the training program,
and collect feedback on content
and experience.
TESTING
An onboarding program is meant to
get a new user up and running on the
product. Just as a product manager
may conduct user experience tests on
a newly developed feature, training
professionals can also evaluate the
learner experience. One way to do this is
T R A I N I N G I N DUSTR Y MA GAZ INE - MIND THE GAP 201 7 I WWW . T RAININGINDU S T RY . C OM/ MAGAZ I NE
| 47
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Training Industry Magazine - May/June 2017
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_winter2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_fall2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_summer2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_spring2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_winter2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_fall2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_summer2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_spring2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_winter2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20210910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20210708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20210506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20210304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20210102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20201112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20200910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20200708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20200506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20200304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20200102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20191112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20190910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20190708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20190506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20190304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20190102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20181112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20180910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20180708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20180506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20180304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20180102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20171112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20170910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20170708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20170506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20170304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20171112_se
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20161112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2016fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2016summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2016sales
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2016spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2016winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2015outsourcing
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2015fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2015summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2015leadership
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2015spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2015winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2014fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2014summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2014spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2014winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2013fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2013summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2013spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2013winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2012fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2012summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2012spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2012winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2011fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2011summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2011spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2011winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2010fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2010summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2010spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2010winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2009fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2009summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2009spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2009winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2008fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2008summer
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