Online Coaching: The Recruiting and Retention Tool You Keep Overlooking

Online employment coaching platforms have radically transformed how employers connect with employees and aid in their professional growth. If on-the-job coaching is not a fixture of your workplace, your company is missing out on a powerful recruiting and retention tool.

Businesses often train new hires to get them up to speed, but rarely do they devote attention to the education of established employees. Companies have a responsibility to their employees and their brands to foster continued growth, and that’s where online coaching can come into play.

Online Coaching as a Recruitment Tool

The growth of online coaching comes about as millennials are entering the workforce in large numbers. To reach these young workers, a company must offer more than just a job. Employees desire to grow in their positions, and they seek fulfillment from their careers. Online coaching can assist workers in realizing these professional goals.

When your company utilizes modern methods like online coaching to support employee development, the organization gains a reputation as a forward-thinking business that invests in its employees. Current employees will be happy to have support, while job seekers will see your company as an attractive place to work.

Customized Coaching for Every Skill

A huge benefit of online coaching is the ability to customize the education experience for every type of worker and skill set. No more roping employees into a room to watch an outdated and irrelevant training video. Instead, online coaching can provide specific projects to each employee. While working on these projects, employees are both gaining new skills and completing tasks that are relevant to their positions.

This level of customized, engaged learning will pique employees’ intellectual curiosity, further motivating them to complete the training successfully.

Furthermore, because web-based coaching platforms can be accessed from mobile phones and tablets, coaching can continue beyond the office. This gives employees the freedom to pursue professional development on their own terms and their own schedules.

The Power of Video as a Coaching Tool

Many great online coaching platforms leverage video content to make sessions more meaningful and engaging. Research suggests that learners retain more information when it is delivered via video rather than text, which means video-based coaching is likely to have the best return on investment for your organization.

Rather than have employees sit through days-long training sessions, managers can deliver training content in a “drip” method, sending a video or two to each employee on a regular schedule. This makes the content more digestible, and employees won’t have to suffer through information overload.

Video can also be used to help employees practice their skills. For example, as part of their training, salespeople might record practice pitches that managers can later watch and critique. In this way, managers can actively support employees’ development even when they aren’t in the same room.

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Given the array of customizable, interactive, and versatile features offered by web-based platforms, it’s easy to see why employers should take advantage of online coaching. Investing in the continued development of your workforce can lead to stronger, happier employees who are less likely to burn out. Additionally, the company will gain a reputation for promoting employee growth, which will attract new talent to the organization.

Sean Gordon is CEO of HireNami.