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Addressing Onboarding Challenges in Digital Transformation

As digital transformation (DX) continues to gain momentum, many organizations face significant hurdles in adopting new systems effectively. Despite the eagerness to integrate advanced technologies, issues such as a lack of familiarity with these technologies and the burdens associated with managing manuals have surfaced as prominent concerns. A recent study conducted by TechTouch Inc. surveyed 329 IT and DX professionals from companies with over 500 employees to delve deeper into these challenges.

The Primary Issues in Onboarding

Survey results reveal that the top barriers to successful onboarding (system adoption support) are indicative of broader trends in the industry. Both “the effort required for manual creation and maintenance” and “individual differences in system proficiency” were identified by 45.3% of respondents as leading issues. These insights suggest a growing recognition of the complexities involved in supporting employees during the onboarding process. Additionally, 31.9% noted that the system's operations were not intuitive or were difficult to understand, while 30.7% highlighted a low usage rate in business settings as a continuing challenge.

Time to Proficiency

The data further indicates that more than half (53.8%) of the participating professionals stated it takes over a month for employees to become fully competent with the new system. With a significant percentage of new systems requiring one to three months to be effectively utilized, businesses need better strategies for streamlining this learning process.

The Persistence of Traditional Methods

Despite advances in technology, traditional methods still dominate onboarding processes. Approximately 58.1% of organizations rely primarily on manual resources such as paper or PDF documents. However, there's been a noticeable shift towards digital approaches, with 42.6% employing video manuals and 35.9% integrating on-the-job training (OJT). This transition signals a pivotal moment in the approach to employee training and system adoption.

Measuring Success in Onboarding

In terms of effectiveness measurement, nearly half of the respondents (46.2%) believe that a reduction in operational errors and input mistakes is the most significant indicator of successful onboarding. Other metrics like decreased help desk inquiries (39.8%) and increased usage rates (36.5%) were also noted as important factors in determining the success of onboarding programs.

The Rise of AI Utilization in Onboarding

More encouragingly, the survey revealed that over 74% of companies are currently utilizing AI in their onboarding processes. When asked how they were utilizing AI, responses indicated a broad range of applications. The most common utilizations included providing guidance on workflows (59.9%) and generating training materials (55.7%). This is encouraging news, considering that 58.0% of respondents reported that AI has significantly reduced the time needed for manual and training resource development.

Future Improvements

As organizations contemplate enhancements to their onboarding processes, the most desired improvements include an AI assistant for automatically responding to frequently asked questions (47.4%) and tools for analyzing user engagement to identify stumbling blocks (39.2%). These innovations could profoundly affect how organizations approach training and skill development in the future.

Awareness of Digital Adoption

Interestingly, the survey also addressed the awareness level of the term “digital adoption.” A total of 74.8% of respondents recognized the term, with 82.6% of those familiar with digital adoption platforms (DAP) confirming their organizations had implemented them. This finding highlights the growing importance and application of DAPs in modern workplaces, potentially overcoming the hurdles associated with onboarding.

Conclusion

The survey conducted by TechTouch sheds light on the significant hurdles still present in onboarding and system adoption within large organizations. While traditional methods remain prevalent, the emergence of AI and digital tools offers a promising avenue for improvements in onboarding. Moving forward, the transition to more personalized and immediate support systems, such as real-time AI assistance, could be the key to unlocking the full potential of digital transformation initiatives. Embracing these solutions will not only ease the onboarding process but also ensure that employees are better equipped to leverage the new technology effectively.

For more insights from this survey and to download the full report, visit TechTouch's resource page.