The onboarding of field teams is crucial to ensure their operational efficiency and commitment from day one, thus strengthening the overall performance of the company.
Salesmen, store salespeople, delivery drivers... lOnboarding field teams is an essential aspect of the recruitment process for any business.
Ensure the successful integration of new collaborators who will be in frontline dealing with customers guarantees their effectiveness and commitment from the beginning of their career within your organization.
In this article, discover the specific challenges related to this type of onboarding as well as best practices so that all your employees end up on the starting line with the best chance of succeeding.
Why is it so important to onboard your field teams correctly?
At the same level of seniority, it is easier to forgive mistakes to the new accounting manager who makes the wrong column in Excel, than to a maintenance agent who irreparably damages an air conditioning engine while trying to repair it.
Why? Because even if in both cases it is a mistake, the consequences for the company are not at all the same. In the case of the apprentice accountant, it only takes one or two mouse clicks to solve the problem. As for the maintenance worker, their lack of experience could contribute to the loss of an important customer for your business.
💡 Field teams represent the company directly with customers. They kind of don't have “no time to learn” and they must therefore be trained quickly to ensure that each employee starts in good conditions, even remotely, and can carry out their mission in the best possible conditions.
What are the specific challenges of onboarding field teams?
Employees in the field are a special population in your company. They spend much less time behind their computer screens and are much less reachable than office staff.
Often less tech-savvy, they work as close as possible to your customers and must absolutely become the ambassadors of your brand, products or services, despite the difficulties in training them.
Challenge #1 - Geographic Dispersion
By definition, field teams are scattered throughout your catchment area or commercial action area, on several sites or sales locations. This is going to greatly complicate any efforts you are going to put in place to provide them with quality onboarding in the very first few days after hiring.
👍 Your onboarding process and the tools you use must take into account the distance that separates you from your new hires as soon as they take office to ensure consistency in initial training and as little distortion as possible in the key messages you send them.
Challenge #2 - Limited access to digital tools
On the ground, nothing goes as it did at headquarters... and nothing ever goes as planned. Sales people, technicians, or salespeople don't always have constant access to computers or collaborative communication tools. Sometimes, because of their business, they don't even have an office where they can isolate themselves and focus to follow a training module.
👍 When choosing your e-learning solution or your LMS (Learning Management System), opt for mobile solutions, the possibility of designing short and/or accessible offline formats to guarantee effective training in small steps.
Challenge #3 - A rapid need for autonomy
In the field, no mentor, no sponsor. Asking for help is more complicated when you work away from headquarters, sometimes in a mobile situation. But the level of customer requirements remains the same. So, in an exacerbated competitive environment, you need to make sure that your new hires become experts as quickly as possible to “fend for themselves.”
👍 Offer resources and training that promote autonomy, such as practical guides and learning modules adapted to immediate needs so that they take ownership of your offering — products, services — your processes and other security standards — in a fairly short period of time.
Challenge #4 - Little time to train/no desire to train
Field jobs are often very demanding in terms of schedules. In the restaurant industry, for example, extended hours leave little time for a waiter or kitchen assistant to train. Not to mention that after a hard day of work, the desire to devote an hour or even thirty minutes to a training module is almost non-existent.
👍 Your e-learning program should offer short, engaging courses with practical tips to maintain a good level of interest without disrupting busy schedules.
Challenge #5 - Ongoing monitoring and support
Far from the head office means far from constraints, but also far from the support and training opportunities that office staff benefit from. Assessing the attendance of field teams in terms of training can be a real headache for an e-learning manager or manager.
👍 To ensure regular monitoring of the level of knowledge of your field teams, you must use digital tools. Your LMS should offer feedback features to offer a continuous and personalized training program to each employee.
Challenge #6 - Integrate your field teams into the corporate culture
Out of sight, out of mind says the proverb. Even if they are at the other end of France or Europe, you have a duty to acculturate the members of your field teams to the values of your company.
👍 To best embody your organization's culture, use impactful types of content such as video and create links with discussion forums open to all to support the beginnings of your new hires.
What tools and technologies should you use for your field onboarding?
To ensure effective onboarding of field teams, it is essential to choose the right tools and technologies.
- One LMS designed for onboarding and distance education
Les LMS (Learning Management System) platforms form the basis of any strategy of e-learning.
→ They make it possible to centralize training resources, monitor the performance of new employees and personalize learning paths according to the specific needs of each individual.
→ By integrating interactive features such as quizzes, simulations and games, the LMS make learning more engaging and participatory for less receptive populations or in the field.
→ These platforms also offer advanced analytics tools to measure the engagement and progress of new employees, allowing training plans to be adjusted in real time.
- Mobile applications
In addition to LMS, mobile applications are often essential for field teams. They allow access to training even on the go, offering unparalleled flexibility and accessibility.
📱 The coffee-based drink chain For example, Starbucks developed the Barista Basics application. to train its employees on the basics of coffee preparation. It allows baristas to learn at their own pace, strengthening their skills and their commitment to the brand.
- Virtual or augmented reality
Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies can also enrich the onboarding experience by offering immersive and interactive training.
→ For example, SNCF uses a virtual reality software to realistically simulate industrial maintenance operations to prepare future network maintenance workers for the challenges they will encounter in the field.
- Collaborative communication platforms
More traditionally, tools such as Slack, Microsoft Teams or Meta Workplace make it possible to centralize exchanges between teams, thus facilitating monitoring and continuous remote support.
These platforms also provide spaces for asking questions, sharing resources, and strengthening corporate culture.
- Enterprise wikis and internal knowledge databases
Finally, knowledge management tools, such as document databases and enterprise wikis, can help centralize and make essential information accessible.
These tools allow new employees to quickly find answers to their questions and become familiar with company procedures and best practices.
→ By combining these tools and technologies, companies can create a learning environment that is dynamic and adapted to the needs of field teams, thus ensuring successful and effective integration.
How to measure the effectiveness of the onboarding of your field teams?
Again, distance does not make things any easier. Assessing the quality and relevance of your field onboardings is a difficult task. Here are some best practices to apply
- Measuring the operational performance of your teams: Are customers and managers satisfied with the work of your new hires? Keeping up to date with what is actually happening in the field is a good way to know if your field onboarding is effective.
- Evaluations and Feedback : Evaluate the extent to which training objectives are being achieved and how they contribute to the overall performance of field teams. Then, gather feedback from new hires about the onboarding process and adjust accordingly to improve your onboarding programs.
- Use the right performance indicators : KPIs such as the time required to reach full autonomy, the employee retention rate or the satisfaction rate will give you very useful insights to evaluate your onboarding.
Conclusion
The onboarding of field teams is a complex process but decisive for the success of any company. By overcoming specific challenges and using the right tools and technologies, it is possible to ensure the successful and effective integration of field teams.
