E-learning and LMS blog articles

The entry-level job market can be extremely tough to navigate. Many businesses disregard a large percentage of potential talent by requiring previous work experience for entry-level and junior positions. This puts hopeful candidates such as graduates or those choosing a new career path at a disadvantage, making it nearly impossible for them to join the workforce without relevant experience. Understandably, employers want to get the most out of their highly skilled employees right from the outset, but turning away potential top talent simply because they lack experience is a short-sighted strategy.

Stand out from the competition by snapping up inexperienced candidates who show promise in the talent acquisition process. Once hired, you can nurture these employees in a supportive and focused learning environment, helping them develop into highly skilled and knowledgeable employees. In this blog, we’ll share our insights into how to train an employee with no experience by using the most effective and comprehensive tool for the job, a talent management system.

What is a talent management system?

A talent management system is an all-in-one solution that supports the entire development process. Our Totara talent experience platform (TXP) offers the full suite of Totara products, including the Totara Learn learning management system (LMS), Totara Engage learning experience platform (LXP), and our Totara Perform performance management system.

Find out more about this powerful solution here.

Creating a training plan

To give an employee with no experience the best chance of success, you need to not only nail the onboarding process but also deliver continuous training and development opportunities throughout their employment. The most effective method is to create a personalised learning plan, and you can do this by using the LMS features in your talent management system.

No matter how little experience your new employee might have, they’ll be joining the organisation with some skills and existing knowledge, whether acquired through education, life experience or previous employment. Be sure to tap into this and use it to shape the onboarding process. Using LMS assessments, you can easily identify skills, strengths and weaknesses, interests and learning preferences and use this data to create a personalised training programme that is tailored to their unique requirements.

Facilitate and encourage peer-to-peer knowledge sharing

A core aspect of the onboarding process is outlining what is expected of a new employee in their new role. Typically, managers may outline any goals, objectives and KPIs, but for novice employees with little to no idea of what is typically achieved by people in their role, it may be beneficial for them to see some real-life examples. For example, you could provide them with case studies that outline the achievements of employees in their positions, or you could introduce them to their colleagues who are working in the same roles. Who better to guide an inexperienced employee than someone who has gone through the same development process? Here, you can create a mentorship programme or ‘buddy system’ to formalise the process.

Much like mentorship, any form of peer-to-peer knowledge-sharing is invaluable for facilitating knowledge acquisition and development in novice employees. To elevate this, you can use social learning LXP tools in your talent management system. With features such as forums, discussion boards, and polls, any employees with access to the platform can engage in knowledge-sharing activities. Experienced employees can impart their wisdom to inexperienced employees by sharing top tips, industry insights and best practices that are best divulged by those with real experience.

Social LXP features are also a good forum for new employees to ask questions in a safe space. A new starter with no previous experience will undoubtedly have plenty of questions to ask and, by using the platform, they can lean on the support of experienced colleagues by simply popping a question in an online discussion board without worrying about appearing unknowledgeable in front of superiors.

Delivering effective performance management

To create an environment where inexperienced employees can develop and grow, you also need to focus on performance management practices.

Using performance management tools, managers can schedule regular feedback sessions and one-to-ones, supported by goal-focused dashboards, feedback cycles and competency frameworks. Utilising these will strengthen the development process, providing employees with clear markers for progression.

Use these one-to-ones to not only provide employees with feedback on their progress but also as an opportunity for employees to provide valuable feedback in return. Ask them to review the training process; do they think it has provided them with the skills and knowledge required to start their new role? Do they feel they are well equipped to perform at the standard that is expected of them? Asking employees for their feedback will identify any strengths and weaknesses in the development programme, which can be used to shape L&D programmes for future new starters with little to no experience.

So, now you know how to train an employee with no experience by using a talent management platform, it may be time for you to acquire a system that aligns with your L&D strategy. Explore our Totara TXP page here or get in touch with one of our experts to find out more.