Onboarding Done Right

After finishing my degree in Adult Education, Training and Development (MA), I recently moved 1/2 way across the country for my first stint as an Instructional Designer. I'm in the thick of orientation at my new firm.

I had the first day yesterday, basic intro to the firm values etc and lots of paperwork and basic systems training. Here are some highlights:

• Orientation classes are taught by VOLUNTEERS throughout the firm, not assigned HR reps. Such a great idea! Gives the "inside" perspective as well as allowing us to catch the vibe of enthusiastic, invested staff.
• Values Training - called "A Cultural Foundation", including history, core values and vision for the years ahead. Also an intro to basic vocab used at the firm - in addition to industry specific terms, the firm has decided on a few important synonyms - associates vs employees, leaders vs managers, clients vs customers - which change the tone of things in a positive way (in my opinion)
• Paperwork collection included a very effective and clear presentation of benefits, by HR reps, including ample time for q/a - awesome
• Systems training took place in a lab and covered firm-wide procedures (email rules, file storage rules, etc) and software. Included a well-written guide for later reference along with (my favorite) a one-page "getting started" sheet for when we go to our personal workstations (things like updating our info in the firm directory, finding out which shared drives are used by our team, and setting up our voicemail).
  

It made me happy deep down to see all these things accounted for ON OUR FIRST DAY, and in a way that I found effective. Seems like they are good at equipping us with the info and resources needed to be independent. They stressed a few times that we are responsible TO our leaders - the leaders are not responsible FOR us. Do your best, the leaders will help when needed, the end. I love that.

Some of this is stuff I've longed for in the past. I think I am glad to see it can be done, it is not empty idealism or whatever. "Yes we can!" haha

Your thoughts?

Putting the "Personal" in PLE

How many blogs are there in the world with posts that say "I haven't posted in a long time" or a list of reasons why it has been so long since the last post? Is this a waste of blogspace? I'm not sure there are limits with which to be concerned...but it's a thought.

Here is why I haven't written anything since I made this blog last week: I don't know what to write, or can't think of something to write, or can't decide whether something I am thinking about is worth writing about.

I have another blog which I started years ago, following the example of some people I admired. I found it a fun and helpful space for getting personal thoughts and opinions out there for the consideration of others. That blog has suffered some lapses but I always return to it with a surge of interest. The focus of that blog is more personal than professional, and it has sparked dialogue with others around issues of faith and life in general, which excites me.

This is the point of blogs, right? Get thoughts and opinions out there for the consideration of others. Spark dialogue with others who have a shared interest in the topic at hand. No matter the topic. The trouble for me, then, has been not knowing how or why to use a blog but rather how to facilitate the same kind of free flow of thought on a more professional level. How to translate professional passion and enthusiasm into blog style conversation and exchange? Clearly many are doing this, clearly it can be done.

I am wondering whether this is a stage in professional development more than an issue of blogger confidence? I wonder if the lines will or should continue blur between what excites me at work and what excites me at play....and if they do, will I no longer have the need for two or more blogs? Might my thought processes, things that are interesting to me and that I want to consider with others, be more consistent and less compartmentalized?

When personal development and skill development intersect, I believe you have yourself a rewarding career. The blog title still rings true: "Learn at Work"...and so I continue to, every single day.

Random thoughts, by way of introduction

I attended the eLearning Guild Annual Gathering last week and have been reading about it in the blogosphere ever since. I was glad to go, and learned a lot, and am happy to join the cadre of related bloggers. While I am still new to the field, I am proud to be a part of this community of smart, innovative and creative professionals.

In particular, Brent Schlenker, Silke Fleischer and Stephen Downes gave memorable presentations on the use of 2.0 technologies. I honestly knew almost nothing about these before last week. I am eager to take a host of new ideas back to work and see if/how they fit.

Stephen Downes' presentation on Personal Learning Environments (PLEs) was remarkable. Since the conference there has been a lot of talk about it, and Stephen has voiced concern over the corporate world's apparent (duh) lack of creativity in this area. PLE's are organic, not top down, and the concept fosters the ability for people to take control of their own learning. Michelle Martin wrote a great article about this very thing.

Thanks to Brent, I now know that Google Reader exists, and how to use it, and have essentially created my own PLE by pulling in feeds from sources that interest me. Thus I have been able to keep up with the blogging about last week's Conference.

Thanks, eLearning Guild and all presenters for an amazing week - delivered on the promise to "expand your eLearning horizons".