Onboarding at the time of crisis
Since the lockdown started, GuyKat has welcomed five new joiners. All five had accepted their offers and quit their previous jobs in the weeks before coronavirus changed everything. It is always a big step for anyone to make a job move. Imagine the extra stress of joining a new company in these uncertain times. This creates an HR challenge; how do you successfully onboard people to your culture and ways-of-working in these extraordinary circumstances?
Paradoxically, the starting point in a crisis is no different than normal times. We know from experience that new starters are more likely to be successful when we do specific things. We have a checklist! The key in this crisis is that ‘remote working’ is not used as an excuse to miss anything out. The steps will be the same. However, delivering them remotely will likely mean you have to deliver them differently. That may need some creative thinking.
To give you the idea, some of GuyKat’s onboarding tasks are listed below - you can adapt this for your own company.
-
Company history
First things first. We start the induction process telling the story of our company. We want staff to understand how we ‘grew up’. There are turning points in our story that explain why we do some things in very specific ways. We want to build an emotional connection between our new starter and their new work family. We’ve had an exciting story so far, and we want them excited about their chance to play a part in our next chapters. Usually, our CEO runs this session. Up to now, it has always been done in person. The CEO having individual sessions with everyone isn’t going to be practical if a company moves from counting employees in the tens to the hundreds or thousands, but if you can find someone who has tenure and is part of the company story, and who is passionate about it - then they can pull it off as well as the CEO. This session can still be done remotely. It doesn’t matter that you might be miles away from each other, walk through the story with interactive pdfs, images and insights of how the company reached the point where it is now. This is essential to understanding a company's culture and how things work internally.
-
Assign a buddy and a mentor
The best people start new positions wanting to feel challenged and hoping to learn continuously. Assigning a mentor and a buddy can unlock this. Our rule of thumb is the mentor should be at least one ‘level’ above the mentee in seniority, ideally higher. It works best when they are in a role that the new starter might realistically aspire to one day. The buddy should ideally be at the same ‘level’, but certainly no more than one above them. The role of the buddy is to give them someone they feel safe to ask what they think are daft questions they would be too embarrassed to ask someone they wish to impress. In reality, they are rarely daft questions, but it is part of professional growth that people feel they are. We help them through any initial imposter syndrome when the mentor/buddy system is working well. In remote working, you need to nudge your mentors and buddies to be pro-active in reaching out to offer their support. It is usually a ‘push’ model of support at first, and you will know it is working when the new starter has turned it into a ‘pull’ model.
-
Introductory meetings with key staff from different teams
First impressions are so important! Here at GuyKat, everyone is tasked with scheduling a 15-minute introduction meeting with the new starter at some point in their first month. Even if it is likely their roles mean they will never work together directly. This gives an overview of the whole company, all the different teams, and all the various products and services and back-office support. It will demystify the organisation. Having everyone do this in the first month is only sustainable to about 50 people (it is sustainable even with that many!). If your company is larger, you may want to have a cross-section of random connections between divisions. This can be done remotely via Zoom or similar technology. In a lockdown, this is as much benefit for the existing staff member as the joiner. Human contact and connection with colleagues beyond the business nitty-gritty and silo make for happier people.
-
Join Sales Calls
We have new starters listen in on some initial calls with new business leads (i.e. sales calls!). We do this even if the starter is never, ever going to be in either a sales role, or a direct client-facing role. It’s a great way of letting people hear how we talk about the company and how we position our services. It’s also a great way of letting our new starters understand the issues that our clients are reaching out for us to solve. The only difference in the current situation is that they likely have to join the teleconference as a distinct attendee which is more visible to the lead than if they were sitting in the office listening in. We find that all leads are completely cool when we explain why they are present. If someone wasn’t, we likely wouldn’t want to work with them!
-
Keep on the communication
Let’s not stop once onboarding is finished. Communicating between employees is essential. Bring on the pets, family and kids onto the zoom calls. Quizzes, happy hours and general catch-ups are essential. Every Monday morning make a list of the people in the company you’d like to have a chat with this week and schedule it. Embrace online life and keep yourself and others in the loop!
Onboarding at the time of crisis is harder than usual. However, it is as important as always. Keep your employees engaged and you will see how they will flourish once everything is back to normal.
What’s New: Best-liked Docebo Update in March
Docebo routinely releases platform improvements. This month sees the introduction of the ‘My Profile’ widget into the mobile app. This allows the mobile experience to be closer to the desktop experience. Users are now able to view and update their profile, as well as change their password, all within the mobile app. This allows flexibility and freedom for users to update their profile on the go rather than having to wait until they reach a desktop. To add this new widget, make sure you go to the desired page and click the plus icon at the bottom.
This will display the widget selection menu, widgets available on both mobile and desktop will display the appropriate icon, depending on their availability.
After selecting the ‘My Profile’ widget and clicking next, you will be presented with a list of options and additional fields that can help you decide what the widget will display.
Finally, click add widget, which will then add it to your custom page. Any pages that have previously been made may need updating to include the ‘My Profile’ widget if they haven’t done so automatically. An example of how this widget display on mobile can be seen below!
If you are interested in partnering with GuyKat for services on your Docebo platform, please get in touch. Click on the contact button below to request a discovery call and describe your requirements.
Measure and Evaluate your Learning Impact
LMS Consultant, Joanne Payne, answered a few questions regarding the forMetris integration with Docebo.
What do forMetris do?
forMetris provide evaluation and coaching tools that allow organisations to measure and prove learning impact. Whereas many organisations may have excellent feedback and motivated learners after training has taken place, there is typically no follow up or measurement to understand if the learnings have been actually applied in the workplace.
This is where forMetris are able to assist. They provide a robust learning evaluation platform with tailored questionnaires proven to receive a high response rate from learners. These feed into a unique benchmarking database allowing L&D professionals to identify strengths, weaknesses and inconsistencies between departments, and trainers locations internally. They also provide insights as to how learning outcomes compare to other organisations in their industry (below average, average, above etc).
Why did GuyKat decide to partner with forMetris?
How to measure the impact of learning is a topic that repeatedly crops up in conversations with customers and at L&D events we attend. Some of our clients require a more detailed level of reporting on learning impact than the standard “happy-sheet” evaluations provide. This is a gap that partnering with forMetris helps us to close. The magic ingredient is forMetris benchmarking database. This is something we hadn’t seen before within the industry and is a benefit that I could see our customers really responding to.
What is the idea behind the Docebo & forMetris integration?
It’s a simple and convenient way for Docebo customers use the forMetris evaluation tools and reporting within Docebo rather than having to navigate between different systems. From the user’s perspective it feels like a single platform which is always a positive thing!
How would this work and benefit organisations?
If you’re a Docebo customer that works with us, send us an email to set-up a demo to see how it works. If you’re interested in purchasing it, we can discuss payment options and have it enabled on your platform.
Once enabled, there’ll be an additional section available in the Advanced Settings of a course for “Learning Impact” and every time a learner completes a course they’ll receive a communication and their user will be created in forMetris.
The following day they will receive the initial satisfaction questionnaire, with an additional one sent out a few months later.
From the admin perspective there’ll be a new Learning Impact report which pulls data from the forMetris platform and displays a course summary including percentages of responses e.g response to satisfaction, content and so on.
Feel free to reach out to us via the contact button or directly at joanne.payne@guykat.com for more information and we'll be happy to set up a demo!
What’s New: Best-liked Docebo Update in February
Docebo routinely releases platform improvements. The latest update introduces 'User Impersonation'. This was one of the most requested features on the ‘Docebo Ideas Portal’ (a customer feedback site available to enterprise customers). It got GuyKat’s vote! Docebo responded to these customer requests and developed the feature!
What is User Impersonation?
If you have worked on a Learning Management System as an administrator then it's likely you needed to support a specific user. The problem has been that an Administrator’s view of the platform is different from what the end-user sees. GuyKat offers admin support to Docebo clients worldwide and often need to see exactly what the end-user sees to better understand their issue. This means you often have to schedule a webinar/screen share or have them email screenshots which is an inefficient use of time for everyone.
This new feature allows the Superadmin (Docebo's top-level admin) to access the platform and actually login with a learner's credentials (by the click of a button).
A notification is automatically sent to the user to let them know that the Superadmin has logged in. They can now sit back, relax and await the diagnosis and resolution of the query. Time saved, stress relieved!
This is a very powerful feature tucked away in one of the February weekly updates and GuyKat wanted to call it out to centre-stage. We will certainly be using it to aid our customers and hope Docebo admins will benefit from it globally.
If you are interested in partnering with GuyKat for services on your Docebo platform, please get in touch. Click on the contact button below to request a discovery call and describe your requirements.
Building a Custom Docebo Landing Page Enhances Your UX
A landing page is the first page a visitor sees. It is core to the user journey through a website and arguably the most important page. In an LMS environment, it determines how easy it is for learners to engage with your learning content. Landing pages should set the standard for the website ‘look and feel’ and be targeted to the audience with information and content specific to them. Done well, it can establish a unique individual user experience.
Up until two or three years ago, it was difficult to customise landing pages on Docebo. The platform had a ‘dashboard’ feature, but there were significant limitations on what could be included. The launch of the ‘pages’ feature in Docebo 7.0 was the game-changer. This opened up new levels of customisation constrained only by the imagination and skill of the developer rather than technical limitations. A killer feature is that you can have different tailored landing pages for different groups of users.
Ideally, a landing page should aim to be simple. The use of images that link to other parts of the site is effective. A good landing page allows users to easily find an area of the site they need; this is especially important in an LMS. A landing page should also make effective use of your branding in its overall design and layout and can be a powerful tool for conveying a particular message to the user.
At GuyKat we know Docebo inside and out. Clients regularly contact us to help enhance their Docebo UI. Our expertise with the pages functionality is a great enabler in transforming end-use perception of the platform. We tailor our landing pages on a client by client basis. Usually, the landing page’s content and structure are dictated by the way their Docebo instance is configured. Before making live changes we send over wireframes for review by the client, the look and feel of the page is then mocked up internally and then built following final sign-off by the client.
Typical features landing pages are:
- A navigation bar
- A carousel of linked images to advertise courses etc
- Footer links to social media/other external pages
- Images linking top essential parts of the site
- A cohesive design that keeps the user engaged
If you engage with GuyKat we have a well-defined process to take you from an initial discovery call where we find the key objectives for your platform and review your current set-up. Then there is a phase of wire-frame designs and review. Following approval, we implement the design using our custom coding. To date, GuyKat has supported clients in building hundreds of landing pages for Docebo customers all over the world.
If custom page design and implementation is something you're interested in please use the contact button to arrange a call with one of our experts.
Megan's Digital Media Internship at GuyKat
Birmingham has some of the best universities in the UK. They're full of bright people with ambition to join innovative organisations. One of those bright people is Megan, our current intern in the eLearning team. Today she is sharing her experience of her three month long internship. For her, it's a part-time paid job while juggling university work! 
1. How did you find out about the internship at GuyKat?
I’m on the Impact Internship. This internship is available exclusively to final year students and recent University of Birmingham graduates. Impact Internships are partnered with start-ups and small or medium-sized enterprises; giving their successful applicants the opportunity to apply their knowledge in a growing, innovative business. Since I am a UoB student, I found this job when it popped up in my academic emails.
2. What attracted you to the role at GuyKat?
I am currently studying for a BSc Computer Science degree. My favourite aspects of the course are those that include UX and front end development. My enjoyment in using creative technology, such as Adobe programs and markup languages, has made me want to explore a creative career. Needless to say, when I saw the job title “Digital Media Designer/eLearning Developer” I knew that this role would give me the creative satisfaction I was looking for.
When I first saw the job advert, I didn’t fully understand what was meant by the term “eLearning” but I already had developed an interest in learning technologies. A few years ago I made a Japanese character learning aid in Java and was planning to make a system for teaching HTML/CSS as my dissertation topic. I also enjoyed teaching children how to code at CodeCamp. I was attracted to this role because it perfectly balances everything I am interested in: learning, technology, creativity and design!
3. What were the main tasks you were given?
Initially, I had to become efficient in using Storyline since it is one of the most important tools utilised by the eLearning team. I then recreated some of the existing features and special effects and took on a client project - I found this extremely fun, it was rewarding being able to reach the company standards of branding. Since then, I have had great opportunities to work on several projects by making pdfs, website designs, illustrations and more.
4. What were your highlights during the internship?
One of my highlights so far is learning how to use Adobe Illustrator since I’ve always wanted to teach myself how to use it. When I was told I would need to learn how to use this software, I asked if I could have access to the software over Christmas so that I could get a head start. I am now beginning to understand how powerful this tool is, especially since it has unique capabilities that can be used to make graphics.
A further highlight would have to be visiting one of our clients in their London office. This was a kick-off meeting with a medical device company’s L&D managers to outline a few months of work worth delivery on various projects. This was a highly valuable experience and I loved getting to know our clients in person.
5. What do you enjoy about working with GuyKat?
The thing I enjoy most about working at GuyKat (other than getting to be creative every day, obviously) is the atmosphere in the office. Everyone at GuyKat is super lovely and they all make the office an incredibly pleasant place to be! We also have a hotdesking system, this is brilliant because I sit next to someone different every day. This system helps to keep my mind fresh and increases my productivity. I always look forward to coming in to work and I feel incredibly lucky to have found an occupation that I love!
6. Any advice or tips for students or graduates looking for a career in Digital Media?
I would have to say, make sure that when you write your applications you sound as enthusiastic as you feel about the job you’re applying for. My cover letter for GuyKat was the first cover letter that I was eager to write! I was so thrilled about the prospect of the job, and the opportunities that it would bring, that it was no problem expressing my excitement when applying.
If you think you'd be a good addition to our team whether being an apprentice, intern or a full-time employee, give us a shout at info@guykat.com.
eLearning Designer's takeaway from last year
Now that everyone’s back after the holidays, eLearning Designer, Emma Powney sits down to discuss her biggest takeaway from 2019.
What’s been exciting you throughout 2019 in the world of eLearning?
We did a lot of work for SkinCeuticals that I loved being a part of. One project stood out, the GuyKat team was challenged to refresh existing eLearning modules. Design was a large focus in this project and that’s a huge passion of mine, I thoroughly enjoyed it!
The objective of these modules is to educate key field staff about their most successful products and help them choose the right product for their end consumer.
One of the things I love about my job is to be able to work with large brands like SkinCeuticals. I’m one of their consumers myself, and I love being educated about the science behind their products.
Tell us about the relationship GuyKat has with SkinCeuticals
The relationship started early last year. We worked virtually but still close with the Associate Vice President of Global Education, Becky Watkins who is based in New York. As a result of the module redesigns, we had the pleasure of meeting Becky last month when she flew out to visit us in our new Birmingham HeadQuarters. This gave us a chance to review our ways-of-working and discuss future eLearning projects for 2020, which we are all very excited about! It was lovely to hear such great feedback.
How did the day look with a client on-site?
Our main aim for Becky’s visit was to discuss the collaboration with GuyKat on the upcoming eLearning projects. We always want to be seen as a partner rather than just a supplier. This type of meeting helps us build on that. Together, we reviewed Becky’s existing content and shared ideas to come up with the best learning solution for each module. As a result, we are at the beginning stages of developing two large projects which we are eager to roll out in the next couple of months.
Elaborate on why it is important to schedule face-to-face meetings with the clients on sizeable projects like this.
One of the benefits of meeting our clients face-to-face is that we’re able to be so much more creative. We both have ideas that we can share to make the modules as interactive and engaging as possible for the end-user. We can also get to understand their passion for the company they work for, which in turn, gets us excited about the project. This is an invaluable time to learn the right ‘voice’ from our clients which we just wouldn’t receive over email. Again, our best work is done when we work as a partner, rather than when we just build to a brief. Client’s know their content, but we know how to make ideas and key points come together online. When we mix our clients knowledge with our skills, the output can be truly world-class.
We also love hearing feedback on our ways of working with clients, so the visit from Becky was a perfect opportunity to start the meeting with what worked well on our first project and what we could improve on in our future working relationship.
What are your expectations for 2020?
This year we have a lot of exciting projects coming up, with SkinCeuticals being one I want to continue to drive forward. We want to build on our ongoing relationship and continue to deliver engaging content.
"GuyKat is an essential partner for the LMS programme for SkinCeuticals. An awesome agency that can do everything under one roof - from LMS landing pages to content development." - Becky Watkins, SkinCeuticals
If you’d like to set up a meeting with any of our team members from Professional Services or/and eLearning side please contact rugile@guykat.com
GuyKat in Vegas: DevLearn 2019
DevLearn 2019 saw 4,000 attendees in Las Vegas, Nevada explore the future of Learning and Development.
As a Marketing professional that works in the L&D industry, it's a joy to be with so many peers who are just as passionate about improving corporate training.
One theme that came up repeatedly was the rise of the LXP (Learning Experience Platform). This has been a big area of focus for GuyKat over the last year. We no longer think of Docebo as 'just' an LMS. Over the last few years, as more features have been added to the system, we've watched Docebo become an LXP. This has opened up loads of new possibilities for our clients. Many of the sessions in the conference reinforced to me that a lot of the work we are doing is very much at the cutting edge of helping people realise the benefits of moving from an LMS to LXP mindset.
Another key theme was the importance of marketing in L&D. I've been passionate about this idea for some time. It isn't about 'marketing' in the sense of engaging external customers or stakeholders, but using the same techniques to engage internal learners. When I talk about this with our team in the UK, I now have some great case studies to reinforce my point!
Overall, DevLearn was brilliant. I got to meet some amazing people, re-connect with some dear friends from Docebo and meet the only non-human citizen in the entire world - Sophia the Robot. Already looking forward to going back next year!
Hannah Quinton to judge Silicon Canal Awards
0121 517 0019
07941 682 901 pictures@newsdogmedia.co.uk www.mathewgrowcoot.com
Today I met GuyKat's Head of eLearning, Hannah Quinton, to discuss the upcoming Silicon Canal Awards.
Hannah leads the creative team at GuyKat and has worked with us for 8 years. Hannah was named Developer of the Year in the 2017 awards, and GuyKat were named Small Company of the Year in 2018. This year she has been invited to join the judging panel.
What does technology mean to you?
Having been in an integral part of a tech company for a number of years, I use technology on an everyday basis. We create and build engaging training to communicate with people across the globe. This could not be done without the vast array of authoring tools, technologies, and applications we use to deliver projects. What is great about our industry is that it's still really in its infancy. eLearning in the past has not had a very good reputation, often being associated with poorly designed and long-winded modules that are a chore to complete. With a great creative team and the right technology, we are changing that. We never stop learning new technologies or exploring new ways to enhance our modules. That means my relationship with technology continues to evolve and grow. I still find it humbling that I have been responsible for thousands of eLearning modules being implemented in over 50 countries and 12 different languages.
How were you introduced to Silicon Canal awards?
When I first joined GuyKat 8 years ago, I was encouraged to go to networking events in order to meet like-minded people in the tech community. As with most people early in their career this was a slightly daunting idea, however, Silicon Canal was promoted as a more relaxed setting and they were not wrong! I've been going ever since. In 2018 GuyKat won the Silicon Canal Small Company of the Year award and it was such a positive team experience. Everyone in the team is passionate about what we do and to be recognized for it was the sprinkles on top of the cake.
What encouraged you to take place on the judging panel?
Over the last few years I have grown in my career and confidence in the tech scene and I attribute some of that growth to the support community I found in Silicon Canal. In 2017, I was nominated as the Silicon Canal Developer of the Year and subsequently won. This was a huge achievement for me as I had never considered myself as a contender. I was overwhelmed with the support I received in the aftermath. As a result, I became an ambassador of Silicon Canal, involving myself in the Women in Tech events and making some very close friends as a result. So, when I was asked to judge this year's awards, I was really excited to be involved. There is a lot of emerging talent in Birmingham, I cannot wait to promote the great achievements happening in this city.
Which award category announcement are you most excited about?
For me, Small Company of the Year is something I'm personally excited to see the category entries. I have an understanding of the journey a small company goes on in order to be successful and I will be looking out for their stories in particular.
For more information on all the great Silicon Canal events going on over the next few months, please check out their website: https://siliconcanal.co.uk.
To see further information on the awards, nominate or book your tickets go to https://awards.siliconcanal.co.uk I wish everyone who is nominated the best of luck in this year's awards and I can't wait to see you on November 28th.
Jack's hopes for DoceboInspire
GuyKat are proud Platinum Sponsor of this year's DoceboInspire Conference. The event will be held in Atlanta, Georgia. 16-18 Sep.
This Q&A session with our eLearning Support Analyst Jack Rixon outlines the expectations and hopes he has prior attending the show.
What part of DoceboInspire excites you the most?
As this is my first time attending the event, I am looking forward to attending DoceboUniversity. Although I have been working with Docebo daily now for 2 years, there is always new things to learn to enhance knowledge. Learning from each other is really encouraged here at GuyKat that's why DoceboU is a perfect opportunity to utilise that.
I could name a bunch of things I'm interested but I'm most intrigued in looking further into automation of the platform as it is clear to be a feature of the future making everyone's life easier!
Any speaker you're looking forward to the most?
There are so many interesting people talking about all things that matter over the two conference days! However, I'm most excited to hear the Key Note Speaker Jason Silva who's a well known thought-leader. Apparently, our CEO Guy McEvoy will also be announcing one of the Keynote Speakers and will give a short speech. I definitely don't want to miss that.
Where can you find GuyKat at DoceboInspire?
As a Platinum Sponsor we're going have a stand that you won't be able to miss. We'll be at the Outlook East and West conference room at level 14!
Many of our team members will be attending conference talks and workshops so if you spot any of us don't be shy and say hello! We'll be happy to talk about Docebo, Professional Services or eLearning content!
What are you expecting to take away from this event?
It's all about the experience for me. It will be nice to put some of the faces to the names I have been emailing & speaking on the calls online for the last couple of years. It's really much about building a connection and relationship with clients/partners when communicating face to face! But outside of that, I want to be able to expand my general knowledge on Docebo and to see some of the new tools used in action!
What can customers expect to see and take away from this event?
Clients attending DoceboU will be able to learn all kind of admin tricks about the product. Even though I use the system day-in, day-out I'm hoping that I myself can learn a few neat new features or cool how-to's or workarounds.
Folks attending only the main DoceboInspire days will have an opportunity to listen to the success stories of other users and maybe generate ideas how to accelerate their platform using available services. I know that my team mates who've been to the last couple of years have found it a brilliant event. It's good to feel a part of the Docebo community. Obviously, I'm also hoping that Docebo clients are able to find out a bit more about what GuyKat do, and how we can help them push their platform to the next level.
If you'd like to set up a meeting with any of our team members from Professional Services or/and eLearning side please contact rugile@guykat.com.