Loyal readers of our blogs know it: if you want to bind your employees to your organisation, a good, smart one is onboarding a must. You prevent staff turnover, ensure good productivity and reduce absenteeism. This applies to every organisation and to employees of all levels. So also for production workers.
But how do you ensure that everyone is properly included in the complete employee journey, so even in case of low literacy, a different language or culture? This needs extra attention, especially in the workplace, where a very diverse population is usually at work while dangerous or physically stressful situations occur.
Literally translated, it means a employee journey an “employee trip”, but of course this is not about a long vacation or staff outing. We are talking about the total 'journey' of an employee with an employer. From the first contact with the organisation to the last working day.
The average employee journey consists of at least a number of stations:
In addition to these standard stops, some employees also take a short detour, a dream trip or stop for a while. Due to their phase of life, health or organisational changes. Pay sufficient attention to this too.
By making every stop a positive experience (exactly, that's the employee experience) as an employer, you not only do your employee a favor, but you also brush your employer branding further on. So it's a clear case of a win-win situation.
We said it before: each employee creates a employee journey, and it's important to make it as positive as possible. That's not always easy, because you can't assume one size fits all. Every person is unique, and there is also often a big difference in knowledge and way of communicating at departmental and functional levels. Not surprising, of course: the average financial director simply has a different background and experience than a truck driver or packaging employee.
Zooming in on the work situation in the production sector, there are quite a few challenges to overcome. To name a few:
It should be clear: if it is not possible to include production employees in communication, the risk of failure is high for both the organisation and the employees themselves. If you dread that, try to think again. Keep the benefits in mind, that's a huge boost. For example, consider:
Are you convinced? Then we have a few useful tips to help you get started.
Once at work, many people don't get much further than their own department, so the danger of pigeonholing and feeling like an island is lurking. So make good use of the start of someone's career right away and make sure you connect. Offer a joint introduction to new employees from different departments. This is good for strengthening the mutual relationship and the “we feel” within the organisation.
A tour of the company and a round of introductions from representatives of various disciplines is interesting for every new colleague. Build this as widely as possible: from board member to payroll administrator, from OR to Facilities, not to mention the company doctor and counselor.
Has the new colleague completed the joint introduction? Then it's time for the real induction. Let him or her quickly log into an online personal learning environment. Not only to be able to be incorporated into the specific position step by step — this learning environment can also be used throughout the rest of the employee journey be the place to take online courses, pick up news or chat with a colleague.
Don't blindly assume that everything you write is immediately understood by everyone. Not everyone has the same sense of language, and that makes sense. It makes quite a difference whether you are used to taking in written information on a daily basis, especially if Dutch is not your native language.
So do you want to convey something to employees in the workplace? Then don't make it too complicated. Don't use long sentences and complicated words. Keep your language, especially towards the workplace, at a B1 language level, and you can be sure you're in the right place. If you doubt the comprehensibility of a text, check it out on special websites such as “Is it b1?'by Stichting Klinkende Taal.
If you find that too cumbersome, you could enable AI, such as our great friend ChatGPT. Offer your formal, technical or scientific text with the prompt “Make this a text at the b1 level” and be surprised.
It doesn't get any easier than this!
People are becoming increasingly visual and are less used to struggling through pieces of text. It is therefore a good idea not to write everything out, but to package your message in an attractive vlog, visual or. The good news is that designing images is becoming easier and cheaper.
You can take this multimedia approach even further with gamification: an accessible, playful way to transfer information to employees, regardless of age, origin or educational level.
Do you have many employees with a mother tongue other than Dutch and does it get in the way of daily work? Then adding one or more language courses to your training menu may be a good idea. This can be done online, in class or blended.
If you have a smaller number of employees who struggle with language in the workplace, or if you work in a small organisation, you should consider offering a language course to your employee (s). If you have a budget that is too limited to invest in this, refer to the local library or welfare organisation, where “Taalmaatjes” and/or a “Language Café” are offered free of charge. Of course, it is chic to make some paid hours available for it.
Several companies in the production sector have already discovered the benefits of Pluvo in the field of (online) communication. We want the different best practices would love to share with you. So don't hesitate to contact us!
As an educational expert specialising in online learning, I have been writing blogs for Pluvo for 5 years. My focus is on powerful learning solutions for organisations. Universal Design for Learning and inclusive learning are my passion; I believe that education should be accessible and fun for everyone.
I've been combining my 35 years of HR experience with copywriting for over 15 years. And even then, I learn new things over and over again. That's what makes writing blogs for Pluvo so incredibly interesting!
