As employers embrace the incredible value of mid-career returners—talented professionals who are re-entering the workforce with fresh perspectives and honed life skills—it’s essential to consider how to onboard them effectively. Whether on-site, remote or hybrid, providing a thoughtful, engaging onboarding process can make all the difference in setting returners up for success. At Untapped Potential, we advocate for tools that make training accessible, adaptable, and engaging.
Bringing #returners into your organization through a Flexreturn™ mid-career internship offers a unique opportunity to integrate experienced professionals eager to contribute. Many of these professionals—often stay-at-home moms—are not only tech-savvy but also up-to-date on current social media and digital trends. However, they may need support acclimating to your organization’s unique processes and tools. Leveraging modern training solutions can make a real difference.
Video-based training is an invaluable tool in this journey. Employers, as you welcome #returners into your team, consider how these tools can help them onboard effectively and feel valued right from day one. Here’s a look at how video-based training can ease the onboarding process and empower #returners in their Flexreturn™ roles, helping them integrate quickly and confidently within your team.
Supporting Tech-Savvy Returners with Your Unique Tools
Even those in transition and current with technology may still need guidance on how to use your organization’s specific software. Modern training tools allow you to bridge this gap effectively, not only helps returners - but any new hire - to get up to speed with your systems in a structured, accessible way. By providing them with documented processes in multiple forms that can be accessed independently, you’re empowering them to learn asynchronously and at a pace that works for them while respecting their existing expertise.
Task-oriented, stepwise training that combines both video and written documentation recognizes the tech skills returners bring while offering targeted support for them to succeed in your specific environment.
Why Modern Training Tools Work for #Returners
When onboarding returners, it’s important to create a flexible, accessible training experience that respects your own team's time while equipping #returners with the knowledge to succeed in their role. Modern tools like scribe how, which documents process steps in a visual, sequential format, combined with video capture solutions like Print Screen Video, Loom, and ZoomClips, offer a structured yet adaptable approach to training. These tools enable you to deliver task-specific, on-demand training that returners can access and review as needed, ensuring a smoother integration process.
Here’s how each tool can support #returners in getting up to speed with your systems and processes:
Stepwise capture for a Process: Scribe How allows you to create clear, step-by-step guides for common tasks and workflows. These visual documents are easy to follow and can be accessed anytime, allowing #returners to reference the information they need as they learn the ropes. The structured format also makes it easy to document updates or changes, keeping everyone aligned with your organization’s evolving processes.
Video Capture for Task-Specific Training: Video capture tools like Loom, ZoomClips (screen share with record on) and even Print Screen Video allow you to record step-by-step tutorials that #returners can watch and re-watch at their own pace. These videos provide a detailed visual walkthrough of specific tasks, which can be more effective than written instructions alone. This is especially useful for complex processes where seeing each step in action can make learning easier and more intuitive. Layer on AI within Loom and you'll end up with well written instructions.
Print Screen is simply a button on your keyboard [PrtScn] - no software to add. You now can toggle from capturing fixed images to screen video, simply use your mouse to define the area on your screen that you want to capture and press record!
Zoom for Interactive Training Sessions: Live video sessions on platforms like Zoom enable real-time engagement with your training team or mentors. This is "active learning" vs. passive training. Make your #returner the co-host. They share screen, they control the mouse and thus are actively learning. Returners can ask questions, receive immediate feedback, and gain a better understanding of workflows in a collaborative environment. These sessions also create a sense of community and connection, fostering a supportive onboarding experience. No more standing over passively hearing and seeing what the trainer is doing on an unfamiliar screen.
Curate your on-boarding training library
Don't have a ready library of video tutorials for training yet? No worries. Crowd source contributions from your team. Here is how:
Open a shared spread sheet on your cloud system
Create headers as appropriate including #, operational area (on-boarding, marketing, finance, operations, customer service), Process Name, Process Description, Step #, Scribe or workflow link, video link
Share with your team! Ask them to capture their daily tasks and choose one to break down into 3 to 5 minute steps. Think of it as creating playlists based on themes or stages of onboarding. They can also add voice overs as intros to make it more personal and welcoming. Encourage them to capture with the tools above and load them into the spreadsheet.
If you have them choose a new task each day for a week, capturing them as they work, you will have a great start to your on-boarding library.
Leverage Best Practices for Video-Based Onboarding
As you integrate video into your onboarding process, consider these best practices to support your #returners:
Make It Modular: Break down training videos into short, digestible sections. Think with the mindset of today's "sprint" work packets used in the agile methodology. This allows returners to learn in bite-sized pieces, making it easier to absorb information gradually.
Encourage Replays and Practice: Remind #returners that it’s okay to revisit videos as many times as they need to feel comfortable.
Supplement with Resources: Provide additional resources like slide decks, guides, or worksheets that reinforce the content.
Record and Archive Live Sessions: Recorded video sessions can be a valuable resource, organize short videos by step, processes deliverable as wellas business function for easy access and reuse.
You'll benefit from uniformity in instruction and confidence building of new hires.
Building a Lasting Resource with Modern Training Tools
Implementing modern training methods for #returners in a Flexreturn™ internship isn’t just beneficial for them—it’s a valuable asset for your organization. By building a library of documented processes and video tutorials, you’re creating a robust, repeatable onboarding framework that can be used for future hires. This scalable approach not only streamlines training but also helps ensure consistent knowledge transfer across your team.
In this way, modern training tools help your organization develop a long-lasting resource that can support all employees, making onboarding faster, smoother, and more effective for everyone.
Ready to Welcome a #Returner?
At Untapped Potential, we believe in the value that returners bring to the workforce and are committed to helping organizations integrate them effectively. By leveraging tools like Scribe How, Loom, and Zoom, you can create an onboarding experience that empowers returners to contribute confidently and meaningfully. Interested in partnering with us? Visit upotential.org to learn more about bringing #returners into your team through our Flexreturn™ program.
Investing in modern training solutions for #returners not only makes for a smooth transition but also strengthens your organization’s onboarding framework, creating a culture that values adaptability, support, and growth. Let’s work together to create a future where every professional has the tools they need to thrive.