Tuesday, December 9, 2025
10 Ways L&D Teams Use Podcasts for Onboarding
Your new hires are drowning in onboarding emails. And they're not reading them.
Research shows only 4% of employees prefer email for training and onboarding content—the lowest of any communication channel. Meanwhile, 73% would rather listen to a podcast than sit through an hour-long company meeting.
L&D teams are catching on. Here's how forward-thinking organizations are using podcasts to transform their onboarding programs.
1. Leadership welcome series
Instead of a generic HR video, new hires hear directly from the CEO and leadership team. These aren't scripted corporate speeches—they're candid conversations about company culture, vision, and what success looks like.
The intimate nature of audio creates connection. Employees feel like they're getting face time with executives they might never meet in person.
2. Culture and values deep-dives
Company values printed on a wall don't stick. But hearing real stories from employees who embody those values? That resonates.
L&D teams create episode series where team members share moments when company values guided tough decisions. New hires absorb culture through narrative, not bullet points.
3. Role-specific training libraries
VMware pioneered this approach. Their distributed sales teams load up training podcasts before flights and listen during commutes. Technical updates, product knowledge, competitive positioning—all accessible on-demand.
The result: employees learn during "dead time" that would otherwise be unproductive.
4. Compliance made consumable
Let's be honest—compliance training is typically painful. But when legal and HR teams turn mandatory content into conversational episodes, completion rates climb.
Short episodes covering specific regulations, sprinkled with real scenarios and consequences, beat clicking through endless slides.
5. Day-in-the-life storytelling
What does a typical Tuesday actually look like for different roles? New hires hear from peers across departments describing their workflows, challenges, and wins.
This eliminates the "I don't know what anyone else does here" problem that plagues large organizations.
6. Subject matter expert interviews
Your organization has deep expertise trapped in people's heads. Internal podcasts unlock it.
L&D teams interview senior engineers, veteran salespeople, and domain experts—capturing institutional knowledge that would otherwise walk out the door when employees leave.
7. Onboarding buddy conversations
Pair new hires with an "onboarding buddy" episode featuring recent hires discussing their first 90 days. What surprised them? What do they wish they'd known? What mistakes did they make?
This peer-to-peer format feels authentic because it is.
8. Process and systems walkthroughs
How do you submit expenses? Request PTO? Navigate the internal wiki?
Instead of dense documentation, short audio guides walk new hires through essential processes step-by-step. Employees can listen while actually completing the task.
9. Department introductions
Before that first cross-functional meeting, new hires can listen to department heads explain their team's role, current priorities, and how they collaborate with other groups.
Context makes those initial meetings far more productive.
10. Continuous onboarding series
Smart L&D teams don't stop at week one. Monthly "What's New" episodes keep all employees—not just new hires—current on company developments, strategic shifts, and organizational changes.
This transforms onboarding from a one-time event into an ongoing experience.
Why podcasts work for onboarding
The data backs up what L&D teams are discovering firsthand:
- Flexibility wins. 34% of employees cite flexibility as the top benefit of corporate podcasts. New hires learn during commutes, workouts, and lunch breaks.
- Retention improves. Organizations with strong onboarding processes see 82% better new hire retention and 70%+ productivity gains.
- Re-listening reinforces. Unlike meetings, podcasts can be replayed. Employees revisit complex content until it sticks.
The format matches how people actually consume information today. And when you meet employees where they are, engagement follows.
Ready to transform your onboarding program? AI-powered tools like Jellypod make creating professional internal podcasts easier than ever—no recording studio required. Try Jellypod AI free today.
