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Updated June 21, 2022
So, you’ve done your part. You went out of your way to source candidates from every known platform, spent hours on plenty of dead-end interviews, or skipped all that trouble and hired a recruiter to find the right match. Either way, finding talent is by no means the endgame. Now, you need to make sure you keep that talent, and it all starts with a well-planned onboarding process. But since it’s 2022, let’s talk about remote onboarding.
Whether your company’s plan is to play the home office card for the long run or to eventually bring your employees back on-site, one thing is for sure: remote onboarding is still necessary for the time being. So, you might as well do it right. Take a look at our New Hire Checklist (remote edition!) to learn how to properly welcome new members of your team.
This might surprise you, but an efficient remote onboarding process begins before the first day of work. If you want your new employee to start fresh on their first day, then make sure they have everything they need in advance. If you are providing them with a computer, keyboard, or headphones, they need to get that before their first day to set their workstation on time.
Send them the credentials and access codes for all the software they will be using for their job, such as company email addresses, team messaging tools, video conference software, web-phone apps, etc. Let them know that they can ask assistance from your IT department to set up any of these programs and apps.
That early excitement of joining in might not come as naturally as an on-site scenario. Instead of just sending the hardware they need for their job, including a signed welcome letter from the CEO, a t-shirt, or a coffee mug with your company’s brand message is a great way to welcome your new hire and improve their onboarding experience.
Now that your new employee is all set up, it’s time to prepare for their first day. Your two main goals are to schedule a round of introductions and align expectations. When working on-site, you would probably do this by preparing a meeting with the team or giving the new employee a tour around the office and debriefing the basics.
For remote onboarding, you first need to make sure that new employees know how to use your video conference software. Then, you can set up a meeting with them and the team they’ll be growing with so everyone can introduce themselves. At the very least, this first meeting consists of everyone sharing their name, their work relationship with the new hire, and a random personal fact to keep it fun and friendly.
Throughout the week, you can also set up private calls to speak and listen to how the new hire is feeling as well as their impressions and expectations. One-on-one calls with each member of the team are also recommended to discuss their roles in-depth.
Instead of giving them a tour in the office, you can schedule 10-minute meetings with other teams over the week to provide your new hire a glimpse of the different departments. Each department should introduce themselves and talk about their overall role and goals in the company.
If you have more than one employee experiencing the remote onboarding process on your team or in the company, make sure to coordinate these introductions to make this process more efficient.
The onboarding process doesn’t have to be done in one day and, ideally, you wouldn’t want to exhaust your new employee with too many introductions and little to no action. Aligning expectations is also about getting the job done, or at least started.
Plan your new hire’s tasks before their first day to alternate between getting calls and experiencing their new job. This will help them understand their workflow of activities. If you work with a project management tool, teach them how to use it right away to help them feel like they are joining in the action from the beginning.
At the end of the day or week, send a message to see how it’s going for them and ask if they need anything else from this onboarding process. You can assist with training your new employee by sending them instructional videos, and following up with any questions they may have.
Remote work is not an excuse to stop investing time in your employees. In the end, if they feel comfortable from the beginning, they will have better performance, and you will reduce your turnover rate.
After learning the best way to receive new employees, here are a few things to avoid to prevent giving your new hire a bad onboarding experience:
Starting a new job means learning new processes and responsibilities. During enrollment, your new hires will have to know the ins and outs of your company, and learning all this information remotely and in a short amount of time can be overwhelming. Remember to be upfront about the workload during the onboarding process and their day-to-day activities to avoid any misunderstandings or stressful feelings.
Keep in mind that one of the best allies for remote work is technology, so investing in the appropriate hardware and software for your new employees can be a game-changer for reducing costs, improving onboarding experiences, and boosting productivity.
If you’re skeptical about the importance of workplace tech, consider this: 49% of employees say they would leave their current jobs if they’re unhappy with their technological tools. The right kind of technology is an investment for both new hires and current employees.
After providing your new employees with the appropriate tech, you should analyze how many tools they really need to perform their tasks. Keep in mind that you should teach them how to properly use each system they need to perform their duties, so the more applications there are the more work for you and stress for them.
When working remotely it is important to make clear all the essential information regarding the company: social and professional expectations, working norms, roles, and responsibilities. Especially with remote onboardings, since they’re not in an in-person setting it may be harder to know what’s needed or expected from them.
This is a tricky one. Effective communication it’s an essential aspect to keep things running smoothly when you’re working remotely with your team, but that doesn’t mean that you need to stay in contact with your employees 24/7 and run the risk of micromanaging. It’s a thin line, so try to stay focused on the purpose of your messages and calls. Let your new hires know that you’re free to talk about any concerns or questions they may have but also give them space and time to get on with their onboarding experience.
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