8 Best Practices for Any Remote Onboarding Process

It also reduces the risk of error and increases the quality of their work. Research shows that it’s more powerful to have a broad network than a deep network, especially as one becomes increasingly senior in an organization. Particularly when a new leader onboards, the organization should help him or her intentionally build a broad network, starting internally. Some companies set up a “shadow week” in which the new hire attends a wide variety of team and stakeholder group meetings, even those that may feel less directly relevant to that new hire’s core responsibilities. It turns out that the biggest barrier to creating an intentional, differentiated onboarding experience is often mindset. The beauty of an all-remote setting is that onboarding can be as high-touch or low-touch as a new hire wishes.

This is a greater issue with remote work since supervision is limited. Follow-ups for employees can be as simple as an email or a message on your communication tool, like Slack. Aside from direct supervisors, it’s also a good idea for human resources managers to schedule periodic one-on-one video calls. In a traditional office setting, a new hire’s first day would generally include a tour, teammate introductions, perhaps an orientation session, etc.

What is a remote working environment?

A great best practices guide to download and use when planning your virtual onboarding process. Before your new team members officially start their jobs, send them a welcome package ahead of time. Include a copy of any important HR documents they need to sign, the employee handbook, and any other information that would help them assimilate into your company culture. According to the 2021 Candidate Experience Report, only 26% of new employees were asked to give feedback on their hiring process before joining and onboarding experience. When employees start remotely, you do not have the same visibility over how they are getting on compared with being in an office. This means it is especially important to set up regular follow-ups and check-ins on day one, as well as throughout your new hires first few weeks and months.

• Hiring a new employee is expensive and time consuming—and what happens during onboarding can make or break long-term retention.
• Remote workers also get a $500 work-from-home stipend to put towards upgrading their desk, chair, or anything else that will help them work.
• Without documentation, you won’t have a frame of reference for future onboarding.
• Whilst it is a small gesture, remote employees will miss out on office perks and therefore these need to be replicated in the home environment.
• Whether that’s launching an onboarding app or creating a mobile-first chat-based onboarding platform, mobile technology allows new remote staff to complete their hire orientation process anytime, anywhere.

Remote onboarding provides the chance to lay a foundation for interpersonal connections and professional advancement, benefiting employers and employees alike. Now that you’re familiar with these tips, you can unlock success for your company and new hires by creating a memorable remote onboarding experience with lasting effect. Virtual onboarding should begin with human resources or key team leaders covering the company culture, values, mission, organizational chart, and products and services. Smart companies have changed the way they orient new employees by working together with remote employees to find out what they need. Dell hosts all onboarding materials on a dedicated website including documentation, videos, and a success team available via chat and email. Stack Overflow sets up calls between new hires and the company’s executives to hear the company story firsthand and open the door for questions.

Do regular and specific check-ins

It’s critical to invest the time to do it well so that your new team members get to know you, understand what is expected of them, introduces them to co-workers and teammates, and sets them up to succeed. In an all-remote setting where team members are possibly working from a variety of timezones, mastering asynchronous workflows is vital to avoiding dysfunction. Onboarding through documentation is more efficient because it’s scalable, repeatable, and instills the basics of asynchronous work.

Get your new team members onto your platform or array of platforms ASAP so they can connect with their team, become familiar with the tools, and are looped into current team developments. You can plan all sorts of fun team building games, icebreakers for your new employees, host a virtual escape room, a scavenger hunt, a salsa class, and even send lunch or cocktails kits to your remote employees. You can plan one every week, month, or quarter depending on your needs and the number of employees you onboard. Depending on your needs and your company, you can use different video conferencing tools like Microsoft Teams, Zoom or Remo for your virtual onboarding programme. Remote working is more popular than ever before and it seems inevitable that most businesses will have at least one remote employee.

Cover Your Bases Through Online Paperwork & Signing

New hires will have to set up an email account, create profiles across multiple sites, and navigate new technology. Additionally, they will have to learn company policies, like tracking expenses, logging hours, ethics training, and more. In order to alleviate any undue stress, give over the information in palatable amounts.

It can be frustrating and demotivating for new hires to struggle to access the necessary tools for work and communication. For example, if you’re using productivity tools, such as Slack, Trello, and Google Drive, you need to ensure they have the correct login details or user accounts. As a best practice, group onboarding allows new hires to know each other quickly. Additionally, it’s less agitating than one-on-one encounters, which some employees might not be comfortable with.

Use “Cohorts” When Onboarding Remotely

A good onboarding process makes new employees feel welcome and brings them up to speed on company procedures, policy, and culture. To make remote employee onboarding a success, include the best practices we’ll outline here. They apply to the onboarding experience for all new hires, whether they’ll be performing remote work or working in-house. Employee handbooks have long been provided as a printout or even a bound little book that can be held onto.

Ensure that new hires get what they need before their official first day. Perhaps send a welcome pack shipped directly to their homes as a start. Andy is a technology & marketing leader who has delivered award-winning and world-first experiences.

Onboarding Virtually Requires The Right Tools

Remo makes it simple to create a delightful, immersive virtual space that empowers people to communicate, connect, and collaborate with anyone just like you would in real life. People get certain cues about how they’re supposed to work by watching their team in the office. With remote working, it’ll be hard for new hires to figure out these vital cues! Go over communication best practices to avoid murky situations and implement indicators for success and failure.

But it’s a critical part of both reinforcing employees’ decision to join your company and strengthening your company culture. As remote work allows employers to see benefits such as greater productivity, lower absenteeism and decreased turnover, it is becoming a more widespread practice, https://remotemode.net/blog/10-best-remote-onboarding-practices-to-adopt/ especially after the outbreak of Covid-19. Remote workers have different needs than office workers, and this applies to their onboarding as well. They’ll need the right technology, tools and resources to become familiar with the company and to get to know their co-workers and managers.

Hybrid work schedule: 2 models that work (+ 5 best practices)

But replicating in-person onboarding activities helps establish those personal connections. “Our team immediately focused on reimagining onboarding and welcoming new employees while Commvault moved its entire workforce to working remote.” Remote onboarding is onboarding that is conducted entirely through technology instead of in person. Read on to discover what virtual onboarding is, what it looks like in today’s workforce and how to conduct a remote onboarding process that actually works. In a virtual setting, you can’t rely as much on the organic and spontaneous relationship-building that happens in hallways, over lunches, and at office events. That’s why it’s best to be proactive and intentional about setting up a mix of formal and informal one-on-one interactions between the new hire and other individuals.