How To: Onboard Employees Remotely
Chances are that your business has been forced to hire and onboard new employees remotely over the past year. It is also likely that anyone involved in that process found it difficult and uncomfortable – relative to how it ran BC (Before Covid), that is.
In truth, many companies’ onboarding processes are poor without them even knowing - and have been for quite some time, if they ever were effective at all. This article will address remote onboarding specifically, but it is important to resonate with the deeper purpose behind each piece of advice so that your onboarding process seamlessly transcends location and job function.
Planning:
As always, the best way to start is by laying a solid foundation. Arrange a start date with your new hire and begin with a two-week plan. Arrange meetings in advance, across each of the teams your new hire will be working with, accompanied by adequate social time (more on this later).
Next, list any resources your new hire will need in association with their 2-week calendar, talk to the people they will be working closest with, what would they recommend the onboarding process include for this new position? Planning breeds success and is the key to all effective process management.
Establish Rolling Projects:
Your new hire should be presented with a 1-, 2- and 3-month plan-of-action, with each time window tied to a specific project or presented as individual milestones within a larger project. Carefully select the projects you are assigning to your new hire, for two reasons: firstly, these projects form lasting impressions of their future with you, and secondly, choosing projects heavily involving inter-departmental collaboration, gives them the best chance at forming strong internal relationships.
Make it a Group Affair:
Onboarding as a part of a group whether working in the same team or not is a natural way to get to know your colleagues and alleviate the dreaded ‘newbie’ feeling. It gives a chance to collaborate, potentially unearthing obscurities or room for improvement they may notice but lack the individual confidence to flag immediately.
Encouraging inter-departmental bonding is a wonderful practice, the benefits of which may not be immediately apparent – however they lead to the innovations that will drive your company forward. Cross-departmental group onboarding is a wonderful method of creating deep bonds among employees regardless of department or function.
Communicate, Both Ways:
Open and honest communication is key. Do not just seek the feedback you want to hear, from the get-go, actively and consistently encourage your new hire to point out any flaws they see in the onboarding process itself, the processes of their department or anything they notice that seems ineffective or wasteful – A fresh pair of eyes can uncover some incredible things.
Be completely honest in terms of your new hire’s performance also. Let them know from the beginning that onboarding is a process, it takes time to materialize and there will be hiccups along the way. Most importantly though, your new hire needs to know that they should be enjoying themselves throughout the process. They should be made to feel welcome, respected, and familiar with their colleagues as soon as possible.
All Work & No Play...
Finally, and as alluded to earlier – you need to account for the necessary social interaction a new hire would get from on-site onboarding in the remote onboarding process. Many companies miss the mark when planning digital social events - If it is virtual beers on a Friday, for example... Finish an hour early as an incentive to join the event, play one of the many digital games available or host a quiz – each teammate taking a turn to choose a topic of interest to them.
The point is, there are many ways to make a virtual event fun if some care and attention are put into it. Ask your employees themselves what they want to see from the next event. If you can facilitate fun amongst your employees and new hires, they will love working with you.