Successfully onboarding new hires are crucial to a company’s growth. But with the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic forcing everyone to work remotely and seeing how telecommuting is changing the way companies operate, taking on new employees also needs to be done virtually. You might take some time to get familiar with remote onboarding. But if done correctly, can be a fruitful experience. So, if you are looking for remote onboarding help, we have got you covered. Take a look at some of the pointers that can help you manage remote onboarding with ease.
What Is Remote Employee Onboarding?
Employee onboarding is a set of activities that help new employees get to know their coworkers and learn about the company’s attitudes, procedures, traditions, and tools. Remote employee onboarding is the same as in-person onboarding, except that the new worker will work from home rather than the office. An onboarding programme provides a chance for employees to adjust to a new workplace. It is a good opportunity for an employer to reveal all of the factors that will assist new team members to succeed as they learn more about their job in the firm.
Formal and informal onboarding is also possible (and usually, companies use both approaches so the new teammate is fully ramped up). A sequence of seminars, training sessions, video calls, and exercises are typically included in formal onboarding.
Informal onboarding may be more ad hoc and involve observing other team members, getting to know different stakeholders, understanding the company’s norms and approach to problem-solving through observation, and informal coaching with the new hire’s manager.
How to Onboard Remote Employees?
Have a Remote Onboarding Strategy in Place
Putting in place a plan of action for remote onboarding is extremely important. Since meeting the recruits in person isn’t possible, a smart strategy is what you need for effective onboarding. Create a structured plan that covers everything the new hires need to know about the organization. This could be a virtual meeting with the hiring team or sending them video links to understand the company policies. Help them understand the kind of projects they will be a part of and with whom they would be collaborating. This is a great way to get them started while also allowing them the chance to ask questions.
Provide Necessary IT Support and Training
To avoid chaos on the joining day, ensure that the employees have everything in hand that they need to get started. Ask your IT team to deliver a laptop to the new hires to begin work from home and grant them access to the vast amounts of data. Besides, make sure the recruits are often assistance with setup or a demo if need be. Confirm if your team can accomplish all this before the new employees start work. Additionally, make sure to educate newly hired people about how to use company software, including distribution ERP software, CRM, and other relevant tools/software they need to complete their tasks more effectively.
Complete HR Paperwork Beforehand
Executing the signing of the employment contracts and other necessary documentations can consume a lot of time. New employees can need clarification on certain aspects of the contract and hence may end up being a back-and-forth process. To avoid making this process a hassle for you and the new hires, complete it ahead of time. Email the contract to the recruits and ask them to sign it digitally, e.g filling up W-9 form, signing a non-disclosure agreement etc. This way you will avoid wasting much time and can have all the documents shared and stored in a secure environment.
Make New Recruits Aware of Your Company Culture
Your employees should be familiar with your company culture, irrespective of they being hired remotely or not. But since remote onboarding is a completely virtual process, putting across your company culture becomes all the more important. This ensures that you and the new hires are on the same page. Help them understand your company culture by sharing the links to your online employee handbook. You can also promote the company culture via various digital platforms or tools that work for you. You should look for ways to help put across your company culture in a remote setup.
Help New Hires Connect with the Team Members
Do not miss on introducing the new hires to the rest of the team. Try to keep the introduction fun and informal to make the recruits comfortable in the new work environment. Let them know how different teams work within the organization and how they can add value to the same. Create a sense of community to foster improved productivity.
Get the New Hires Started with Smaller Projects
In the absence of in-person training, it is likely for the new hires to feel overwhelmed. Help them get a better understanding of the product via demos. Offer job training in the first couple of weeks and gradually assign them tasks on smaller projects. Also, encourage the recruits to clarify any issues if they have before getting started.
Gather Feedback from the New Recruits
Remote onboarding is a relatively new process for most employers. Thus, it is likely that you may encounter minor issues during the process. So, it is best to gather feedback from the new hires to make any improvements. Ask them how well the remote onboarding process worked for them or what changes or additions they might want to make. This will prepare you and your team better for future hires.
While remote onboarding may seem challenging, the right approach and employee onboarding platform can make all the difference. Refer to the above-mentioned pointers to hire candidates in a virtual environment. Fall back on recruitment software or applicant tracking system to make the entire process enriching, for both you and your employees.
A recruitment software like Jobsoid offers easy collaboration and remote recruiting features. From setting up video interviews to tracking the complete recruitment status, Jobsoid offers this and much more. So, simply register for a free Jobsoid account to get started with a hassle-free remote onboarding experience.
