Having an engaging onboarding program is crucial in helping new employees learn the basics of the job, understand your company culture, and ensure they have the necessary tools to be successful in their new role.
As remote work continues to be the norm, making your virtual onboarding smooth and seamless is critical. Here are our top tips to help you successfully onboard new employees remotely.
The work-from-home equipment pack
Typically, when starting a new role, an employee was provided with their own desk and technology, but many have not been able to recreate the ideal work setup at home.
Consider setting a starter budget for each remote worker to get their home office put together and provide a list of office essentials alongside their onboarding package. If you opt for providing the equipment, like laptops and monitors, make sure it arrives before their first day so there is adequate time to get it all ready.
You should also provide employees with an ongoing allowance to use toward electricity, internet, phone, and other supplies.
Create an onboarding checklist and time plan
A checklist ensures that all the essential (and sometimes tedious) first-week onboarding tasks are completed.
An onboarding time plan gives new recruits a clear agenda of the weeks ahead. This sets expectations for a new employee’s first month, and knowing what is headed their way allows them to fully prepare.
Design a time plan that includes live sessions with the new hires to highlight company values, culture, product and services information and any other key information they need. In these sessions, incorporate fun exercises for everyone to meet their new teammates.
Assign an onboarding mentor/buddy
It is important to encourage human interaction as employees work remotely! Assigning a buddy helps new hires get a better understanding of the nuances of their role and the company at large.
Managers should remain an essential part of onboarding, but a buddy can often be more approachable and provide friendlier guidance in situations the new employee may need help with.
Over-communicate and over-engage
The worst thing for a new employee is to feel isolated and out of the loop. Their first week will set the tone for what they can expect life to be like at their new job, and by over-communicating, the employee will feel more supported and welcome.
The spontaneous interactions of running into people in the hall or popping by desks are gone, so be sure to schedule daily check-ins to make sure new employees are processing all the onboarding information. Teambuilding events during this time are also helpful in creating a supportive environment.
Ask for feedback
You’ll want to be constantly improving your onboarding process, so employee feedback is critical. Create a feedback survey employees can take confidentially, which HR can then review to help make remote onboarding even better for future employees.
Feature image courtesy Unsplash.
