Give them useful resources they can revisit to refresh their memory about who is who. For example, you can provide new remote hires with a user-friendly document (with photos!) that lays out the organizational structure and reporting lines. You can even include contact details, like Skype addresses, for each person in the organizational chart. Because both employees and employers have experienced the benefits that remote work comes with.

With an established remote onboarding process, companies can find that it’s easier to bring someone aboard virtually. For example, let’s say you’re onboarding remote employees for a customer service profile. You can set specific metrics like ‘performing a product demo’ or ‘achieving an overall score of four out https://remotemode.net/blog/10-best-remote-onboarding-practices-to-adopt/ of five’ after their first month. With traditional onboarding programs built around a physical office, how can you build a strategy that works effectively for remote workers? Despite the absence of an office, onboarding remote employees really isn’t all that different from onboarding employees in person.

Business Benefits of Training Employees on Industry Skills

Set up virtual coffee breaks, lunches, or after-work drinks to promote communication within teams. You can either arrange these meetings yourself, ask teams to do so, or even have new employees organise meet-and-greet sessions. Before onboarding begins, or during the early phases, employees should feel engaged. For that reason, members of your team should reach out to new employees to help them feel included. New employees want to make a great first impression, but they also want to establish a connection — both with their new coworkers and with the organisation, more generally. You can write down remote onboarding activities and tasks so you can prepare everything before a new hire’s first day at work.

• When onboarding remote employees, note that they may get overwhelmed with all the new names they’re going to hear, particularly considering that they can’t connect them to faces yet.
• Companies must include the communication aspect as one of their essential points in the remote employees onboarding checklist.
• Because we’ve implemented a handbook-first approach, the GitLab handbook is always changing and growing as we learn new things.
• Instead, think of it as an opportunity to be more deliberate about things you may have taken for granted in co-located workplaces.
• For example, let’s say you’re onboarding remote employees for a customer service profile.

If possible, provide contractors with similar benefits as well, such as health insurance as paid time off, to make them feel valued and respected. Consider providing a list of helpful bookmarks or setting up an onboarding-specific page with direct links to relevant content. Limit “required” content to the absolute essentials and some cultural flavor.

Company

If your new remote employees are not tech-savvy or familiar with the specific tools you’re using, schedule some training sessions during their first weeks. When onboarding remote employees, note that they may get overwhelmed with all the new names they’re going to hear, particularly considering that they can’t connect them to faces yet. Considering that the first days at work play a big part in how new hires feel about a company and how long they’re willing to stay, the way you onboard remote employees can make a huge difference. And while some of us might be headed back to the office eventually, many more organizations are realizing just how effective working remotely can be.

• Making the most of preboarding helps you focus on higher-value aspects of onboarding on the employee’s first day.
• Ideally, all software and tools (including VPN access) should already be installed on new employees’ laptops, because if they work from home they can’t simply drop the IT department to get some help.
• Get some tips on effectively onboarding remote employees from the members of Forbes Human Resources Council.
• To help them feel welcome and to ensure they’re getting the most of their onboarding experience, you want to develop a personalized onboarding plan for each new hire.
• Start orientation with IT set up early on to get your new team members their passwords and access right off the bat.
• Different countries have different rules, and what works in one place might not work in another.

Some organizations send new employees a new laptop and or phone before the start date, fully set up with the right company configurations and security protocols. This creates a connection to the organization and reduces new employee anxiety. One of the key differences between remote and in-person onboarding is visibility.

Provide a personalized onboarding plan

Finding the time to start recruiting is of paramount importance, as it helps you plan the entire process. For instance, software developers in India graduate during March and May, which means global employers should target these months for them. Similarly, salary trends give you a general idea of how much the industry is paying for a particular tech role, so you can decide how much to offer top talents in order to attract them.

They also may need help setting up their office, or a 101 primer to help them be truly productive in their own space. Bringing them into regular team meetings and onboarding them onto your instant communication tools will also give them easy access to others, to ask questions and build connections. A well-defined remote employee onboarding process determines a company’s success while working remotely. But the process needs to undergo a review process once every 6 months for further improvements.

Onboarding is exactly the cultivating of new hires that Lazlo speaks about. But the recent pandemic and social distancing guidelines forced many companies and employees to transition to remote work fully. In fact, 57% of small business owners say that they’ll maintain work from home options for their employees in the long-run, even post-COVID-19. Also, make it clear that you’re available if there are ever any questions or concerns the new hire has. Let them know who they can turn to if they have a problem and make it easy for them to get in touch if they’re ever feeling lost. Encourage new hires to participate and make it easy for them to get involved.

• In the UK, for example, research estimates that poor mental health costs employers £45 billion every year.
• If you expect a new employee to be online and available for specific hours each day, do the same.
• What this could mean is that you may want to design a remote onboarding process that stretches over a longer period of time.
• Schedule some digital events that will allow the new hire to get to know the people they’re working with and vice versa.
• For example, a new hire on your marketing team can be a part of orientation with other new hires joining your organization.
• 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.

Addressing learning and growth can be challenging in a remote environment, and organizations need to invest in developing remote employees from the get-go. Making professional development a priority demonstrates a commitment to long-term success. Remote work has become increasingly popular since the pandemic revealed the ease and efficiency of employees working from home (and worldwide). As more businesses have expanded globally, various hiring and onboarding processes are becoming streamlined.

The secrets to effective remote onboarding

With clear and concise communication, it’s possible to onboard remote team members into a new role despite the distance, ensuring no miscommunication or confusion. It’s also important to create an open line of communication for team members to address any questions or concerns that may arise during the onboarding process. Effective communication is the cornerstone of an effective onboarding program and future collaboration. Including all information in the employee handbook for future reference is helpful.