The current onboarding process isn’t cutting it anymore for some companies.
With the push for remote working, employers need to recreate the process in order to fit the new landscape of working.
When a new employee is working within an office, it’s not hard to be motivated and stay on track when surrounded by other workers.
Yet starting a new job while at home can feel like a person feel stranded, away from needed help, trying to stay afloat.
The employer, as well as fellow coworkers, should make a concerted effort to make sure that the new hire is properly up to speed with their new position.
Without a physical proximity to coworkers, it can be difficult for new employees to get to know their teammates.
It’s helpful to set up introduction meetings with people with whom a new hire will be working to ease them into the environment.
In essence, there are five Cs of onboarding such employees:
- Compliance
- Clarification
- Culture
- Connection
- Check back
To make such employees comfortable, here is a checklist for you:
1. Have employees complete new employee paperwork
Use an e-signature tool so your new employee can view, edit and sign tax documents easily.
2. Create a first week agenda
That includes a schedule for their first week, including breaks between video calls and check-ins.
3. Make certain they receive a welcoming message
Include all relevant information the first day, such as an agenda and when to expect equipment.
4. Provide work equipment
Make certain they receive the right tech equipment with all software. Include initial IT setup instructions.
5. Mail a welcome kit
You’ll want them to feel appreciated. Provide your employee handbook and benefits information. You might include a small gift such as vouchers for coffee or lunch delivery on their first day of work.
6. Arrange for a welcome co-worker
That would be a person who can meet with them regularly to guide them with all pertinent information and suggestions.
7. Share all communication channels
Include all calendar invitations, pre-scheduled meetings, email groups and messaging apps.
8. Inform your team members of the person’s arrival
Announce the new person’s arrival and copy the person for a warm welcome.
9. Double-check all virtual connections
Firstly, schedule a virtual orientation for your new team member with your IT personnel.
10. Schedule a virtual meeting with the new hire and team members
Set up a video introduction and have current employees briefly explain what they do. For levity, ask employees to mention a fun fact about themselves.
11. Company orientation necessities
- Company history
- Why you do what you do
- Mission and values
- Organizational structure and how departments work together
- Overview of products and/or services
- HR procedures
- Details about benefits enrollment
12. Encourage questions and feedback
To help new hires retain information, gamify your onboarding sessions with ice-breaker games, polls, and mini quizzes.
13. Reiterate expectations and responsibilities
Arrange for virtual job shadowing or training sessions to help new employees learn their roles or to get a higher-level understanding of what other teams and departments do. Create goals for their first 30, 60 and 90 days.
14. Plan for meetings with you as the boss
You’ll the new hires to feel supported as they onboard. Intially, schedule frequent meetings.
15. Encourage spontaneity
Unlike with an office staff, with remote employees it is usually necessary to plan for interactions.
16. Encourage onboarding feedback
Survey new hires for feedback about your virtual onboarding process.
From the Coach’s Corner, here are more resources for remote working:
Secrets on Giving Performance Reviews to Remote Workers — Certainly, virtual performance reviews are needed for telecommuters. Video tools are vital in performance reviews. They’re very telling. Here’s why and how.
Your Expense and Tax Obligations with Remote Workers — While there are advantages for employers with a remote staff, there are numerous financial issues to consider when you employ telecommuting employees. You need a written agreement. Here’s an overview.
Guidelines to Meet FLSA Responsibilities for Remote Workers — As an employer, you have a myriad of responsibilities under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA ) for exempt and nonexempt workers who work at home.
Is New Managing Approach Needed for Your Remote Staff? — If your company is relying on remote workers as the result of the coronavirus pandemic, you might need to be more astute in managing your staff. Here’s why and what you can do.
In Virtual Onboarding of Employees, Use Law of Attraction — For success in virtually onboarding remote employees, businesses must use the law-of-attraction approach – just as they’ve done for decades in attracting new customers.
“Success in life is founded upon attention to the small things rather than to the large things; to the every day things nearest to us rather than to the things that are remote and uncommon.”
-Booker T. Washington
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