7 Tips For Onboarding Employees In A Remote World
Many businesses have permanently shifted to remote work as society moves on from the COVID-19 pandemic. While remote work has several benefits, it has its challenges for new employees. For example, how do you remotely onboard a new employee? In this blog, we will cover 7 tips for onboarding employees in a remote world.
1. Prepare Before You Begin Onboarding
The first thing is to ensure you have a plan before onboarding. Onboarding a new employee is not the time to “wing it” or “go with the flow.” You can start your plan by having a checklist. The checklist will help you ensure that you have everything ready for the onboarding process:
Setup Technology Resources: It is crucial to ensure your new employee has all the necessary equipment for a successful onboarding and remote experience.
Create a Checklist: A checklist can help you stay organized and ensure all the basics are covered. Your checklist should include everything from scheduling a meeting with team meetings and reviewing all the available resources throughout their workday.
Prepare Orientation Materials: Orientation materials should always be ready before a new employee's first day. These materials can include company policies and an overview of your company’s benefits packages.
Assign a mentor: Give an existing employee on your team the assignment to help a new employee be accustomed to the company and guide them through various projects.
2. Communicate Clearly
Being clear and concise in communicating with your new employee during onboarding is extremely important! Ensuring your new employee knows their role and what will be expected from them avoids confusion in their first few weeks. Make sure to channel this information through various forms of communication, such as email, zoom meetings, or instant messaging.
3. Welcome New Employees
Trying to welcome the new guy while being thousands of miles apart can be challenging. However, there are ways to make your remote employee feel welcome:
Send a welcome package: include information about company culture and company swag.
Schedule virtual meet and green: examples of this can be having your new employee have a casual meeting with the rest of the team and other leaders in the company.
Doing these simple things for your new employee will help them feel less like the new kid at school and more like a new family member.
4. Training
Ensuring you provide proper training for new hires is vital to success in their new role. Creating an appropriate schedule of training and using adequate training methods such as video tutorials or exercises will help your new hire feel aligned with the rest of your team.
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5. Checking-In
Following up with your new hires to assess their progress will go a long way. Checking in will help you ensure your new employees adjust well to their roles and are on track. It also allows you to address any of their concerns or questions. Also, it will enable you to have a chance to cultivate a relationship.
6. Collaborative Learning
Collaborative learning can be a valuable tool for onboarding new remote employees. When you give new hires a chance to work with their peers, they can learn from their new peers and vice versa. Collaborative learning can create a sense of community, which can lead to loyalty to the company. This is especially important for remote employees since they often may feel isolated. Types of collaborative learning can be through team meetings or collaborative editing projects. By encouraging collaborative learning, you can help your remote employees cultivate relationships with the rest of your team and learn new skills.
7. Nourish a Work Culture of Inclusion
In a remote work environment, creating a culture of inclusion is essential. Adopting this time of mindset will help make sure new employees feel valued and included. Inclusion-powered work cultures will encourage participation and loyalty. You can create this type of work culture through virtual activities such as hosting virtual social events, making employee-based support groups, diversity and inclusion training, and providing opportunities for feedback.
Conclusion
Remote onboarding can be challenging, but proper planning and communication can be a rewarding experience for new hires and employers. By following these 7 steps, your company can ensure a smooth and successful onboarding process. Always remember that the onboarding process is not about the paperwork but the well-being and success of your new hires.
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Meet The Writer!
Hola! I’m Amanda Ortiz. I am a freelance writer and run my own freelance writing business, Starlit Writing. I have a B.A. in English from the California State University of Channel Islands and an M.A. in History from the California State University of Los Angeles. I have experience in technical writing in marketing and content writing. In my freetime, I spend writing about social and cultural obstacles that come with being a first-generation Latina. Please feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn and check out my blog on my company website!
