Remote Onboarding: Best Practices & Tips for 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. remote onboarding best practices While a traditional first-day meeting includes lunch with the new hire, virtual work may put a damper on this tradition. Instead of a first-day lunch, consider holding virtual happy hours or coffee breaks to introduce the new hire to the team.

Make sure you ask specific questions instead of just, “any areas of improvement? Even if your company is similar to the one your new hire previously worked at, the way you operate might not be. It’s a mistake to assume they’ll just be able to step into your day-to-day flow without guidance. Andy is a technology & marketing leader who has delivered award-winning and world-first experiences. This also has the desirable effect of decreasing the time it takes for them to become proficient at carrying out their new tasks. You should pay extra attention to checking in on new hires on a regular basis.

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Any new employee will and should have endless questions, and the last thing you want is having them feel uncertain about who to ask. Ideally, the onboarding liaison will proactively reach out to the new employee prior to the first day and establish themselves as the new individual’s go-to person. However, managers should be trained on how to manage remote employees by using communication platforms such as Microsoft Teams, Skype, GSuite, and Microsoft Office 365.

  • Remote employees are not likely to be available for regular office visits.
  • Some companies set up a “shadow week” in which the new hire attends a wide variety of team and stakeholder group meetings, even those that may feel less directly relevant to that new hire’s core responsibilities.
  • Providing an engaging onboarding experience for your remote team is a crucial part of engaging your new hires and retaining them long-term.
  • Instead of a first-day lunch, consider holding virtual happy hours or coffee breaks to introduce the new hire to the team.

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. When working in a remote environment, it’s crucial to get your new hires online access as fast as possible. Since remote employees’ only connection to their teams is via the internet, without access new employees feel cut out. Provide materials and virtual training sessions on remote work best practices, time management, and work-life balance to assist remote employees in effectively navigating their new work environment. A successful employee onboarding process is essential to providing all the key tools a new hire needs for a positive start to their role.

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«New employees need to get to know the job and get to know their new co-workers. Social interaction is critical. You want them back on Day 2, right?» he asked. When employers consider building an online onboarding portal, they should first think about the core messages the website will impart to new hires and integrate those ideas into the design components. We are a team of content and feature writers with an expertise in the subject of employee engagement and Rewards & Recognition strategy within corporate. Our team comprises of creative writers and subject matter experts who love de-constructing various facets of employee engagement and recognition. A regular 30-minute check-in gives you the chance to ascertain how well they’ve settled in, see if they have any unaddressed needs, and set goals for the weeks or months ahead.

An Owl Labs poll points remote employees with a well-structured onboarding experience were 30% more likely to feel connected to their firm and 40% more likely to stay with the organization long-term. To address all aspects of remote onboarding, we must first understand the need to implement the best management practices for remote workers and the importance of anticipating the employee’s arrival. However, when onboarding remote employees, businesses must take extra steps and be aware of some critical considerations.

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Discovery can also be when new hires undertake role-specific training and take on a level of responsibility. It’s also when we want workers to develop a rapport with teammates and build trust. Find out how to source remote talent and onboard remotely to reduce employee churn. Include an introduction to it during onboarding along with training on how to use it. If you have several processes or tools, then written guides might be the way to go. Documentation plug-ins like Scribe enable you to make step-by-step manuals by recording your screen to auto-produce a written how-to guide, complete with screenshots.

best practices for onboarding remote employees