Verisys supports its new remote hires with its tutorial videos to help them set up their work computers at home and create a conducive home office. The organization delivers this equipment to the homes of its new hires, together with decorations and a company swag bag. To make a new employee feel even more welcome and help them integrate into their team as soon as possible, set up one-on-ones with everyone on the team from their first week onwards. Orientation day centers around new employee orientation (NEO), which focuses on familiarizing new hires with their work environment, processes, and relationships during their first day or week. Send a personalized welcome email and thoughtfully prepared onboarding packet that includes the organization’s mission, vision, and values, and an overview of the new hire’s orientation day or week.
Manual Digital Onboarding Process
Let your new remote hires feel a part of the team by providing access to whatever they need. Used these tools to ensure smooth IT setup and secure document handling. It should feel warm and well-organized, not like a scramble for access or information. Remote employees don’t get a tour, but they should still feel welcomed. A thoughtful kickoff meeting, team intros, and clarity around tools and policies make a big difference.
Powerful New Remote Employee Onboarding Process Best Practices
A good employee onboarding process is crucial as it sets the foundation for new employee engagement and enhances their ability to contribute effectively. Comprehensive onboarding helps them feel welcomed and valued, which can lead to higher job satisfaction and lower turnover. The onboarding process helps familiarize new hires with their roles, colleagues, and managers, as well as company culture and policies.
- But ramping up too quickly can be a mistake that leads to confusion, disappointment, and burnout.
- Let your new remote hires feel a part of the team by providing access to whatever they need.
- Pair each new hire with an experienced team member who can answer informal questions and provide cultural context.
- New hires sign and submit essential documents within their first few days.
- How can you ensure a smooth transition for new hires and a better employee experience overall?
For example, if you have a web content management system or company intranet, remember to set up a resource center for hosting such information. While it might not be possible to provide all these essentials, you have to ensure they have access to the necessary tools for completing their work effectively. Having at least one group gathering can be quite empowering and motivating. Of course, some employees work from distant locations, so they might not make it to the meeting.
Long-Term Benefits: Retention and Company Culture Alignment
By retaining employees through effective onboarding, employers can save on recruitment and training expenses. Embracing best practices in onboarding remote employees is essential for a positive start and long-term success. This is especially true for remote onboarding your remote workers into their new job.
Video calls, onboarding checklists, employee apps, and internal newsletters replace physical interactions to ensure a smooth transition. Regular team-building activities and virtual coffee breaks can foster a sense of belonging and camaraderie among remote workers. Continuous feedback and support are essential for a successful remote employees orientation. Regular feedback sessions help new hires adjust and improve, while support systems ensure they have the resources they need. Some researchers recommend extending the onboarding process to at least a year. They argue that this can improve employee retention and make new hires feel more comfortable and valued.
The complete guide to remote onboarding for new-hires
Assign each new employee an onboarding mentor that they can lean on during their initial months at the company. This person might simply be their hiring manager or another senior (and long-tenured) member on their direct team… Standard employee onboarding covers all the steps that must be taken to set up a new employee to be successful within the company. This includes introducing new hires to the team, ensuring that they have the right equipment and providing training on key company policies. Our organization supports companies all over the world with remote onboarding. Here, I want to highlight some onboarding practices that we have found useful both within our own team and when supporting other teams.
Remote Employee Onboarding Checklist
Engagement is a crucial aspect of the onboarding process that can significantly influence a new employee’s experience. To foster engagement, nonprofits should prioritize creating an inclusive environment where new hires feel comfortable asking questions and sharing their thoughts. This can be achieved through open communication channels, such as regular check-ins with supervisors or designated onboarding coordinators. A centralized intranet or employee app ensures remote employees can access these resources anytime. Unlike traditional employee onboarding, which often includes in-person meetings, office tours, and desk setups, remote onboarding relies on digital solutions.
Make sure you are explaining culture, proper communication, and expected behavior as much as you are explaining tools and procedure At Deel, every new hire is partnered with another newbie so that they can learn and grow together. They also get partnered with a more senior employee who can provide guidance and company insights. “Ask your current hires for feedback on how to improve the onboarding,” recommends Danica. Make sure to include a link to a video tutorial for each platform, program, or tool so they know how to get started. Ideally, someone on their immediate team should lead this, so the new hire can learn how the tools they will use apply to their specific role.
Focus on one activity at a time, for example, the HR paperwork, setting up work equipment, an office tour, team introductions, and communicating roles & responsibilities. A training program can be beneficial for improving interactions among team members. Transparency and regular feedback during onboarding can also strengthen relationships. This social isolation can lead to frustration, detachment, and even a lack of employee engagement.
Since then, I’ve been on a mission to help create a positive and smooth onboarding process for as many people as I can—whether it’s their first day at a new company, or their first day as an engineer. Remote employees are more likely to feel dissociated from it and the rest of their team. That’s why it’s crucial to communicate this company culture and share learning resources to ensure everything is understood. Recent statistics and trends highlight effective virtual onboarding’s importance. About 55% of organizations adopted a virtual onboarding process in 2023.
- Once employment contracts are signed, HR can continue to reach out to their new hires and stay in contact – employees are likely to be happier and more motivated as a result.
- There are many great examples of major companies turning old-school onboarding into fully digital experiences, resulting in increased efficiency, engagement, and retention.
- Without physical proximity, onboarding needs to be a structured, intentional experience that determines how quickly a new hire feels confident, connected, and capable.
- By following these best practices, you’ll pave the way for your new remote employees to thrive in their roles, contribute to your organization’s success, and ultimately, become loyal and engaged team members.
Then, employees go through a structured flow that ensures everything is ready for the new hire to successfully do their job —from administrative tasks to training sessions and virtual meetups. Here are some digital onboarding best practices to ensure your onboarding process remains personal and meaningful instead of distant and cold. Introducing company culture through multimedia content helps new hires feel connected, even in remote settings. Building a great digital onboarding process takes careful planning, the right technology, and a strong focus on making the experience effortless and user-friendly. On the other, incorporating interactive elements such as employee training videos, quizzes, and virtual team introductions makes it highly engaging for new hires.
Use company policies to set expectations and show what is discouraged as well. You may need to help a new hire set up their calendar to include focus time or no meeting days. After, explain why these policies benefit them and others and stress the importance of not interrupting someone else’s schedule. Collaboration and communication habits are essential for remote teams to succeed. Use a mix of activities, chats, and calls focused on the role and other people at your organization. One of the best expectations to set is how to raise issues like roadblocks.
Essential tools include video conferencing platforms, collaborative tools, virtual onboarding platforms, and document management systems. The most important aspect is ensuring that new hires feel welcomed and supported. This involves effective communication, comprehensive training, and continuous feedback.
Types of Digital Onboarding
Also, sign up for a DigitalOcean account to start building your product on DigitalOcean’s virtual servers, databases, and more. Remote onboarding is a process that companies can improve on over time. remote onboarding best practices After onboarding is complete, ask each employee to complete a survey and/or provide feedback on their onboarding experience. Don’t provide a survey too early; instead, invite newer employees to provide feedback after their first days of joining the company. For honest and candid feedback, allow survey participants to submit their feedback anonymously.
New employees should feel comfortable asking any work-related question, large or small, to their mentors. Onboarding can be a complicated process, especially when you want to integrate remote teams. There are many questions to consider between HR and management, and you’ll need to have answers ready on your new hire’s Day 1. These findings suggest that remote onboarding offers tremendous potential for employee engagement — and clear downsides if done poorly or not at all.