Navigating The Onboarding Process For A Remote Workforce

Solutions that offer the ability to share screens and collaborate in real-time are crucial to provide the new hire a hands-on experience. Non-interactive videos may be good for background information, but they’re no substitute for new hires getting their hands (digitally) dirty with tools and environments you will expect them to master, eventually. Each new hire working remotely during the virtual onboarding process should have the opportunity to communicate with HR (or hiring manager) daily to discuss progress and ask questions. With the technology we have adopted during the past two years, your virtual onboarding can mirror an in-person experience when it comes to constant communication and feedback loops.

• Virtual onboarding can be a different ball game than physical or in-office onboarding.
• Then act on the feedback you receive to create a process that ensures new hires are enthusiastic and productive from the very start.
• A 5-minute Friday email with curated ideas, stories, insights, and jobs from the world of People Ops at growing orgs.
• The Manifest’s research reveals that only 3% of companies expect more than one-third of their workforce to leave the company in the next year.
• Distributing survey results to company leaders provides a full picture of the challenges and gives them an opportunity to contribute to a solution.

In the context in which a physical workplace is no longer the norm, providing a positive employee experience remotely is now more important than ever. Consider adopting adaptable and flexible learning tools that work for all types of learners, regardless of where they are. There are many factors you should consider https://remotemode.net/blog/10-best-remote-onboarding-practices-to-adopt/ when implementing a learning tool or platform, but one key point is to make sure employees have the resources they need to complete the trainings. Having easily digestible and easy-to-navigate instructions of how to complete a course and what is expected will help employees do well and stay focused.

Create contextual onboarding experiences for different user types

Following the worldwide lockdown as a result of the coronavirus, a lot of companies have had to adopt the remote work style. This adoption led to a discovery that could not have been uncovered in a thousand years; it had benefits for both employees and employers. Just as remote work has its pros, it also has its cons and one significant problem of remote work was the transitioning process. Video meetings also help new employees build relationships with other members of the team. They can help humanize the company and make a new hire feel connected early on. Training on digital tools can include video tutorials, help articles, and internal guides.

• More than just a basic run-through of responsibilities and tasks, it is important to establish remote onboarding culture in your process.
• As your first impression with new users, your onboarding experience is the time to set the foundation for your brand.
• Using a virtual onboarding software helps you automate much of the process and create an excellent onboarding experience.
• During the remote onboarding process, collect feedback on how effective the trainings are, what worked and what didn’t, and how the pacing felt.
• Multi-channel onboarding experiences help keep users engaged during the early phases of the process.
• Over the last several years, companies have been referring to this collectively as onboarding and putting special emphasis on the introduction of corporate culture and expectations.
• Contrary to a supervisor, an onboarding buddy doesn’t necessarily come from the same department as a new hire and isn’t there to assist them with role-specific tasks.

To avoid overwhelming the new hire, prioritize the tools that will be most important in the first few days and weeks. Give employees a way to reach out if they have any questions or concerns during onboarding or throughout their first weeks on the job. Since there won’t be anyone around to provide immediate answers and support, you need to anticipate a new hire’s needs and build them into your onboarding program where possible. It also creates a positive work experience from day one, which means increased productivity and better employee retention. The gift can double as a virtual team building exercise if you ask each team member to suggest an item and write a welcome message. Perhaps Geoffrey sips a special tea that helps him focus, while Selma finds the best way to unwind is by looking at photos of hedgehogs in hats.

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Read on our virtual employee engagement ideas article for some interesting ideas to get started with. One area where a lot of businesses can fall short is how to address the live elements of their onboarding, especially when adopting a more blended approach. The virtual onboarding software offerings from Filo are a powerful ally to help your business navigate the virtual onboarding process confidently and competently.

• To give you a head start, check out Freshteam, a modernized HR software that can help you hire, onboard, and manage your employees.
• Not only does video communication foster trust and create a human connection across remote teams, but it also cultivates a sense of belonging.
• The first day of work in a traditional office means acquainting yourself with a strange building, new rules, and dozens of unfamiliar faces.
• Upskilling and reskilling can help employees grow, benefiting both the organization and the employee.
• An online events platform that helps you host your very own virtual onboarding fair.

This led to an increased customer NPS, eliminated support tickets, and empowered its customers to find value in Marketboomer’s PurchasePlus platform. Using data to back up your decisions is a tried and tested way to improve ROI. Strategic decision-making will lower risk and ensure the changes you’re making to your onboarding process align with customer needs and expectations. As your first impression with new users, your onboarding experience is the time to set the foundation for your brand. The user experience should align with your brand look and feel and voice.

How do you make new remote employees feel like a part of the team?

There will be readings, reports, user manuals, or some other necessary information. If you are hiring someone, that means you need their skills, their experiences; you need them. If you have ever been in a hiring position, you know that is the best onboarding feedback you can have. Feel free to motivate them to share their interests, then introduce them to other team members or groups within your organization with shared likes that they can connect with. List what you want them to do during the first day, first week, and the first month of training. This will give them a good overview of what they’ll be doing in the long run and ensure they have a clear path to success.

Break up learning with things like multiple-choice quizzes and polls that require a thoughtful response. Assign someone from the team to meet with the new hire regularly (daily or every other day) during the first week or two on the job. This gives them someone to turn to for advice and help other than management. Think about what they’ll need to get started and what will help them quickly understand their jobs. To play ties that bind, merely challenge each teammate to find at least one common trait with the new member. Your crew can scour the grand entrance announcement for clues, or can message the newbie for a chat.

Assign an onboarding buddy

It can be tempting to just send a remote new hire some videos and check in with them once a week, but the best way for them to assimilate into the company is to meet as many people as possible. This is where remote access and control can save a lot of time and frustration. And when they do, there’s a good chance the new hire will start their job working remotely. This value gives team members access to a great deal of visibility into what is going on throughout the organization. However, it does not negate the need to invite employees to ask questions. You made a great hire based on the work you’ve done in candidate outreach and the skills and experience they will bring to your company.

To give you a head start, check out Freshteam, a modernized HR software that can help you hire, onboard, and manage your employees. Below, we’ll answer the most frequently asked questions about the onboarding process for remote workers. By the end, you’ll understand the importance of remote onboarding, the full process, and how Friday can help you have regular updates and check-ins. Providing a robust onboarding program that includes resources, clear communication, and support will ensure that new remote employees can easily integrate into their new environment. By implementing the tips and tricks mentioned above, you can effectively onboard your remote employees, equipping them with the tools they need to be successful while fostering positive team dynamics and growth. Digital adoption platforms like Whatfix are a no-code solution for creating contextual user onboarding experiences and self-help user support content for product teams.

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This helps new hires feel as though they will be an integral part of the company’s success. Using automation for tasks like onboarding paperwork, or the forms every employee must fill out like W-9s, to not only automate the process online, but move it ahead of formal onboarding into a “pre boarding” stage. These forms can be securely set up online and triggered by touchpoints in your new employee lifecycle. For example, once your new hire accepts the offer, you can trigger sending the contract online via a program like DocuSign. Once returned, the signed contract can be the trigger to send any other forms that must be filled out by new employees. When your hires are ready for day one of work, the task of filling out paperwork will already have been completed, saving you both time during the onboarding process.

For instance, if you need to create training videos, consider async video messaging tools, like Loom or Clip by ClickUp. For effective knowledge sharing, you might want to invest in a knowledge base https://remotemode.net/ solution, like Notion or Document360. During the remote onboarding process, resources like video tutorials, a comprehensive knowledge base, and step-by-step guides are your best helping tools.