One of the main objectives of new hire onboarding is to guide new employees and help them integrate faster into the new culture and job-based goals. As more and more businesses are opting for remote onboarding they face the immediate hurdle of designing and customizing an onboarding plan that gets new hires up and running and meets the desired expectations for management and remote new hires.
A face-to-face meeting with new hires does provide an opportunity for new hires to get a sense of how the new system works and gauge organizational culture. As remote hires tend to work in varied places and time zones it could be challenging for them to acclimatize to the new work environment. Here are some best practices for onboarding remote new hires and easing them into your company setup.
Get Paperwork out of the way early
Since you don’t have to wait for remote new hires to show up at a physical location to assign them a set of new forms, you can get this sometimes time-consuming and cumbersome process out of the way early right after the new hire signs the offer letter. This provides remote employees with a lot of space and time to fill things out.
90% of paperwork can be finished prior to joining using onboarding solutions. Fully electronic onboarding provides smart & custom e-forms with electronic signatures and reduces paper works. Go paperless and automate all your tasks and paperwork. Form I-9, E-Verify, and W-4 are filed electronically by the new hires and signed using a digital signature further simplifying and streamlining the onboarding process. Form I-9 is audited electronically. Give way to a smarter set of processes for the HR and new hires saving both time and cost.
Provide essential information
Take heed you communicate all the essential information that the remote hire needs to know at the time of joining. Set up his email address, along with access credentials for your company’s email platform. Give details about whom and where of reporting and how to fill in his daily task status. Also provide access to resources such as timesheets, as well as job-related tools, and networking tools along with their login information and passwords. Share a brief about the first week’s itinerary with duties and tasks. Explain and highlight incentives, benefits, and remote employee perks at the offset. Make sure to provide accommodation details if the same is arranged by the company.
Schedule virtual meetings
Schedule meetings for the new hire via video conferencing tools like Zoom or GoToMeeting and use internal communication applications like slack to introduce the new hire to his team and managers. With this method, new hires can build the needed connections within the organization hierarchy to feel at ease and get into their job right away. Virtual video meetings ensure the new hires get a personalized experience and help them nurture the required connections with their manager and team.
Create a good first impression
First impressions tend to last a long time. Ensure the initial impression of the new hire about the organization is a good one. Send him a personalized note on the day of joining. Welcome him on day one with a gift or hamper to make him feel special. A welcome video message from the CEO or manager would help a great deal in the new hire’s integration into the company culture.
It’s vital that the new hires feel they are a part of the team to which they are hired. The team members should connect with them, build relationships, address their concerns, and handhold them in the initial few days. Creating necessary connections will have an impact on performance and productivity. Schedule a virtual meeting with senior staff to ensure the new hire is on the right track and has a correct understanding of organizational goals.
Provide access to tools
Provide secure access and share login credentials to tools and applications that are needed for new hires to perform their job. Train them on how to handle these tools such as project management tools or networking tools. By training new remote employees on how to use and manage job-related tools, their growth can be fast-tracked and they start being productive faster. Start with sharing a guide that explains how each tool is to be used, navigated, and managed.
Define goals
Set KPIs, KRA’s, and short-term and long-term goals for each new hire so that they know what is expected of them. Giving the new hires a clear understanding of their duties and responsibilities lays the foundation for the new hire’s success. The business and the new hire should be on the same page on Organizational objectives, norms, values, and individual and team goals. The company should also implement and monitor these goals with set time frames for evaluation, reviews, and milestones and take corrective action where necessary.
Double-check that the remote employees have understood their roles, tasks, and the tools they’ll use at work correctly. Detail upcoming projects, and share access to the employee portal.
