The Ultimate Guide To Remote Employee Onboarding In 2020

When a public crisis occurs, everyone has to adapt. It doesn’t matter if you are a politician, doctor, or a business owner, if a crisis changes the rules of the game, you have to play by those new rules or you simply won’t survive.

It’s safe to say that 2020 has been hard on all of us. Even the best corporations and companies from various industries weren’t prepared for this scenario. A lot of businesses have gone bankrupt and many people lost their jobs during the COVID-19 crisis.

This situation forced CEOs, CFOs, and managers to change the way they do things. The biggest change of them all is, of course, switching to the remote method of work. Most companies now operate remotely. This means that the employees and employers are working from home. It’s safe to say that this method of work is very important today. It’s one of the best ways to prevent the spread of coronavirus. However, it’s also rather challenging.

One of the biggest challenges is completing the onboarding process of new employees while working remotely. Even in normal conditions, a company must have a detailed onboarding plan in order to properly recruit and train the new workers. Logically, this plan has to be airtight when it’s being executed remotely.

Here are the tips that will help you to make the remote onboarding process smoother and easier.

Start the Process Well Before Day 1

When it comes to onboarding, being properly prepared is half the battle. Therefore, make sure to establish good communication with the HR representatives and trainers. They have to know exactly who the new employee is and what their skills are.

Also, the employee has to know what is expected of them. If your staff and new workers are learning things as they go, there will be a lot of problems and technical issues that will slow the onboarding process.

Especially because they have to do everything online, without talking face to face. This is exactly why you have to hire professional HR representatives or, if that’s too expensive for you, ask certain human resources companies for help. Whatever you do, make sure to start the onboarding process on time.

Have A Mentor (Or Two)

New employees are often rather confused. They have to get used to the new way of working things and this is not always a simple task. Therefore, if you want your new worker to complete the training in a short period of time and start contributing, make sure to get them a mentor.

This is paramount when onboarding employees remotely simply because they don’t have the luxury to go to the coworker’s desk and ask them a question. This is why it’s important that they have a mentor at their disposal.

Set-Up Introductory Calls, 1-on-1 Meetings, And Training Sessions

The new worker has to feel welcome, has to know what their duties are, and how to perform them. This is why it’s important to set up introductory calls, 1-on-1 calls, and online training sessions. This will allow an employee to meet everyone in the company and learn how to do their job.

Introduce The Collaboration Tools – Getting IT Onto The Job

It doesn’t matter what the new worker’s duties are, they have to be properly equipped in order to perform their job. This is where the IT experts come in. They have to provide the new employee with the necessary hardware and software, and show them how to use those tools.

Create A Central Repository Of Onboarding Documents And Company Culture

When a company hires a new employee, there is a lot of documents and paperwork involved. Those documents have to be easily accessible for both the company staff and the new worker. The best way to ensure this is to create a central repository of onboarding documents and company culture.

Create A Sense Of Belonging

In order for the new worker to perform on a required level, they have to feel like they belong in the company. Most new hires feel like outcasts and this is exactly why you have to make them feel welcome. Be kind and supportive.

Schedule Regular Meetings And Calls

One of the most important jobs a manager has is to make sure everything is working smoothly and without problems. Doing this is easy when you are all in the office. However, when everyone is working remotely, this can be a bit complicated.

Fortunately, there are audio and video calls you can use to check on your employees. Therefore, if you want to know if the new workers are adapting well, make sure to schedule regular meetings and calls.

Have Informal Bonding Sessions So Teams Can Develop A Rapport

When people work together in an office, they usually have good and honest communication. Unfortunately, this is not always the case when they work remotely. They simply don’t have those informal chats on the break that bring them closer together.

However, there’s one thing you can do to mimic those breaks. You can organize informal bonding sessions online and make sure your employees, especially new ones, have fun working for you.

Conclusion

Hiring new workers remotely can be a tough challenge. This is a very sensitive process and human interaction is important. Sadly, when working remotely, you can’t have a face-to-face discussion with your new employee. Therefore, it’s paramount that you have a detailed onboarding plan you can execute online.