After 2020, the recruitment and onboarding processes have changed forever. As remote work has become the new normal, working and collaborating is done from a distance.
A Step-By-Step Guide Of Remote Onboarding Process
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Even though there are companies that are adopting a hybrid working style, the remote part is predominant. So, it might have been more difficult for recruiters to find talents for their companies, but also introduce them to the company business culture and improve their retention.
Currently, many changes are happening in the world, some of them due to the world pandemic. People have lost their jobs, other domains are looking for employees, and they do not find any interest, and recruiters try to find ways to improve the retention of the employees. As this mainly has to be done online, the onboarding process is the first step that can help you do this. Because it is remote, it might be scary, but with this step-by-step guide, you can rock it.
Analyze the offline onboarding process
If you have experience writing in the recruiting domain, you have probably conducted quite a few offline onboarding processes. Well, because nowadays, this has to be done remotely, some parts of it might not be applicable.
For example, one part of the offline onboarding session might be to show the new employees the offices, where they can get a coffee, and other rooms you may have. But because they work remotely, they do not have access to this part of the company culture, so you need to find another way to show it. Therefore, it is important to analyze the offline onboarding process and see what needs to be changed.
Make a plan
The next step is to make a plan and work on the new version of the remote onboarding process. Some presentations can be kept, but you can find interactive ways of delivering them too.
Making a plan helps you not lose important things from sight but also stick to a schedule and work efficiently. If you are new to this and this is your first onboarding process design, it would be wise to set some goals and actions to begin with.
Find engaging ways to deliver the information
This is a thing you need to keep in mind as it is crucial. The offline and online onboarding processes are very different. In the offline environment, catching the attention of the employees is easier than online. If the information you present is not interesting, they can easily lose interest and focus their attention on something else.
This is why it is important to pay attention to what you want to deliver. Of course, new employees need to find out about the mission, vision, goals, and values of the company, as well as the people they could ask for help.
Company culture is something broad that includes many details, and if the information is difficult to understand and stale, the onboarding process loses its value and efficiency. You can use videos, photos, interactive presentations to make information that appears boring, more engaging and interesting.
Include other employees too
Usually, the HR professional takes care of and organizes the onboarding process. But nowadays because it is remote, you can involve other employees too. Maybe you can organize a sharing session where they share more things about themselves and get to know each other.
Or, they can even hold presentations about some internal processes or policies that are characteristic of the company. Like this, new employees get the chance to meet some of their colleagues online, colleagues they would have met in the kitchen or the relaxing room.
Bonding with other colleagues, even though you do not work in the same team, improves employee retention. New employees can find like-minded people and make connections and friendships.
Starting tool kit
Besides the online presentations you can hold about the communication processes and company culture, there are many other things you need to pay attention to. The onboarding process does not stop at the end of the presentations, but it should continue at least for a month.
First days at new jobs can be exciting but also scary and overwhelming, especially today when they are fully online. However, to make the integration of new employees easier, you need to make sure they have all the tools they need to do their jobs.
They need to be able to collaborate with colleagues, learn about the company, talk with clients, and so on. So, make sure that the hardware equipment is delivered to them on time (such as laptops, headphones, mice, and so on) and that they have all the software they need to be installed.
Avoid one-time presentations
One of the mistakes many recruiters make is to cram up all the information in one presentation. This might make them dense and boring, and they will not fulfil their scope. Do not see onboarding as a process that is finished in one day.
To make it more entertaining and less boring, you could plan it across a whole month or even more. New employees will probably be part of job-related training too, so making the onboarding process a long-term one could be wise.
Belonging to the company
One of the things that contribute positively to employee retention is the feeling of belonging they feel. Doing this offline, when everyone worked from the same office, was way easier than online. Nowadays, every employee works from a different location, so they do not drink their morning coffee or have lunch together anymore.
Fostering a sense of belonging might seem challenging, and many recruiters confess they sometimes feel lost. You can try to encourage teams to organize informal online meetings. They can eat lunch together virtually or play games together. Many countries allow vaccinated people to hang out in bars or eat in restaurants, so if the teams can do this, they should meet offline too.
Conclusion
Organizing an onboarding process is challenging. However, making it online could be even more difficult. But by following this step-by-step guide, hopefully, you will manage to create one that improves employee retention. It is important to make the delivery of the information interactive and engaging and not cram it all in a one-time presentation.
Try to foster a sense of belonging to the company and ensure employees have all the tools they need to avoid frustration on their first working days. Always make a plan to follow your progress and include in the onboarding process other employees too.
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FAQ
The first step is to analyse the existing offline onboarding process and identify which elements need to be changed or replaced for remote work. For example, you might ordinarily show a new hire around the office and introduce them to the coffee area but in a remote context you will need another way to deliver that sense of place and culture.
Because remote onboarding requires attention to scheduling, goals, and proper delivery of materials in an online environment, making a plan ensures you don’t lose sight of important tasks and you can work efficiently, using interactive formats instead of simply copying in-person slides.
You can keep them engaged by using videos, photos, interactive presentations and involving other employees in sharing sessions so that the culture and working relationships are made visible in a remote context; making the information interesting is crucial because online attention is easier to lose.
A starting toolkit means ensuring that new employees have the hardware (such as laptop, headphones, etc.), the necessary software installed, collaboration tools ready, and access to colleagues. It is necessary because remote new hires can feel overwhelmed and frustrated if they lack the tools to start productive work.
You foster a sense of belonging by organising informal virtual meetings (for example virtual lunches or team-games) or encouraging small offline meet-ups if possible; it matters because remote workers don’t share the casual office interactions and without that sense of connection retention and engagement may suffer.
Eun Rockwell is a blogger and academic writer from the UK who works with RushEssay. She likes trying new subjects and is always focused on proving her worth as a writer in new and challenging writing areas. Her hobbies are reading books and travelling.
