Starting a new job is an exciting time for employees – you meet new faces and take on new responsibilities; all whilst learning (and adding to!) the culture, attitude and behaviours of your new environment. All employers have a process to onboard their new employees, aiming to make it an enjoyable and informative experience but what does the process look like for remote or hybrid workers? You want them to have the same experience and still feel like one of the team, but it may not be something you have had to consider before.
According to the Office of National Statistics, in spring 2022, once guidance to work from home due to the pandemic was lifted, 38% of working adults reported having worked from home at some point over the past seven days and online job adverts including terms related to “homeworking” have increased at a faster rate than total adverts, with homeworking adverts in May 2021 three times above their February 2020 average. With flexible and hybrid working becoming the norm, employers need to consider new processes and ways of working – one of these being onboarding remote workers. Here are some of our top tips to help you through a remote onboarding process.
1. Checklists, checklists, checklists – you can never have too many
Start with a checklist for the employer and the new employee. It’s an important step for both parties. For the organisation you need to ensure that the employee is accessing the right information at the right time, what is time-critical and what can they take time in learning. For the employee having a list and being able to digest information in sections will mean they don’t get overwhelmed, especially if they are in a different time zone and can’t easily ask questions. The checklist should include a full list of what policies, processes and procedure documents you have that they will need to read and understand.
Another thing to consider is what meeting with internal stakeholders looks like: who they are; when they should be met by; and why it’s important. There isn’t a specific “best” way to do this, but it’s an important part of the process.
Now is also a good opportunity to establish easy communication channels, such as Microsoft Teams on Office 365. Anyone with any corporate or consumer email address can sign up for Teams. The platform is a unified communication and collaboration platform that features video conferencing, instant chat and secure document sharing.
2. Equipment – in the classic and modern sense
Depending on the circumstance, the new employee may already have access to the equipment they need. However, if it’s a case that they wouldn’t normally be a remote worker, then you need to ensure they have the right equipment. Can you give them access to a work laptop, phone and the network you work from? Another important part that is often overlooked is access to a secure WIFI connection. If they don’t have access to this, think about whether you could provide them with a dongle that can be paid for by the company.
3. Security – not the person kind, but the online kind
When working remotely most processes will remain the same however, you will need robust and secure procedures for other processes. The first is processing documents online that may include sensitive information. There are several online platforms to help you with this, such as PandaDoc.
Another aspect of security is the technical side. Does your new employee have the right firewalls and anti-virus protection on their computer? This should be checked by your IT support as a priority to avoid any mishaps. They will also need access to your network and this should be set up before their first day to make sure the new employee doesn’t struggle to log in on day one.
4. Face-to-Face communication – everyone loves to put a face to a name
Even though the new employee is working remotely, they still need to feel like they are part of the team. If it’s possible take them out for lunch (in-person!) either before they start or in the first few weeks. Taking someone out and having that human connection before you really launch into the role is valuable.
The next thing to do is set up a video conference on their first day with the manager and wider team so they can still get that connection with their colleagues, but don’t end it there, keep the check-ins regular, maybe every day at first and then decrease as time goes on.
It’s a nice idea to schedule some time for non-work communications too, such as a team quiz or ‘get to know each other’ session. This isn’t to put the new employee on the spot and make them talk about themselves but get everyone involved and bring some humour into the situation. Our teams have previously asked everyone to bring one obscure object from their home to talk about or show their pets – it’s a great conversation starter.
It’s also important for employees to get to know other teams outside of their daily interactions. A great way to encourage this is to ask other teams to include them in their remote meetings, this way they can learn about the business and what roles other people have throughout the organisation.
5. Training – building the grey muscle!
With digital platforms advancing so quickly, training remotely is easier than ever. Firstly think about what you can set up and record in advance of the start date, this way new employees have videos to watch and follow, and being able to rewind and watch something again is a great feature. The videos can include how to navigate your CRM system or how to find their way around your online network. Zoom is a good platform for this or you could also use an online tool such as Screencast-o-matic, which is a free platform you can use to record these videos and it enables you capture any area of your screen with the option to add narration from your microphone and video from your webcam.
In-person training is another form that can take place via video. Platforms such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams allows you to share your screen. This means you can walk employees through each step and once completed, ask them to complete the process back to you so they can learn whilst doing it themselves.
6. Learn from past processes
We are all human and mistakes will happen. It’s important to remember that there are no stupid questions when going through a remote onboarding process. Many employees might not have started a job in this way, so the learning is different for everyone. Take learnings from your past processes and with time, you will have a model that works for every onboarding process.
