How to Virtually Onboard New Remote Employees

There’s no doubt that we are all in a phase of change with the outbreak of the coronavirus causing massive disruption to all business activities. Hiring and onboarding new employees has proven to be a new and unique challenge.

But depending on the industry, many companies have no choice but to continue hiring, as it’s essential to maintaining their business during this period of uncertainty. Traditionally, onboarding involves multiple face-to-face meetings with various managers and departments, as well as office tours and technical station set up. But with social distancing as a new normal, companies are having to adapt to new ways of onboarding employees virtually.

Onboarding is the first impression a company makes with a new hire, and as you can imagine, if this process is now happening virtually, it is more critical than ever to ensure it is a positive experience.

There are a ton of training checkpoints for newly onboarded employees. It’s important to focus on what’s most critical to supporting their ability to do their job successfully and deliver all that information in a way that is productive, engaging, and digestible. The use of video conferencing and internal communications platforms are great ways to stay connected and make those necessary onboarding meetings happen, be it virtually.

Onboarding typically begins with the HR department and likely an internal trainer. But make sure that your new remote employees are also spending time with other team members by setting up 1-to-1 meetings, specifically with their managers. This will have a significant impact on the success of your onboarding program, so educate your managers on the importance of making those 1-to-1 meetings happen as often as possible.

It can be very easy for new employees to disengage when working remotely, distanced from leadership, managers, and team members. This is where the power of technology can save the day. Many digital tools help to bring remote employees together and allow companies to initiate creative ways to communicate.

Now is the time to rely on digital tools, specifically those that support social engagement and collaboration. Tools will play a significant role in the success of onboarding remote employees.

If your organization is moving forward with hiring and relying on technology to onboard new employees remotely, consider downloading our free Guide to Virtual Onboarding with some key steps to develop and implement a successful virtual onboarding process.