What Is Remote Onboarding?
Remote onboarding is orienting and training new employees who will be working from a remote location. The main goals of remote onboarding are to ensure that the new employee is comfortable with the company’s policies and procedures, is familiar with its systems, and has the tools and resources needed to succeed in their new role.
It integrates new team members into an organisation using technology without any face-to-face interactions. It entails all of the steps of the traditional onboarding process, facilitated by different digital tools (for example, video calls or other collaborative tools like shared documents, etc.).
It is important to evaluate your current onboarding process and determine which aspects can be improved with technical assistance to implement remote onboarding successfully.
What Is Remote Employee Onboarding?
Remote employee onboarding is the process of orienting and training employees who will be working remotely. This can include setting up their computer and email, providing them with company policies and procedures, and orienting them to the company culture.
Employee onboarding is a series of activities that allow new hires to get to know their team and learn about the company’s attitudes, methods, rituals, and tools. Remote employee onboarding is the same process, but when the new hire is going to be working remotely rather than from the office.
From an employee’s perspective, an onboarding program is an opportunity to get used to a new environment. For an employer, it’s a valuable time to share all of the elements that will help new team members be successful as they learn more about their role in the company.
Formal onboarding usually includes a series of workshops, training sessions, video calls and exercises. Informal onboarding can be more ad hoc and include shadowing other people on the team, getting to know various stakeholders, and understanding the company’s conventions and approach to problem-solving through observation and impromptu coaching with the new hire’s manager.
How To Manage Onboarding New Hires Remotely
There are a few key things to keep in mind when onboarding new hires remotely:
- Set clear expectations from the beginning.
- Make sure all the necessary tools and resources are available.
- Have regular check-ins with new hires.
- Encourage them to ask questions.
- Celebrate their successes!
Onboarding new hires remotely should focus on three key dimensions: the organisational, the technical, and the social. Remote onboarding takes various forms depending on the company’s needs; it can include activities like technical requirements checks or socialising with employees.
Organisation:
- Discuss company values, vision, mission, and goals with the new hires.
- Review the organisation’s policies, dress code, communication guidelines etc., to make sure they are aligned with the company’s values.
- Answer any questions and provide an overview of day-to-day operations.
- Help new hires understand different roles in their department, what
- their job entails, and how their work interacts with other departments.
- Discuss company culture.
- Answer questions about company benefits and other compensation.
Self:
- Review the employee handbook to familiarise yourself with policies that apply to you as an individual
- Review company policies and procedures to familiarise yourself with your expectations as an employee.
- Keep up-to-date on changes in employment law, social media policies, and company policies.
- Participate in workshops on the law of workplace harassment, diversity training, ethical standards.
- Know your company’s policies on attendance, sick leave and vacation time.
- Answer questions about benefits such as 401K, health insurance and other compensation.
- Stay up-to-date on current events and the news related to your field of work.
- Keep a positive attitude, be professional, and treat others.
How To Consider The Remote Onboarding Successful
You can use a few tips to make sure your onboarding program is successful, including setting up clear expectations for new hires, providing support after they’ve joined, and focusing on employee satisfaction throughout the process.
Implement a remote onboarding process to improve employee satisfaction and retention. Evaluate your existing onboarding process to determine if high-touch or low-touch methods are more effective. Encourage employees from the get-go with empowerment tools that support their individual needs.
How To Prepare For Remote Onboarding
Companies should first assess their existing onboarding process to manage onboarding new hires remotely. When preparing for remote onboarding, it is important to ensure that all necessary documents and materials are ready to go. In addition, it is important to have a plan for how the remote team will be integrated into the company culture and how communication will be handled.
The length of onboarding should be based on the individual needs of the new hire. There are some technical requirements for all-remote onboarding, but most challenges can be overcome with careful planning and preparation.
Best practices for remote onboarding include providing activities and materials that meet the needs of new hires while maintaining a positive atmosphere and creating a sense of community among employees.
What Do New Hires Want From An Onboarding Program?
New hires want a simple onboarding program that provides a head start and measures their progress. They also want a program that is fun and provides a quick win. Finally, new hires want onboarding content that is easy to understand and uses the right words.
New hires want to feel comfortable in their new job and understand what is expected of them. Remote onboarding helps new hires connect with team members and learn the company culture. Onboarding activities should be tailored to the individual employee’s needs and include introductions to co-workers and teammates.
New hires want to feel welcomed and supported when they join the company. They want a high-touch, personalised onboarding program that provides the necessary tools and resources to help them succeed. The process should be flexible enough to adapt as each new hire progresses through their career at the company.
Remote Onboarding Steps You Must Know
Step #1: Start strong with great pre-boarding
Pre-boarding is everything that happens from contract signing to arriving at the office – or signing in for Day One from home. Your new hires need access to your systems, including email or chat, project management, time tracking instructions, learning modules, and anything else they’ll be using from day today. This might sound like a no-brainer, but access issues are one of the most common first-day problems.
With remote onboarding, this communication is even more important – you want your new hire to feel plugged into the workplace, even if they can’t be physically present. Pre-boarding might seem like a basic admin task, but overlooking this important step jeopardises a smooth first day for your new hire.
Pre-boarding is a good way to start off a meeting or conversation. It establishes the tone for the rest of the meeting or conversation. It shows that you are interested in continuing the conversation and are willing to listen. It is important to start strong with great pre-boarding communication.
Step #2: Make your onboarding process collaborative
Collaborative onboarding means creating and using content to help new hires learn the company’s products. It helps new hires feel connected and supported during onboarding. It is important to ensure that new employees integrate smoothly into the company culture.
The process begins by creating a welcoming environment for new hires and then provides support throughout their time with the company. As part of the onboarding process, managers should ensure all new employees have access to the training and resources necessary for their success.
Finally, ongoing communication between managers and employees is key to ensuring that everyone is on track.
Part 1: Collaborating to create excellent onboarding content
To make this process collaborative, subject matter experts (SMEs) from different departments can share knowledge. By decentralising content creation, everybody’s lives are easier, and the onboarding process is more engaged.
Part 2: Collaboration during the onboarding process
This includes using discussion forums and virtual team building activities to encourage interactions and collaboration.
These interactions help new hires understand the courses better, and create a sense of community. It also helps the course author improve and iterate on the courses, continuously improving the quality of the course content.
Step #3: Tailor the onboarding experience for each hire
Every onboarding process is collaborative, engaging, and tailored to the needs and expectations of each hire that were clear in their application, cover letter and interview process. To really prepare them for their new job, you need to offer customised learning paths that provide information and support for each role and their learning needs. Use video and interactive tools to help new employees learn quickly. Make the onboarding process as smooth as possible for employees.
Step #4: Use checklists and nudges to keep new hires engaged
Use checklists and nudges to keep new hires engaged. Checklists and nudges offer visible progress indicators and create positive reinforcement for learners.
Step #5: Seek regular feedback – and refine processes as you go
Seek regular feedback from new hires to understand their onboarding experience and improve the process. Check-in with new hires about their progress and ask questions that help them provide detailed and constructive feedback.
Use instant feedback to identify any issues as they happen, so you can address them quickly and keep information fresh. Feedback is essential for refining processes. It should be regular and frequent to ensure ongoing and effective learning. It should be given constructively to be used to improve the learner’s performance.
Step #6: Measure your success with clear onboarding metrics
Onboarding metrics help you measure the effectiveness of your process and show the value of onboarding. Recognising learner achievement is a great way to keep people engaged and motivated.
By measuring your success with clear onboarding metrics, you can track progress and ensure that everyone who participates in your training program is successful. This will help you maintain motivation and improve the quality of the training program for future participants.
A Few Things To Avoid With Remote Onboarding
1. Information overload
When employees are remote, giving them all the information they need at once can be difficult.
2. Unclear communication
Keeping in touch with your hires is important, but make sure you’re communicating clearly and concisely.
3. Software fatigue
Introducing new technology to remote employees can be tiring. Try to limit the amount of new software your staff uses and introduce it slowly.
How Is Remote Onboarding Different From Orientation?
Remote onboarding is a process that allows new employees to complete their onboarding process without having to come into the office. This can be done through a variety of methods such as video conferencing, online courses, and mentorship. On the other hand, orientation introduces new employees to the company and their new roles.
Orientation is a one-time event that welcomes new employees to an organisation and, often, creates a space for them to learn about the company’s vision, mission, culture, and history. Onboarding is a series of events happening over an extended period of time and is usually tailored for a specific role.
How Long Should Remote Onboarding Take?
Remote onboarding should take as long as necessary for the employee to feel comfortable and productive in their new role. It can take a few days or a few weeks, depending on the employee’s experience and the company’s requirements.
Why Your Virtual Onboarding Processes Matter
Onboarding new users is an important part of the customer experience, and it’s especially important for virtual products and services. In this post, we’ll look at why your virtual onboarding processes matter, and we’ll offer some tips for making the process as smooth and easy as possible for your users.
Onboarding is the first contact that an employee has with your business’s internal processes and culture. You want to make sure that your process for onboarding sets the right tone for all of the future training that your new employees will enjoy. Remote onboarding offers a way for teams to connect and welcomes new team members into their new workplace.
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