That’s a stark number, leaving a staggering 88% of workers wishing for more. Now, with the rise of remote working, those challenges are being amplified. Another essential element of a scalable and flexible remote onboarding program is the creation of engaging and interactive content that caters to different learning styles, preferences, and needs. You need to balance the amount and type of content that you provide to your new hires, avoiding information overload and passive consumption. You can use a variety of formats, such as videos, podcasts, quizzes, games, simulations, case studies, and scenarios, to deliver your onboarding content in a dynamic and interactive way.
But replicating in-person onboarding activities helps establish those personal connections. If a new hire is used to working in a traditional office, adjusting to the remote work lifestyle might be a challenge. Having socialization as part of the onboarding process can help team members feel more connected to their new teams, even though they don’t share an office. In that sense, onboarding remote employees really comes down to making sure you have an aligned process for both remote and in-office positions. That means having the same tasks, due dates, and the like, stored in one place.
Personalized Intro Videos
Investing in the right technology and infrastructure supports a seamless remote onboarding process. Smart companies have changed the way they orient new employees by working together with remote employees to find out what they need. Dell hosts all onboarding materials on a dedicated website including documentation, videos, and a success team available via chat and email. Stack Overflow sets up calls between new hires and the company’s executives to hear the company story firsthand and open the door for questions. Before you start developing your onboarding program, you need to have a clear vision of what you want to achieve and how you will measure it.
- However, don’t spend too much time fretting over the tool you use, as the only things that matter are that it can be centralized and your team consistently updates the pages they are responsible for.
- Employers used to supplying on-site workers with tools, resources, and support often find that they need a different approach with remote workers.
- At GitLab, we document to create a single source of truth so we can operate handbook-first and value transparency by making the handbook publicly accessible to all.
- For many employees, the most valuable aspect of their most recent onboarding experience was the human element — meeting people, forming social ties and learning from their colleagues.
«Overloading a new hire with too many onboarding tasks could create a roadblock for them in getting familiar with the business and understanding what’s expected of them in their role.» Traditional in-person companies usually rely on trainers or more hands-on approaches to help new hires navigate their surroundings. All-remote companies have to be more efficient and make information easily accessible, so documentation will be essential for a smooth onboarding process. Read more about GitLab’s all-remote onboarding process in our handbook. As we outlined above, effective HR software can help remote onboarding by offering a single source of truth for all your onboarding tasks. Not only that, but it also offers a way to automate all these tasks with ease.
Company
The only real difference when onboarding contractors is the administrative paperwork. Even people who have worked remotely in the past may not be familiar with how your company works. Use this opportunity to show them that you value their contributions and trust them to be a positive addition to the team. In addition to practical answers, onboarding buddies can also provide new perspectives for incoming employees. It can be tempting to throw every piece of content you have at a new hire. A person can only absorb so much new information at once, and when joining a new company, there’s usually a lot to learn.
Make sure new hires know how to participate in social, nonwork communication channels, too. Encourage them to participate in fun conversations, such as a thread where co-workers share their favorite hobbies. New grads may remote onboarding best practices be in their first full-time job, for instance, and require close support during the transition. A seasoned hire, on the other hand, is more likely to need support adjusting to the culture than to subject matter knowledge.
Onboarding remote employees: 3 ways to give a warm, virtual welcome
Managers who provide ongoing, constructive feedback help new hires get acclimated and on the path to their goals and objectives. Feedback is also a great way to provide positive reinforcement and recognize a job done well. By providing personalized training plans, employers help employees learn the skills, https://remotemode.net/ knowledge, and procedures required for their role while also allowing for more individualized feedback and support. Personalized training plans ensure that each employee gets the onboarding they need for their job role while tailoring the content and delivery to their specific needs and goals.