Onboarding employees remotely
Finding talented people isn’t easy and companies big and small are looking beyond their usual recruitment borders for their next great employee. With hybrid working a significant incentive, this means recruiting and onboarding is often occurring remotely.
Engaging a new employee can be a challenge and when you can’t be there to guide and support them in person it can seem overwhelming.
Here are some quick tips to assist you in remote onboarding:
1. Keep in touch & stay in touch. This cannot be underestimated! Keep in touch with your new employee, checking in to see how they are before they have started their role reassures them, they will be a valued member of your team. Continue this practice, set up email, messaging, regular phone calls or video calls to ensure the person feels part of the team.
2. Appoint a mentor. Make sure they have a buddy they can call for guidance and support before they commence in their role. Their mentor will introduce them to internal processes, software, tools of the company and help make them feel a part of the team.
3. Make sure their technology is delivered and working before they start. Consider how the person will be introduced to internal processes, software, tools, and the security information of the company.
4. Develop an onboarding process which is interactive and engaging. Prepare an overview of the company and send it to the employee, this could be a slide pack or a video. Provide some history of the organisation, what great work you do, what part you play in the community, and your achievements. This will help your new employee feel connected.
5. Provide an organisation chart and make sure you include them. Include photos of the team. Have each team member call them and explain their role and how they will interact with them (depending on size of business and team). Explain what support they can provide and what they can expect from them. Provide them with contact details of all the team members they will be working with. Don’t send an avalanche of policies and reading material. Provide the key policies your new employee needs to be aware of before they start and stagger the rest, so they don’t feel overwhelmed by process.
6. Set expectations early. Be clear about what is OK and not OK. Ensure they understand their start and finish times, dress code, etiquette in on-line meetings and during phone calls, tone and writing styles. Be very clear on what their productivity level should be and how it will develop over time.
7. Keep in touch & stay in touch and reiterate expectations. Provide feedback, check in, discuss their work and your expectations on a regular basis.
Getting this process right will help your new employee feel connected and help them to bond with the team and the organisation. Plan it well and ask for feedback so you know how to improve the process for your next new hire.
If you require advice or assistance regarding modern award coverage or support regarding any HR matter, please contact the team at HR Advice Online at [email protected] or on 1300 720 004.
Information in HR Advice Online guides and blog posts is meant purely for educational discussion of human resources issues. It contains only general information about human resources matters and due to factors, such as government legislation changes, may not be up to date at the time of reading. It is not legal advice and should not be treated as such.
