How to Successfully Onboard New Hires Virtually

onboarding

The onboarding process is a unique opportunity not to be wasted. Employees are highly engaged, and the company can properly set a positive tone, ensuring new hires will want to stay with the company for a long time. This is a time when a company can really set themselves apart from other employers and set their employees up for success.

Now in 2020, onboarding may be a bit different. In most cases, it’s completely virtual. So how can you ensure a successful onboarding even through a screen? What steps need to be taken to get a new hire feeling trained and welcomed to the team?

Below we’ll go through some helpful tips so you can ensure your onboarding process is top-notch.

Examine Your Programming

Using a few tricks out of LinkedIn’s book, examine the programming you have set up for new hires. Ask yourself:

  • Does it make people feel like they’ve made the right decision to join? Does it make them excited about the mission and vision of the company? And how their job aligns with it? Does it help them build relationships they can expand on?

Schedule accordingly. Make sure that the employee’s first few days are organized in a way that allows them to be included both in the company as a whole and their own individual team. Involve them in the mission, vision, and company culture. Allow them to connect and meet a range of employees that they may work directly or indirectly with.

Be Creative and Engaging

While Zoom has saved 2020 by allowing business to continue running online, being on it for 8 hours straight doesn’t make people feel that great. To counter this, mix the days of onboarding up by using breakout rooms and extremely upbeat facilitators. For lunch break on new hires’ first week, consider a voucher for Ubereats and schedule check-ins and one-on-ones for lunch. If there’s an entire new hire class, organize a lunch for everyone to meet each other.

Also, make sure to schedule enough stretch breaks and encourage participants to get outside and go for a walk throughout the day.

Embrace Technology

Make sure all laptops and necessary tech has gotten to new hires prior to onboarding. A week before employees are expected to be online have the hiring manager check that everything has arrived and is set up properly. Avoid having to deal with tech issues on day one.

Break up the onboarding sessions with tech-training and allow time for questions. Some employees will understand tech much more quickly than others. Offer optional extra trainings to get more one-on-one help.

Company Culture

Keep company culture front and center throughout the first weeks. Company culture is a main driver for employee happiness, and it’s what employees remember most when they’re just starting out.

With all that’s going on in the world and remote work becoming the norm, it’s essential to give your on-boarding process some new thought. Make sure you are supporting employees during their first few weeks and involving them in the company’s mission and vision. It will pay off in the long run!

For more information about how our virtual offices or workspaces can help you onboard new hires efficiently and safely, please get in touch!