Successfully On-Boarding Remote Employees

An essential part of the onboarding process is to kick-start the integration of a new hire into the workplace. This integration includes acclimation into both the professional and personal sectors of their new environment, with the intent of setting them up for the best possible chance of success. With the rapid increase in the number of teams working remotely, many companies are struggling to adapt their onboarding process to be successful and effective in a virtual setting.

However, with some slight adjustments and implementation of easy-to-use tools, you can launch your remote onboarding process and keep your company growing.

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Effectively On-Boarding Virtual Staff

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Managing Projects and Expectations

For some employers, on-boarding and even managing a new hire remotely can be a new and challenging experience, so it’s best to realistically set your expectations and work out a plan to manage new hire projects.

Clearly communicate your expectations to any new employee prior to starting the job and introduce them to the company and team with a clear picture of how it all will fit into their role—this is key for success. In addition to managing everyone’s expectations through open and honest communication, it is important to also make sure that any new employee understands information regarding upcoming projects, deadlines, company leaders, and available employee resources.

While there is often a good deal of information being exchanged in the on-boarding process, it can be extremely helpful to use a project management tool to house and organize essential employee information for getting started.

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Communicate Face-to-Face

It’s important to incorporate as much face-to-face communication as possible when introducing a new employee to your team and organization. Be sure to utilize a video conferencing tool and keep as many of the employee’s conversations face-to-face until they are acquainted with the team. These virtual meetings also allow for new hires to feel more comfortable in their conversations and learning experiences.—

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Review, Refine, and Repeat

When implementing major changes to your onboarding process, it is important to review the results of those changes, comparing them to your expectations. Be sure to take those results and use them to refine your new process and make any necessary improvements. Once you’ve done this a number of times, you will notice what is working and what isn’t, so that you can eventually have a new system for onboarding remote employees that sets up each and every new hire for true success with your company.

In a virtual setting, it can be challenging to meet with every new hire to evaluate what went well and what did not, so it may be most time-efficient to use a survey or data collection tool.

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