Five Tips for Onboarding Remote Employees
Five Tips for Onboarding Remote Employees
The emerging trend of remote work escalated almost overnight at the beginning of the pandemic. As we cross the one-year mark, it’s safe to say that it’s here to stay. If your company is shifting towards a more permanent remote work arrangement, now is a great time to iterate upon existing people processes like onboarding. As one of the first steps in the employee lifecycle, onboarding is one of your best opportunities to consciously create a remote culture. Keep what’s working with your current process while implementing some of these fresh ideas that go beyond welcome packages and paperwork to allow your new hires to thrive in a remote world.
Provide Home Office Support
Help set up employees to be productive from the get-go by providing them with a budget to purchase home office essentials. A small budget to purchase things like an ergonomic chair, laptop stand, wireless keyboard, mouse, or even a desk plant can increase employee productivity and make your new hire feel valued.
Start a Workplace Buddy Program
A “workplace buddy” program matches each new hire with a peer to help them navigate their role and connect them with other coworkers. When joining the team, a new hire might feel more comfortable going to a peer for all of those small questions rather than their supervisor. Having a workplace buddy adds a level of comfortability while preserving the supervisor’s time for the most important parts of the onboarding process. Since it’s often a challenge to build strong cross-functional working relationships, you can even assign them a workplace buddy outside of their department.
Foster Creative Connection
Now, more than ever, we need to intentionally create ways to connect. This is especially important for new hires to feel a sense of belonging at your company. Make sure to announce new hire start dates, introduce them during company-wide meetings, and incorporate rituals. One of our favorites is to ask new hires to share some fun facts about themselves or their “two truths and a lie” via Slack to begin relating with others on a more personal level. We also recommend scheduling some virtual coffee one-on-ones with other employees throughout the first week to connect them with people they’ll be working with from the start. Send each employee a gift card to buy some coffee on the company while they connect.
Set Up Regular Check Ins
Before your employee’s start date, add a weekly one-on-one time to establish a continuum of support from the get-go. In addition, make sure that you’re checking in with your new hire every day during their first week to see if they need any support. Offering even just a few minutes of your time each day can help set up your new hire for success and keep them on track. As their work week concludes, be sure to create some space for them to reflect on their first week and to align on expectations for the following week.
Provide A Clear First Week Schedule
Speaking of clear communication, another way you can provide clarity and direction from the start is setting up the new hire’s calendar with their schedule for the first week. Be sure to add all meetings and events to their calendar before their first day so they are clear on what their first week will look like from the moment they log on. Here’s an example of what the first day schedule might look like:
9-10: Team introductions
10-11: Meet with HR to review paperwork
11-12: Company Mission, Vision & Story
12-1: Lunch (send them a gift card to buy lunch on the company)
1-2: Company Culture & Values
2-3: Company Structure
3-4: Office Protocol & Systems
4-5: One-on-One with Manager
There are so many more ways that you can intentionally create an onboarding experience for your remote employees. To learn more, check out our 25-page Onboarding Guide (with five customizable templates and a full first week schedule) that walks you through every step of the onboarding process.