Remote onboarding new employees can be a tricky process, especially if you have complicated systems and software to train them on. However, ensuring that you stay in touch with your new hire and your recruiter during their notice period, means that this whole process becomes a lot easier.
Organisational and communication skills are going to be your best friends when undertaking a remote onboarding procedure. These two skills underpin every tip that we are going to give you in this guide. So, get your schedules in order and polish off your conversational abilities.
Set expectations
Once your ideal candidate has accepted your offer of employment and is due to start, make sure they have a clear idea of what they are getting into. Keeping in contact with them is just as important, perhaps more important, as it would be with any other hire for your in-office team. Your recruitment consultant will also keep in touch with the candidate to make sure they are not having any doubts.
Before your new team member is due to start, make sure they have everything that they need ready to go, from tech and software licenses to a schedule and an outline of what you expect from them. A welcome pack should include everything they need to know from who does what to when they need to tune in to team meetings.
Getting to know your business
Your welcome pack is crucial to set the tone to your business. Is your office culture very corporate or a bit more relaxed? Are there multiple divisions in your business or complicated team structures? All of the information that a person would usually pick up when they are in the office should be in there. You must remember that your remote team don’t have anyone sitting next to them that can fill in the blanks, so make sure the welcome pack is comprehensive and that you keep in touch regularly to answer any questions they may have.
Getting to know your team
Integrating into an existing team is a daunting task for someone joining a team in the office, it is even more tricky when you are working remotely. There are so many ways for you to make someone feel welcome even when they are working from home:
The org chart. The first thing to do is include an organisational chart of some kind in your welcome pack. People’s names, roles and contact info should be on there.
Team meetings. Just as you would walk a new employee around your office on their first day to show them where everything is and introduce them to other’s a team meeting over video conference is a great ice breaker and allows everyone to put a face to a name.
1-2-1 meetings. You have to manage your remote employees the same as those in the office. Regular 1-2-1 meetings mean that you build a rapport with your new hire and gives them the opportunity to highlight any issues they may be having.
Social Contact. Going out for a beer or bowling after work isn’t feasible right now, but when it is, bringing all of your employees together (when possible) in a more casual environment is the best way for everyone to get to know each other. Even if some of your remote employees can’t make it, just sending them the invite will make them feel included.
Feedback and development
As with an in-office employee, a dedicated and structured development plan tailored to that individual will give them a target to aim for and motivation to do it. After your new team member has settled in and is familiar with the team and the business, having a 1-2-1 with them to discuss their development plan, will give you the opportunity to lay out future expectations and also for them to provide you with feedback on how they are getting on. This is where remote onboarding turns into remote development.
Taking the time to understand all of your team’s career goals and providing them with a framework to achieving these is really motivational and shows that you care just as much about your remote workers as those in the office.
Ask the experts
If you are looking to hire your first remote employee, you might want to take a look at our helpful tips in this blog. If you have any further questions, remember that your recruitment consultant is here for you and can offer you guidance based on the experiences of other candidates and clients. Get in touch today.