The onboarding process is crucial in setting the groundwork for the employee/employer relationship. It is true that first impressions are crucial at the beginning of any relationship. The same is true for onboarding. Due to this, companies dedicate resources to creating meaningful and impactful onboarding programs. The task of getting the right mix of training inputs for new hires is challenging enough. But the same task becomes more challenging in a remote environment. There are many details to consider. Important elements like in-person team meetings, water cooler conversations, teammate interactions, casual gatherings, etc., aren’t available for remote workers. It is vital that these resources are matched as possible. Thus, the new employee’s onboarding experience will be the same as one in a physical office. An enterprise’s onboarding process can be better replicated through an LMS. LMS, such as Litmos, Docebo, Paylocity, and more can assist you in building customized programs. Use these for new-hire orientation, training, assessments, and assist your company in reducing transition times. Here are some tips for optimizing the remote onboarding process.
Lay the foundation in advance
The best time to integrate a new hire into a unique environment is after the day of their first day on the job. The onboarding process does not begin on an exact day. Rather it begins even before the formal start date. To make the employee feel valued and included, you must treat him as a member of the team. Logistical and support resources, such as equipment, required software, internal organization charts, rules, and regulations are essential. They may need help setting up remote workstations or anything else. So, provide them with the contact numbers of the support teams to make things easy. Use a personalized tone and approach in all communications and reduce the use of official language. This will help to create connection and harmony among colleagues and create a positive support system. Prepare participants for the virtual onboarding program. And provide them with a full overview of the schedule of activities and sessions.
Go Easy
It is common for new entrants to feel anxious and hesitant. Create an environment that is pleasant and enjoyable for newcomers. You must ease new hires into the organization’s culture so that they will discover it and adapt to it. Thus, hardheadedness and imposing yourself immediately will not help. Fun should be incorporated into the orientation without sacrificing its serious impact. Events for teams, video conferences, virtual tours, team building activities, virtual events, meetings, input, and others can help introduce the company to new hires.
Set targets
Provide your new hire with a clear description of corporate expectations. There are two ways in which milestones are useful. For employees to give clear direction, and for managers to track progress. Additionally, establishing deadlines promotes the achievement of goals and a sense of accomplishment.
Benefit from Technology
Companies take advantage of current technologies during the complex onboarding process. The creation of online portals will provide a single point of access to all information. Automates the process of completing formalities and forms in an accessible, digital environment. Hence eliminates the need for printed documents, to sign, scan, and send. Using an electronic signature, new hires can fill, share, and store documents online. Communication and exchange of cultural ideas, values are also possible through the portals. A video conference is an essential tool for remote onboarding. You can use LMS for this or some individual video conferencing platform like Zoom or Google Meet. It allows for real-time conversation and interaction among the participants. One-to-one communication is more meaningful and effective.
Conclusion:
Besides the practices outlined above, there are several more things. Such as interaction, coordination, training, assessments, performance, and more. All to contribute to successful onboarding. The onboarding process is not something that is completed in a day or two. In a remote working environment, it is often necessary to take a flexible approach that accommodates a longer onboarding period. The long-term benefits of investing in onboarding are improved employee engagement and productivity. To assure that the above is achieved, technology can ensure a successful onboarding process.
