Remote OnBoarding
The world has changed in a matter of moments but that doesn’t mean we cannot continue building a strong economy and a strong company culture, we just need to be more creative, think a little faster and move a little faster.
We always plan for the 99% and deal with the 1% when it occurs, well... Welcome to the 1%!
A key question that has been raised over and over the last week is how do we successfully onboard new employees in a way that makes them feel excited to have taken this new opportunity.k
Below are some helpful guidelines for Onboarding in a remote work environment. I welcome everyone’s additions, especially those of you who have repeatedly built dispersed workforces.
Scheduling
Every moment* of a new employees day should be scheduled for them for at least the first three days. Where they could have originally walked around and meet people, grabbed a coffee or joined a stand up they are now sitting alone at home. They need you to organize their integration into the team and you have the added burden of making it seamless.
Here are the most important tips:
Book separate links for each session so people logging in early don’t cause confusion
Ensure that every person schedules understands that being late or even worse a no show is NOT acceptable under ANY circumstances without letting your onboarding manager know no later than 2 hours before their session. Remember, if someone is a no show this new employee is sitting alone in their home.
Make sure all their equipment and supplies are at their home the day before. Try to include a personal note and if your company does swag include some of that
On addition to the schedule below I would also recommend booking in a daily 1:1 with their manager and ideally a colleague every day for the first week or two.
Ensure you have a welcome manual that they can review that provides overviews of:
Each department - what they do and who their key point people will be
The company values
Any helpful log in information
Links to any pertinent sites/files/folders
Company FAQ’s
Each department should have a more substantial manual for their new employees, including everything they would need for that specific team including OKR’s (or whatever goal setting metrics you use), FAQ’s, guidelines around that business unit etc… Only employees on those teams should receive this.
Each meeting should be 25 or 55 mins, they should have a few minutes between each chat to use the washroom, grab some water, or just breath! It’s a lot of info on day 1.
If you have a number of people starting on the same day, try to group them together as much as possible for sessions, it will help them build a relationship with each other.
For your employees:
You will need to give them a more detailed schedule (although over time this will become second nature). The schedule should not just cover links and what they are covering it should also include more detail on;
How to engage well via video
How to manage their time efficiently
How to fill extra time (so that your new employees aren’t let sitting at their computer alone for 20 minutes)
What they should be covering and the employees main take away from their session
*when I say EVERY moment, I mean, schedule them all day, you can leave them 30 minutes free a few times during the day, but not for 1hour+ at a time. There is nothing for them to do…
Listen for more tips here! https://www.rectechmedia.com/blog/2020/3/28/remote-onboarding-tips-with-lianne-vineberg