Crucially, when there are issues with onboarding, new team members may not feel comfortable raising them. Close the loop by asking for regular feedback on the onboarding experience, and be sure to act on that feedback. Flexible RemoteThe flexible remote work model provides employees with full control over when and how they divide their time between remote and office work. This model is the most attractive to potential employees, but it may be challenging to implement in larger organizations. A knowledge base is not only beneficial for your new employees but fosters internal collaboration among your seasoned pros. They will be encouraged to document their knowledge ready for use by coworkers instead of hoarding the knowledge in their heads.

Before the new hire’s first day, alert employees in your internal communications tools, such as Slack, that a new hire is joining the team and encourage them to give the new employee a warm welcome. To start integrating new hires into your company culture the package should also include company swag, like a hat, T-shirt, or coffee mug. If you really want to go the extra mile, include some fun extras, like snacks or a bag of coffee. When I first joined the company a few weeks back, I immediately had direct communication with our people team. And my manager gave me a warm welcome in our Slack channel to the entire organization, which was a nice introduction to the team. One of the most important things to any team member is employee feedback.

1. The items and ongoing tasks in your onboarding process are basically milestones, which have specific timelines.
2. For example, employees may feel disconnected from their colleagues or manager.
3. It can be as simple as a folder in your company’s shared drive or an intranet page with links to all the relevant documents.
4. When you have a solid orientation program, you can avoid a disorganized and lengthy onboarding.
5. Video conferencing software solutions are once again crucial to setting up these activities and are valuable to maintain a connection, even without seeing each other ‘in person’.
6. Companies with an engaging onboarding retained 91% of their new hires in the first year.

Ten practical ways to build company culture with remote employees.

1. And the costs start to spiral when onboarding is not successful and that new employee looks for another job.
2. The video call may focus on an introduction to the key people and how they can best support the employees.
3. Additional challenges that are unique to remote employees include technical and personal issues, as well as inexperience working from home.
4. “Our team immediately focused on reimagining onboarding and welcoming new employees while Commvault moved its entire workforce to working remote.”
5. With Mantra Intranet, you can customize workspaces, ensuring every remote employee has access to a personalized onboarding experience.

The goal is to set them up for success by providing everything they need to hit the ground running and make sure you’re both on the same page once their onboarding plan is complete. Will you use email, Slack, video conferencing, or a combination of all three? Let your new employee know how you prefer to communicate and the best way to reach you.

Provide a central spot for company culture tips + employee documentation

Companies that onboard using a cohort model report feedback from their team that everyone felt more comfortable and welcome, especially with those who were onboarding remotely. When possible, these companies have incorporated this method into both their standard and remote onboarding best practices for new employees. Successfully onboarding remote employees isn’t a one- or even two-day formality.

To do this, create a blended series of informal and formal experiences that aim to create community and build in touchpoints. Use a mentorship program so the new hire feels engaged in your company and its culture.Make use of essential technology such as knowledge bases and Learning Management Systems to impart information to your new hires. Since offices are closed during COVID-19, a knowledge base allows your employees to access their training remote onboarding best practices materials from home. There’s no need for face-to-face training if you have an online knowledge base that can be accessed through a computer or phone. The advantage of location independent learning is that your employees can learn at their own speed.

Your new hire is likely to be overwhelmed when they first start their new job. There’s so much for them to learn and so a knowledge base can be a streamlined tool that offers information in an easy-to-digest way. You can offer short articles, manuals and how-tos for your new hires so they can absorb just the required information they need and no more. It also reduces the burden on the rest of your employees to answer questions for your new hires.

Just hire great people?

Lack of familiarity with your systems and processes can make them anxious. A good onboarding process makes new employees feel welcome and brings them up to speed on company procedures, policy, and culture. Employee check-ins are essential for remote workers, so it’s necessary to have a strategy that supports that. You have to help them solve problems as they occur without waiting for quarterly or annual performance reviews.

Also, Microsoft Teams allows you to add new hires to teams to promote interaction and participation. Ditch the boring slide deck and let your employees explore the onboarding process with interactive content. Giving your employees the ability to explore and discover necessary onboarding content helps them mentally invest more into the process and increases retention rates.

This helps maintain the principle of least privilege, a key aspect of cybersecurity. Security doesn’t have to be scary or boring – with the right approach, it can be an engaging part of your company culture. Workwize handles all employee communication, logistics, and packaging to ensure your assets reach you safely and securely. Once employees leave or the assets end their useful lives, you can request retrievals with a single click.

It’s also the time to go over any standard working norms already in place with your team. For example, specify that employees should use email for client communication and formal internal updates, Slack for day-to-day discussions with colleagues, etc. This guide should also set expectations around when and how to let colleagues know about any impending out-of-office time. Bringing new hires into the office for their inductions and training is a great way to make onboarding remotely feel less impersonal. One excellent approach is to use a mix of live sessions and self-paced learning. For example, you might kick off with a live welcome session, during which new hires meet key team members and get an overview of the company culture.