Are you doing virtual onboardings more often these days?
If so, you know welcoming a new team member looks different when it’s done virtually versus the traditional meet-and-greet first day. They could be miles away or a continent away, depending on where they’re living. No matter where they are, they want to feel like they’re a welcome and essential part of the team.
A great onboarding process can:
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- Make employees feel more welcome
- Improve employee retention by 82%
- Increase chances of employee referrals
- Reduce unnecessary activities or paperwork
This post will share ways to encourage them to join right in and tips for employers to make it a seamless process.
Ready to help your employees enjoy their virtual onboarding process? Read on!
How to Help Employees Have a Better Virtual Onboarding
While most companies onboard within 30 days, it can feel like an overwhelming, rushed process for new hires. It’s true, these days onboarding is already taking longer, but by intentionally making tweaks to create a better process, you’ll, in turn, welcome a new employee who will hopefully become a loyal employee, too.
Best hiring practices take time to adjust and perfect, but once you hit a stride with multiple hires, it becomes second nature.
Here are a few aspects to consider as you prep for bringing your newest member on board:
Tip #1: Put Yourself in Their Shoes
Think about what your new hire needs to know. Not only the first week but in the next 30, 60, 90 days. Help them really get settled in with a step-by-step guide.
The average new hire has about 54 activities they need to complete before really settling in to do their job. If it’s been a while since you’ve been hired by a new company, remember that feeling of starting. It can be a bit exhausting. Take time on certain tasks by easing the employee in and making sure they understand each step of the process.
For example, instead of emailing a massive packet to new hires and saying, “fill this out when you get time,” make the process less overwhelming in bite-sized tasks. A personalized video from an HR director pointing out specific deadlines for important paperwork — like a W-2 — can make the process feel less daunting.
Tip #2: Allow Them To Creatively Greet the Team
For every new hire, ask them to create a short video of themselves saying hello to their new team. Encourage them to show off their personality in a video up to five minutes long and send it in before their first day.
Some talking points they may want to share:
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- Where they’re from
- A unique talent they have
- A recent book or movie they saw
- Where they worked before this job
- The most fascinating job they’ve ever held
- The most interesting place they’ve ever been
- Why they’re excited to start at your company
This allows the team to connect a name with a face and also offers some icebreakers for that initial meeting together. Let the new hire know it doesn’t need to be edited with fancy software. A quick phone video will do!
Tip #3: Send a Tip Sheet
Before your new team member starts, they likely have a list of questions they want answered. As you progress through multiple in-person and online interviews, compile a list of commonly asked questions by soon-to-be employees and new hires. This will help you prepare responses and be ready the next time a new hire asks.
A few tips to send before they start:
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- Start and end times
- Important points of contact
- Dress code etiquette (especially for important Zoom calls)
- What paperwork to have ready to scan or bring on the first day
This tip sheet can ease those first-day worries for new employees. It also keeps HR from having to call or type out the same responses with each new hire!
Tip #4: Give a Warm Welcome
Each new hire should have a welcome kit to greet them on their first day. Digitally, this can include the important initial paperwork, along with a personalized video greeting from the team. But also consider sending company-branded swag that will get them thrilled to get started. This might include a t-shirt, coffee mug, pen, socks, journal, blanket, or even a face mask. Add healthy snack options, too. A handwritten note from HR or the new hire’s team lead is also a nice touch.
Tip #5: Offer Individual Meetings
If your new hire will be fully remote, it’s important for them to feel connected to the team. Not only are they far in distance, but if an immediate connection isn’t made, it can leave them feeling isolated. If it’s not a busy season for your team, ask teammates to set aside 5-15 minutes to do a video chat with their new coworker.
During the new hire chat, encourage employees to discuss:
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- What their job role is
- What they like about the organization
- What new projects they’re working on
Not plausible to do individual meetings? Opt for a group coffee date — virtual or in-person — instead.
Tip #6: Use the Buddy System
Introduce your new hire to their “buddy” at the organization. This would be a seasoned, successful employee who can check in with the new hire to see how they’re doing. It’s free and simple to implement! Ask the well-versed employee to be intentional with check-ins every two weeks or so to let the new hire know they're welcome and not forgotten.
Tip #7: Request Feedback
As your company’s onboarding process is adjusted, be sure to see how it’s resonating with new hires. There will likely be hiccups, so toward the middle of the process, see how it’s going. Then, adjust and move forward.
Questions to ask:
- How do you prefer learning new information (text, video, etc.)?
- Do you feel like the onboarding steps flowed?
- Are there any specific areas of the process you would change? Which ones?
- How can we better support your training process?
Sending a brief survey or questions via email is a simple way to get a quick response. There may be other questions that need answering or additional onboarding steps that need to be added. Encourage questions along the way, and your virtual onboarding process will smooth out over time!
Establishing a Virtual Onboarding Process Takes Time
The COVID-19 pandemic forced many businesses to pivot their onboarding process quite quickly. If your company is still stumbling a bit with the virtual onboarding experience, we hope you’ll find the tips above useful!
A few more tips to ensure a smooth process:
- Stick to the tech and learn it well - Whichever platforms you’re using for delivery, training, etc., make sure your HR department knows it well. Doing so will make it easier to provide specific directions to new hires if they have any questions on using it themselves.
- Prepare an onboarding orientation schedule - The first day shouldn’t also be the last day a new hire is in contact with your HR department. Ensure they are being guided through the employment process so they feel truly welcomed and organized with their onboarding.
- Keep workers engaged - This goes for the new hires along with any mentors you assign to them. Send follow-up surveys, offer training for buddy mentors, etc.
- Ask if it’s working - See where there were bumps in the process and ask how it can be better for new hires. This is an important step to ensure you’re not missing anything.
- Be flexible - If you’re in the midst of changing your onboarding process, have patience and know it takes time. Learning new software, developing department-specific instruction books, etc. takes a lot of time on the front end, but once it’s done, it will make the process smoother for your HR department and the new hires every time.
What would you add to this list? What are some of your tips to welcome new hires warmly through virtual onboarding? Share your thoughts down below!
