A strong onboarding process establishes the success and happiness of an employee. It introduces communication techniques and discovers the role of an employee to a company. With COVID-19, it has faced many companies with challenges and one of the biggest ones is accomplishing a successful onboarding process virtually.
At Zempleo, we have worked in a remote environment since the day we were established. It has brought us numerous opportunities to discover what works and what doesn’t work when working in a virtual environment whether that be communicating with team members on everyday tasks to onboarding new ones.
Below we break down some best practices to follow while onboarding employees virtually.
Setting Expectations
Clear communication will be the key to a successful onboarding process whether it’s in person or virtually. Giving them a direct idea of what their job duties will entail, any objectives and goals you want from them will be very important to lay out. A great way to ensure this all goes smoothly is verifying that they understood what you discussed and providing informational documents they can reference if they have any questions. Also showing your support in the first few weeks of them starting will be very ideal for a employee to feel welcomed and valued. They may have questions along the way as they get comfortable in their new role. So, giving them that on-gong support will help them tremendously
Face to Face
Working in a remote environment has its challenges and especially not being able to work with a team member face to face. However, with technology, it has created a better virtual environment for communicating. You have the ability to see a team member face to face and it can allow for a better and more successful work. Even virtually, you will be able to interact with one another and read facial expression. This allows you to get to know one another and see exactly how you work. Sometimes communicating through chats or emails can get lost in thought and show a different type of personality. By making sure you communicate virtually face to face will establish a good relationship in a work environment.
Analyze Process
Not every process is correct and sometimes you will need to analyze the pros and cons of each process. If you are onboarding one person to a group of people, it will be in your best interest to always relook at the process and see what would make it better or what made it successful. The best way to get this information is asking the employee what they liked and didn’t like. They can give you a different perspective on it. Not everyone is the same so keep in mind some things make work for certain people and some don’t. Keep an open mind and remember that we are all trying to navigate this new norm. If you are looking to hire a large workforce or just hiring one, keep these tips in mind!