5 Steps in Onboarding Remote Employees

Working remotely has now become an acceptable working routine. Over 43% of Americans say they sometimes work remotely. A further 31% say they work remotely at least 4 days a week. This trend is set to continue as many employers now hire their workers and operate remotely. But how do they go about it? Read on to discover more.

5 Remote Employee Onboarding Steps

1. Prepare Their Remote Workstations

Working remotely may require your new employees to acquire the materials and tools needed to work remotely. And they may not have them at the time you hire them. Over 17% of new employers say they don’t have the tools they need to work from home. This is 4% higher compared to tenured workers. Therefore, you need to communicate with them to find out whether they have what they need. You can then educate them about existing remote working resources that are already available, training, and any other benefits you have for them. Some of the tools may include:

Wi-Fi capacity
Access to company resources remotely
Security protocol and guidelines
VPN resources and usage
Licensed company software and digital tools
Noise-canceling headphones, webcam, and video conferencing tools

2. Optimize Your Resources for Remote Onboarding

If this is the first time you are onboarding a worker remotely, then you need to convert your onboarding resources into a digital format. Such materials may include training hardcopy manuals and tutorials, company policy and procedure guidelines, and contract documents. You may also have to create your company’s online portal. This will act as the digital office or platform. This is where those working remotely can access office tools and resources on one platform.

3. Do Your First Virtual Introductions

Introduce them to all team members and leaders. Plan for a virtual happy hour, where team members can have a cup of coffee or lunch remotely. Most important, provide the new employee with teams, contact information, and their roles. The company can foot the bill for each worker to give it a partying experience. And of course, send workers company T-shirts to be worn during the onboarding experience.

4. Communicate Face-to-Face and One-on-One

Remote work limits how often workers can interact with other team members. To overcome that, create a virtual room. This is where team members can meet on the day to touch base. Ask all employees to turn their video on, to make the connections more official and personal. Moreover, team leaders can hold weekly virtual meetings with new hires. This will offer them the needed support they need to integrate smoothly.

5. Create Feedback Loops

Make feedback part of the daily company culture. Let each employee provide feedback at the end of the day, on what they have achieved, what’s pending, and the challenges they could be facing. And with that feedback, team members can work together to achieve company goals.

Conclusion - Remote Onboarding

Unlike a job orientation that takes a few hours, remote onboarding can take weeks or months. Overall, onboarding gives the new employee the resources and guidance they need to integrate into the company organically.

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