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Once a business has transitioned to being partly or fully remote, onboarding new employees via traditional methods doesn’t quite work the same. With a dispersed workforce, the onus is on leaders to make needed changes that provide new team members with the right amount of information and support to guarantee they succeed and thrive in their positions.
So, how can leaders determine which changes need to be made to onboarding processes? To help, 20 Forbes Business Council members each share one change they’ve made to traditional onboarding methods to ensure new employees get the information and support they need.
1. Experiment With New And Emerging Technology
It’s important that we continue to learn and grow based on what works and what doesn’t and leverage technology to help us do it as a remote-first edtech company. We intentionally pilot new tech-enabled employee onboarding solutions that prioritize the power of human intelligence and empathy in crafting effective programming and the power of technology to facilitate flexible experiences. - Ashley Andersen Zantop, Cambium Learning Group
2. Leverage Automation And AI
As a fully remote company, we have leveraged automation and artificial intelligence to transform our traditional onboarding methods to ensure new employees receive the information and support they need in a streamlined and personalized manner. Automation streamlines various aspects of the onboarding process, reducing manual tasks and ensuring consistent and timely delivery of critical information. - Vinay Johar, RChilli Inc
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3. Combine Tools With Frequent Check-Ins
We have subscribed to multiple collaboration tools and prepared virtual onboarding modules for new employees. The tools are combined with frequent scheduled and informal check-ins to promote teamwork and discussion. We also bring the company together by hosting quarterly brainstorming workshops either in-person or virtually for those that cannot travel. - Abhinay Rao Penugonda, ModuleMD
4. Conduct Entry Interviews
New employees should meet with their manager for week one and then meet with different leaders for the 30-, 60- and 120-day check-ins. This will ensure leadership understands the new employee's work and life goals, plans to achieve them and what leaders and the organization can do to support their growth. - Lyssa Hansard, Cura HR, LLC
5. Incorporate In-Person Elements
Despite being a fully remote company, we make an effort to meet new hires at a suitable location in person to have them undergo a more traditional onboarding and training process. As the CEO, I participate in these meetings, along with the new employee’s closest peers, to show care and leadership and express the importance of our company culture. This allows us to get to know each other and forges a solid foundation. - Alain J Roy, ASTA-USA Translation Services, Inc.
6. Show That You Care About Your Team As People
It’s important your team knows that you care about them as people. One of our best practices is to provide an onboarding buddy for all new team members. This is someone who is not necessarily on the same team that a new starter can turn to for help understanding systems and processes. This makes it clear there is always someone available to help with any questions they might have when they join. - Ann Schlemmer, Percona
7. Provide Comprehensive Schedules And Handbooks
As a company with employees spread across Latin America, we've adapted our onboarding methods to suit our fully remote work environment. We have instituted a comprehensive virtual onboarding program that includes detailed schedules and digital handbooks. We also assign each new hire a dedicated mentor for their initial weeks. - Diego Machado, TowerHouse Studio
8. Match New Employees With Mentors
It’s critical to have a strong onboarding plan—provide laptops with a remote tech stack, establish performance goals and utilize tools like Slack to engage everyone. Look to match new employees with mentors who can help them navigate the culture. For example, pair working parents with other working parents who have successfully adjusted their work schedules to balance their work and caregiving responsibilities. - Delphine Carter, Boulo
9. Provide Insight Into The Small And Big Picture
One of the first onboarding tasks we have new remote employees do is meet and shadow other employees virtually. This gives them insight into the overall day-to-day operations and how their position works in the whole system. It also facilitates relationships being built between employees, helping new hires truly feel part of the team quickly. - Melanie Ammerman, VaVa Virtual Assistants
10. Implement Virtual Office Hours
Several of our leaders have implemented virtual office hours where people can drop in for an informal conversation. It has given us a chance to be "available at the water cooler" in a virtual way and actually allows us to reach more people than just those that are geographically aligned. - Linnea Geiss, PDI Technologies
11. Create A Virtual Scavenger Hunt
At a previous job, we had a virtual scavenger hunt during onboarding. It was designed to introduce new hires to different tools, platforms and resources they will need in their role while also encouraging them to reach out and connect with team members across different departments. By completing it, employees will feel integrated into the remote team and it will foster a sense of accomplishment from the start. - Ilona Schukina, Logitech Capital EOOD
12. Gamify Your Onboarding Processes
We have implemented and gamified our onboarding process through tools like Asana. The onboarding material includes much more information about employees to help with virtual introductions. We also do a weekly all-hands meeting that is run by a different department each week. If that department has a new hire, that team member is the focus of part of the weekly meeting. - Meghann Butcher, RepSpark
13. Integrate Unplanned Socializing Time
I advise my clients to make time for unplanned socializing during each virtual meeting or gathering. When employees share stories informally, they develop a bond that can transfer to the company if nurtured properly through empowerment and contextual safety. During onboarding, new employees are on high alert for potential dangers. Casual socializing helps them lower their guard and join the team. - Bryan Howard, Mercury Performance Group, LLC
14. Invest In Behavioral And Personality Assessments
To maximize our team collaboration, we have invested in DiSC, Driving Forces and emotional intelligence assessments. We have a certified consultant conduct a comprehensive debrief of each new employees' communication style, motivators and level of emotional intelligence to help them understand how they "show up" in the day-to-day work and how their unique profile can be leveraged internally and with our clients and vendors. - Robert Harbols, Artisan
15. Focus On Clear Communication
We've found a really strong emphasis on clear communication between management and employees is essential. Whether it's through phone calls, meetings, messages or Slack, do whatever it takes to not just onboard and provide new employees with the manual and expectations, but also immerse them in your culture and create camaraderie. - Jacob Kupietzky, HCT Executive Interim Management & Consulting
16. Facilitate Intentional Interactions
I'm always looking for easy ways to get people together or promote intentional interactions. For example, when our leadership team was in town recently for an in-person meeting, we made it a Chicago office social happy hour. As CEO, I also do a Zoom call every month with all the new employees so they feel like they have a chance to meet leadership right away and build that connection. - Andee Harris, Challenger
17. Ensure Meticulous Documentation
While work challenges like onboarding are not unique to remote organizations, we have discovered that meticulous documentation eradicates the element of surprise. In the virtual domain, nonverbal cues hold less sway, potentially erecting barriers to communication, camaraderie and serendipitous collaboration. Explicitly written communication and exchanges make onboarding seamless. - Thiyagarajan Maruthavanan, Upekkha
18. Maintain A Human Connection
We are a company of human beings. It is essential to maintain a human connection wherever and whenever possible. If it is practical geographically, we arrange for an in-person meeting or meal. New team members go through a series of one-on-one video meetings to understand the entire organization and then a full team "welcome aboard" meeting. We also follow this up with monthly mentorship sessions. - James Whaley, OvationMR
19. Connect On Share Values
We’ve always been virtual, so we teach new employees key tenets of our global culture from the start. This includes that we fail or succeed as a team, that you have a lot of leeway to accomplish goals but are accountable and that we don’t point fingers when mistakes are made, just work to do better next time. Our commitment to communicating shared values holds us together. - Sarah Jenkins, Genesis Digital
20. Emphasize Collaboration And Team Building
We've revamped our onboarding process to focus on breaking silos and measuring retention. We emphasize cross-team collaborations and virtual team building. Additionally, we conduct regular assessments and surveys throughout the onboarding journey to gather feedback from new hires. This ensures they receive the necessary information and support while also tracking retention metrics for continuous improvement. - Neena Pandey, The String Code and Indie Roots
