{"id":7947,"date":"2020-11-21T17:11:08","date_gmt":"2020-11-21T22:11:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/?p=7947"},"modified":"2020-11-21T17:11:32","modified_gmt":"2020-11-21T22:11:32","slug":"5-tips-for-remote-onboarding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/5-tips-for-remote-onboarding\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Tips For Remote Onboarding"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

At the beginning of the century, remote work was extremely uncommon. In fact, the remote workforce grew 159%<\/a> between 2005 and 2017. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a result of this rapid growth, many employers and employees are stuck in the lurch of the dreaded learning curve. Businesses are navigating their remote onboarding on a case-by-case basis, leaving tons of new hires feeling ill-prepared for their position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you’re looking for ways to streamline your remote onboarding process for guaranteed success every time, you’ve come to the right place. By studying the work of companies that have successfully made the transition to remote training and working, we’ve compiled the best and most important tips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read on for five tips to make your remote onboarding process better than ever before. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

1. Get a Head-Start<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Traditionally, onboarding would begin on an employee’s first day at their new job. They’d likely spend the first few hours filling out paperwork and learning about possible benefits like health insurance and paid leave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we’re dealing with remote work, the lines aren’t so clear-cut in terms of that first day. There’s no need to wait to get started on things like paperwork and, in fact, you should get as much of that process out of the way before onboarding starts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After an employee is informed that they’ve gotten the job, let them know that you’re sending them a virtual packet of information they need to go over. Give them a timeline and ask them to get started ASAP. This ensures that they’re engaged from the get-go and less likely to accept another offer from someone else before your onboarding has begun. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Starting early also allows you to get any shipments out of the way before onboarding begins. For example, if you need all employees to work from a company computer or take calls on a company phone, you can get all of that in the mail at a faster pace if you get the paperwork taken care of early. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Create Clear, Individualized Onboarding Plans<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Your employees are probably used to the increased oversight and immediate feedback they’d receive from an in-person job. Because those elements are missing from remote work, you’re going to want to make your onboarding plan as clear and individualized as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don’t rush through training for remote work. Make sure each employee receives the training they need for their specific position. In this case, it’s better to have too much training rather than too little.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Provide deadlines for each step of the onboarding process in order to keep your new employee active. Schedule virtual or phone meetings throughout so that they can ask questions and get the feedback they need to improve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Encourage Communication and Team-Building<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

How do you make sure that your remote employees feel connected to one another? Make sure that you open clear channels of communication during the onboarding process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Start with an introductory conference call. Ask any supervisors or employees who your new employee will work with to join. Have some ice-breakers handy so that everyone can get to know each other in a relaxed way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take advantage of remote messaging boards like Slack. Providing all remote employees with an instant messaging platform will show them that asking questions and seeking guidance is not only allowable but encouraged. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make reaching out to different departments or coworkers a required part of the onboarding process. This will allow them to get used to setting up virtual meetings or appointments when necessary. It will also give them a chance to get to know their coworkers a little bit better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Convey Company Culture<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Company culture is a big make-or-break element of employee retention. Even if the pay is great and the work is manageable, a lot of employees become antsy or dissatisfied when the company culture is lacking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Creating and conveying company culture to your remote workers isn’t the easiest thing in the world. However, it’s not impossible. A lot of it will come down to the language and tone you use in your onboarding materials–are you strictly professional or a little more laid back?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Company culture isn’t just about attitude. It’s also about expectations. Put together a document that provides a number of different scenarios your remote employee may encounter and what will be expected of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, explain how many hours a week you expect your employees to work and the appropriate way for them to track and report their time. Tell them who to contact in an emergency, how much leave they are allotted, and how to set up out-of-office messages. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In order to create better accountability, you may want to set up a series of reviews. For example, you may want to hold a virtual meeting with your new employee after their first 30, 90, and 160 days. This will allow you to give them feedback and let them know how well they’re fitting in and meeting expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Make Use of Remote Onboarding Tech<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you’re hiring remote workers, it’s time to get comfortable with the technology that’s designed to make remote work possible. We all know about resources like Slack and Zoom, but did you know that there’s tech designed for the remote onboarding process<\/a>, too? Make life easier for you and your remote employees by becoming familiar with the latest tech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Future of Work Is Remote<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Remote work is booming but not all of us have caught up with the times. If you’re making the transition to hiring remote employees, make sure you have a plan for remote onboarding. With these five tips, you’re guaranteed to have smooth onboarding with a fantastic success rate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Building a strong company or making the transition to new modes of working requires organization and communication. Take a look at our business templates that will help you manage everything from service contracts to payroll. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At the beginning of the century, remote work was extremely uncommon. In fact, the remote workforce grew 159% between 2005 and 2017.  As a result of this rapid growth, many employers and employees are stuck in the lurch of the dreaded learning curve. Businesses are navigating their remote onboarding on a case-by-case basis, leaving tons […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7947"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7947"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7947\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7949,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7947\/revisions\/7949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7947"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7947"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7947"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}