Source: Pexel

As 2020 began, most companies had to face what some are now calling “the largest global work-from-home experiment.” Interestingly, studies show that around 17% of US employees were already working remotely before the pandemic hit. However, during COVID, face-to-face interactions were significantly reduced, meaning companies had to embrace remote onboarding in addition to most employees working from home.

Now that the world is gradually recovering from the pandemic, some businesses are beginning to return to their former personal operations. However, this does not mean that you should completely neglect your remote processes. Telecom is the future and you should position your business by embracing remote hiring. In his guide, we walk you through everything you need to know about remote onboarding, including a step-by-step process and the critical mistakes to avoid.

Why is remote worker onboarding important?

Source: Unsplash

The important things first; What’s the big fuss about onboarding remote workers? Well, most companies don’t realize that excellent onboarding is the backbone of their organization’s growth and success.

Think about it; Your employees are often the first interaction customers have with your company. If they offer quality services and are friendly, your customers will remain loyal to you. On the other hand, if your employees are grumpy and dissatisfied, their productivity will drop and their performance will drop. As a result, they will eventually leave the company. Don’t you believe us? Well, studies show that around 20% of employee turnover occurs within the first 45 days of hiring. That’s wasted resources!

First impressions count, and the onboarding process is all about introducing new employees to your company. That way, they know they’re a perfect fit for your business. Onboarding also helps you build trust with your new hires and equips them with the tools they need to thrive in the organization.

6 Key Processes for Great Remote Worker Onboarding

Source: Pexel

Here’s a sobering stat: Only about 12% of employees think their company has a great onboarding program. This means that almost 90% of new hires believe there is room for improvement! So if you’re hoping to increase your employee retention rate through remote onboarding, here’s a tried-and-true step-by-step guide of the key processes to follow.

1. Streamline your pre-boarding process

The basics of remote and in-person onboarding processes are the same. You must start with a solid foundation before jumping in. This includes everything from the moment you decide the candidate is a great fit for your company through to their first day on the job.

Make sure your new hires have access to everything they need to work, including productivity tools, learning modules, email credentials, project management tools, time tracking, expense report app, etc. It might sound obvious, but you’d be surprised be the number of access issues new hires face on their first day of work.

Keep in mind that you will be doing this remotely, so it’s important that they feel connected to the workplace.

2. Adopt a collaborative onboarding process

New employees are usually looking forward to their job. However, most of them don’t get enough information during the onboarding process that they need to excel at their jobs. Why? Because there is a lot to tell, and the HR department cannot handle it alone. This is where collaboration comes into play.

The key experts in your organization should work together and share their knowledge with the new hires by creating onboarding course content themselves, rather than just relying on your HR or L&D team. All they need is the right learning platform to design modules that break down complex chunks of information into digestible chunks. In this way, employees can gradually complete relevant modules and obtain feedback as they progress.

By decentralizing your onboarding content, everyone wins. The L&D teams and HR have less pressure and the new hire interacts with all departments.

3. Customize the onboarding experience for each employee

Have you ever started a new job only to find that the learning modules are too generic? Or started a marketing internship but the learning path was designed for the IT department? As prospective employees go through the onboarding processes, they have expectations of the position and its responsibilities. Therefore, it is crucial that you design the onboarding processes to meet their needs and expectations.

Yes, there will be elements of the learning paths that are generalized across the organization, including your corporate culture and product or service details. However, you must provide the new hire with learning paths that are job-ready and tailored to their role. You should also give them the flexibility to use the learning paths at their own pace, especially if they are in different time zones.

4. Engage new hires with nudges and checklists

It’s so easy to distract a new hire, especially when they have to go through multiple learning paths. Keep in mind that they work from home and are likely to face multiple distractions. The best way to keep them engaged is by using checklists and setting up reminders. A checklist also shows visible progress, which motivates the new employees to complete the learning modules.

If you notice that one of the staff is falling behind, reach out to them with a tailored message asking if they need help to see if you should set up a face-to-face meeting with them. (A recent study of high-performing teams found that managers who engage in one-on-one interviews are 1.5 times more likely to keep their entire team). This could go a long way in keeping them connected to the team. You could also assign each employee an accountability partner to keep them running.

5. Refine your processes by getting feedback

Studies show that around ⅔ of employees leave their job if they do not feel valued. That is why employee feedback is crucial! It informs you about your employees’ pain points and shows them that you care.

Start by educating your new hires about the onboarding process. How easy was it? Did you face challenges? Are there aspects that need improvement? Ask her! This gives you constructive feedback that you can use to optimize your onboarding processes. For example, if they tell you that certain parts of their courses would have benefited from a live session with a subject matter expert, think about how you can incorporate a blended learning approach to address that need.

6. Use clear onboarding metrics to measure your onboarding success

Finally, it would be best if you introduced clear metrics to determine learning progress. This is especially important with remote onboarding, where you cannot physically confirm the success of the learning modules. The metrics also help learners understand what you expect from them and allow you to monitor their performance.

Key mistakes to avoid when onboarding remote workers

Source: Pexel

Remote onboarding is a foreign word in most companies. There’s a high chance you never thought about it before the pandemic. Here are 7 mistakes you’re likely to make and how to avoid them.

• Leave the onboarding process to HR and L&D teams: It should be a collaborative process that gives the new hire insight into all aspects of your business, but with a particular focus on their role.
• Carrying out the onboarding process via email: This might work with in-person onboarding, but is a bad idea when dealing with remote settings. What if they don’t receive the email? What if they see it months later? Avoid email onboarding at all costs! There are tools you can use to integrate video calls, Slack, Asana, and email in one place to simplify organization and avoid lengthy email chains.
• Excessive communication: Yes. You should keep in touch with your new hires, but too much communication is distracting. Only log in if you have important information or to check progress. However, they should be immediately available in case they need your help.
• Bombarding employees with too much information: Remote work is convenient, but it also has downsides like too much pressure and distraction. Share information in small chunks that don’t overwhelm new hires and allow them to take specific courses on the go with mobile learning.
• Have rigid performance goals: This will only discourage your attitude. Instead, look at the big picture and give your remote workers some flexibility. For example, if they have too many learning modules, you can structure them so that they only have to complete one module per week.
• Error monitoring progress: You can’t improve what you don’t know. So make sure to ask for feedback and track employee progress throughout the onboarding process. This helps you identify and eliminate bottlenecks that could be slowing you down.

Don’t forget to limit the number of technological tools and software they have to deal with. They can be overwhelming! If you constantly need to introduce new tools, make sure they are physically separate and essential.

Give your new remote workers the welcome they deserve

The success of your remote onboarding process will largely determine your employee retention rates. Unlike in-person onboarding, communication isn’t instantaneous, so your new hires won’t be able to reach you at all times. You also can’t contact them whenever you want, so it’s important to structure your process in a way that benefits both of you. The best way to do this is through learning paths created through a collaborative effort. You should also keep your communication channels open, but not overwhelm the new hire with too much information at once.

Author: Robin Nichols. Robin is Content Lead US at 360Learning and is interested in the intersection between technology and culture.