At Scede, we believe the remote onboarding experience begins from the moment a candidate accepts the job. A well-considered induction programme that provides your new starter with the tools for success can truly be the difference between a happy, engaged employee and one who runs for the door after week one!
But hang on… we’re all remote now. It can feel like someone’s taken the onboarding playbook and launched it out the window. Can we still offer this great experience? Or are there aspects that we have to compromise now?
The good news is that with a small amount of extra effort, a remote onboarding process can be just as great as a traditional one. If not better. All the added consideration is likely to result in a smoother process. There’s no such thing as winging it when you’re remote – as the saying goes, if you fail to prepare, then you’ll need to prepare to fail.
So where do we start? Well, before diving into remote onboarding best practices, we need to make sure the fundamentals are covered. To enable employees to work remotely, you must consider the following:
Remote access
Are you using a VPN? If so, do you have enough VPN licenses to cover the employees now working from home? Have the IT team set up a secure connection from the employee’s home to the company network – connections with weak or no security could leave you open to hacking.
Insurance Policies
Review your insurance policy – does it cover remote workers? If not, this needs to be addressed.
Equipment
Are you asking employees to use their personal equipment or will you be providing it for them? If the latter, consider using your standard provider alongside a courier service. Any software or systems should ideally be set up on it and ready to go. And if you don’t have one already, write an equipment care policy outlining your expectations for maintenance and usage.
Legal documents
Many local governments have made ‘right to work’ checks easier to carry out in light of COVID-19 – check whether you can verify documents via video call. If you would prefer to use a provider, companies like Onfido or Trulioo can provide this service virtually.
Okay, so now we know that we can onboard new hires remotely, how do we make the new starter experience as stellar, smooth and inclusive as possible?
Use the 70:20:10 rule
Structure the new hire’s time so that 70% is spent “experiential learning” (learning by doing). Here, they’re free to get to grips with your systems, work on challenging new assignments and probably make some minor mistakes along the way. Of course, in order to do so they’ll need structured training to supplement their learning. Aim for 20% of their training to be “social learning” in a peer-to-peer environment. Colleagues can share their knowledge and experience, as well as answer immediate questions in a relaxed setting. Finally, assign 10% of the new hire’s time to “formal learning” – typically, this will consist of online courses, webinars or instructor-led classes. Formal learning is the starting point from which other types of learning can grow.
Give your new starts context
Ask a member of the executive team (ideally Founder or CEO) to run the new starter through the company’s history. “The story up until now” is a great way to provide context on the business – and build a bond between the individual and your businesses purpose, vision and mission.
Take steps to ensure new employees don’t feel siloed or isolated
We suggest scheduling meetings with every ‘Head of Department’ (Finance, HR, Marketing, Tech) who will be able to demonstrate how the organisation works as a whole and their team’s contribution within it. It also breaks down any barriers between functions – encouraging the new starter to think ‘big picture, long-term’ and consider the impact to other teams when making everyday decisions
As an embedded talent partner, at Scede, we’ve been onboarding new starters remotely since we launched in 2013. We know that a remote onboarding process can be enjoyable for everyone involved – not to mention an efficient and valuable way of bringing new talent into your business.
A positive new hire experience sets the foundations for a long, successful career at an organisation, so it’s worth investing time into making your onboarding process a great one – remote or not. To help out, we’ve come up with an easy-to-read remote preboarding and onboarding checklist that you can use when planning a new starter’s arrival virtually. And as always, feel free to reach out if you have any questions or we can help further.
Here at Scede, we work with some of Europe’s and North America’s most exciting technology and gaming companies to identify, engage and hire world-class talent. We care uncompromisingly about the candidate experience and act as true ambassadors for brands throughout the hiring process. If this resonates and you think we could help you, message us via the button below.
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