{"id":4859,"date":"2023-01-03T14:59:45","date_gmt":"2023-01-03T14:59:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unremot.com\/blog\/?p=4859"},"modified":"2023-01-04T16:39:15","modified_gmt":"2023-01-04T16:39:15","slug":"tips-for-onboarding-remote-employees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unremot.com\/blog\/tips-for-onboarding-remote-employees\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Tips For Onboarding Remote Employees"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Here are the 5 tips for onboarding remote employees!<\/p>\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Onboarding is one of the most important parts of welcoming new employees. New joiners should be excited about their roles, but a lack of support in the first few weeks can dampen that enthusiasm and sour them on your business. If you can nail the onboarding process, you\u2019ll get your new employees integrated and productive at a rapid clip.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is much easier said than done, though, and goodwill alone won\u2019t help you get it done. This is particularly true when you\u2019re dealing with <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">remote <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">employees. After all, in-office conversations have always been good for getting people up to speed. So how can you accommodate the new normal of remote working?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this post, we\u2019ll set out five top tips for onboarding remote employees, explaining how you can adapt to suit the new paradigm. Let\u2019s get started.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Get them set up online early<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since remote work is done entirely online, it\u2019s a good idea to get all of a new starter\u2019s online accounts, platforms, and resources set up before their first day. If you\u2019re providing a laptop, be sure to get that posted to them as soon as possible too!\u00a0 With the necessary accounts already created, they can get settled in quickly instead of spending time doing nothing while they wait for access to essential tools and resources.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let\u2019s face it \u2014 starting a new job can feel <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">daunting<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, so give your new employee one less thing to worry about by ensuring they have everything they need to do their job. Once they\u2019re settled, it\u2019s also worth enquiring about their home office configuration. Make sure they\u2019ve got a good, ergonomic office chair, a sturdy desk (at the correct height) and all the necessary PC peripherals (keyboard, mouse, wrist rests, etc). If they\u2019re missing any of these, consider expensing these items and ordering them directly to their address.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Create a first-week schedule<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A clear schedule that covers the first week will give a new employee some much-needed clarity. Office-based inductions give people easy access to various team members capable of helping them when they feel lost, while remote working can feel very disconnected. What happens if your new hire can\u2019t reach the one person they\u2019ve dealt with so far? How will they know what they could \u2014 or <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">should <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014 be doing?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Recognizing that remote employees have different needs than office workers (check out <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Timedoctor<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2019s guide on this) will allow you to create a more effective onboarding process, and one of the best ways to accommodate them is to make setting a first-week schedule part of your onboarding process. Each schedule should include introductions to various team members (including department heads), vital training sessions, and key tasks the employee can tackle. It\u2019s also crucial to set clear expectations and goals. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Before your new remote employee starts, make sure they understand what is expected of them in terms of work tasks and responsibilities, as well as any goals or targets they need to meet thus making the process of onboarding remote employees easy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Also read:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/unremot.com\/blog\/remote-works-for-college-students\/\">10 Best Remote Works for College Students<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Organize virtual meet and greets<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What better way to welcome a new starter into the team than by saying hello? It may sound obvious, but greeting your new remote employee during their first week will make a big difference in how they settle in. Whatever communication platform you use (whether that\u2019s Google Hangouts, Microsoft Teams, Slack, or something else), organize a morning chat on their first day. Making it clear that there are friendly people available will help them feel confident and willing to reach out for help when they need it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Over their first month of employment, try to plan regular team-building activities, a virtual social event and offer plenty of opportunities to build connections with colleagues. For example, you could host a weekly virtual coffee break where team members can chat informally and get to know each other better. Regular brainstorming sessions and cross-functional projects are a great idea, too.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Another way to foster a sense of community is to make sure that any new remote employees have access to the same resources and support as in-office employees. This can include things like access to professional development opportunities, mentoring programs, and any other resources that can help them succeed in their role. Overall, fostering a sense of community can help your new remote employee feel more connected and engaged, which can ultimately lead to better job satisfaction and performance.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Be on-hand and present<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While you don\u2019t need to completely clear your calendar when a new person starts, you do need to be present. It\u2019s normal and reasonable for a newly-onboarded team member to have questions, so make your presence known online and let them know that you\u2019re on hand to help. If you can\u2019t help them immediately when they ask, at least acknowledge their questions and note that you\u2019ll get back to them when you can.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">can <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">be a challenge if you\u2019re operating across time zones, admittedly. It\u2019s still relatively rare, but there\u2019s been explosive growth in permanent overseas hiring (due largely to the pandemic-induced embrace of remote working, but also due to the increasingly-accepted tactic of hiring via a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/remote.com\/services\/employer-of-record\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Remote<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">-style employer of record service), and it isn\u2019t easy to be there for someone who\u2019s starting their day when you\u2019re going to sleep. But you can <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">try<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. You can shift your hours slightly so you share some hours, embrace asynchronous working (complete with recorded training videos), and generally make an effort. They\u2019ll appreciate it.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Discover their work style<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Everyone works in a unique way, and it\u2019s important to find out how your new hire prefers to get things done. Due to this, you should ensure that the onboarding stage gives them ample opportunity to talk about what they need. What\u2019s their <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">working style<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">? Are they more of a visual learner, making videos useful, do they prefer 1-on-1 training sessions? Are they happy to be assigned work and complete it independently, or do they need assistance?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The more you learn about them, the better you can accommodate their preferences, and the faster you can start to take advantage of their strengths and work on their weaknesses.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>The Dos and Don&#8217;ts of Remote Onboarding<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Before we finish off, let\u2019s recap and go over some dos and don&#8217;ts or remote onboarding:<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dos<\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Provide clear instructions and expectations for the role.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Set up regular check-ins with the new employee to provide support and answer any questions they may have.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Give the employee access to any tools or resources they will need to do their job effectively (including office furniture if needed).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Encourage open communication and make it clear that the employee can reach out to you or other team members for help or support.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Don\u2019ts<\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Assume that the employee knows how to use all of the tools and resources provided. Make sure to provide thorough training and support.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Expect the employee to be immediately productive without providing adequate support and guidance.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Leave the employee to figure things out on their own. Make sure to check in regularly and provide support as needed.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ignore any concerns or issues the employee raises. Address them promptly and professionally.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Give new remote employees the best start today by incorporating these five top tips into your onboarding process. Get this right and you\u2019ll have happy, motivated, and productive team members regardless of where they\u2019re based or how they work.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here are the 5 tips for onboarding remote employees! Onboarding is one of the most important parts of welcoming new employees. New joiners should be excited about their roles, but a lack of support in the first few weeks can dampen that enthusiasm and sour them on your business. If you can nail the onboarding [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4860,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-4859","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-businesses","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unremot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4859","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unremot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unremot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unremot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unremot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4859"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/unremot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4859\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4867,"href":"https:\/\/unremot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4859\/revisions\/4867"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unremot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4860"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unremot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4859"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unremot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4859"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unremot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4859"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}