5 Tips for On-boarding Remote Employees
Since 2005, remote work has expanded by 173 per cent. Over half of the workforce has a job that could be done from home, at least partially, and companies are increasingly enabling it as COVID-19 spreads. Remote work has been found to boost productivity, save money, decrease turnover, decrease absenteeism and has lowered health concerns. Many people believe that even after the decreased effect of COVID-19, remote work will become more widespread as more employers recognise the benefits of working from home.
However, as we’ve seen, remote workers have different requirements as compared to physical office workers. They require a proper office setup to do their tasks, but they do so from the comfort of their own home. They can’t reach out to a colleague physically to ask a question, thus they require communication tools. Because they do not physically come into an office, they must be informed of when they are expected to be present digitally. Their employee experience is unique, and they require customised People Operations programmes to support them. This starts with an effective employee onboarding programme.
An effective employee onboarding can reduce turnover, enhance engagement, shorten time to competency, and lower costs, among other things. With top executive recruitment services comes effective onboarding for remote employees. Here are 5 tips to ensure proper onboarding of remote employees.
1. A pleasant welcome
A pleasant welcome can help a new employee decide whether or not to accept your offer and create an atmosphere for employee engagement. It communicates to them how thrilling it is to have them join the company. Discuss the next steps, including employee onboarding information. Some businesses bring remote employees to the company’s headquarters for onboarding. New workers should be made aware of this well in advance of the offer stage, and they should receive information about their travel plans and agenda shortly after accepting the offer. Workers that will have virtual employee orientation should also be briefed as to what to expect.
2. Ensure that remote employees have the tools they need to accomplish their tasks
On their first day of work, office employees often have a workspace and other necessary accessories. Remote employees may not even have a workspace set up and may rely on the firm to provide the necessary equipment. The company may consider allocating a budget per each remote employee to help them set up their personal office. To make this process easier for the new hires, they can present a list of office necessities. If the company provides equipment, such as laptop computers, ensure it arrives before or by the employee’s first day. Companies may choose to pay staff with a recurring stipend to cover the costs of utilities like Wi-Fi, mobile phone, and other needs.
3. Assign a remote buddy to new remote employees
A remote worker will not be aware of their new workplace’s culture, or their work colleagues. A buddy programme is an excellent technique to assist new employees in adjusting to their new environment. The buddy programs or virtual buddies can assist new workers in learning things like who to reach out to for IT support and how other staff communicate using technologies like Slack and Asana.
Another way to deal with this would be by pairing the remote employees with other remote workers. It can be very beneficial if the company has a diverse workforce. They can assist in answering inquiries about the position or other work-related queries which one worker might have asked another worker in the office, physically. For example, how to deal with everyday disruptions at home, how to utilise a VPN or anything else that is specific to working remotely.
4. Share or make use of a checklist for the critical steps in bringing a remote employee on board
A checklist is always great to have around oneself when a list of tasks need to be accomplished. Similarly, a checklist will always be handy when bringing a new employee on board. This step is especially helpful when the company has a mixed work force. A mixed work force means physical and remote employees. In the case of an offline employee, the employee can physically collect their laptop from a station in the office. But a remote employee, obviously cannot do this. So, to ensure that the remote employee receives their required equipment for a good, comfortable work experience, a checklist will ensure that their required equipment, like a laptop, is sent to them.
If not a checklist, then at least an excel sheet with the name of the task, to whom it needs to be sent or who is supposed to perform that task with a due date will be helpful.
Or if the company is wishing to employ some other forces to perform the mundane tasks then a great People Operations Platform will be very useful. A People Operations platform can automatically perform the common necessary tasks needed to bring a remote employee on board. Another great option will be a virtual assistant if the company wishes to add a human touch.
5. Take regular feedback from employees and implement the necessary feedbacks
Feedbacks are always beneficial. An employer must know what their employees think of them. The best way to do so is by taking feedback. However, taking feedback is just the first step. Implementing the necessary ones, which the workers need, whether they are in the office or remote workers is the next step. And ensuring that they are implemented well throughout the company is the final step.
Feedback from employees is a crucial step in creating and implementing good and useful HR programs. Regular surveys from new employees, current employees and those who are about to leave the company is the best way to find out if the work force is happy, content with the way they are being treated, with the facilities that they are being provided with and/or how they can be improved.
Conclusion:
To create a better workforce, this is very crucial. Ensuring that their requirements are fulfilled to the best ability of the company is the company’s duty.
In the feedback form, to ensure that it is even more helpful to the company and the employees. One can add a question to learn if the employee is in the office or a remote employee. This can further help the company to know what the different segments of employees think of the company.
