The majority of companies have begun to follow ‘work from home’ culture as social distancing is the key to limit the spread of coronavirus outbreak. Employers are now adjusting themselves in this ‘new normal’ situation by adapting new techniques.
But, the real challenge lies in HR activities, especially successful onboarding of remote workers. Generally, most organizations have a structured onboarding strategy in place for on-site staff. Considering current scenario, companies now also need to design an effective program for onboarding remote hires.
Being HR, you need to understand that employee experience of remote staff is different and hence, you need to create a separate onboarding process to welcome them. It can improve employee engagement level and reduce time to proficiency.
Below are 5 smart ways for successful onboarding of remote workers;
- Create a checklist!
Creating a checklist for onboarding of remote employees help you to make sure you don’t skip any necessary step in a new hire onboarding process. The lack of ‘checklist’ makes it difficult to onboard remote employees. The importance of ‘checklist’ is undeniable in any HR related processes.
- Digital employee handbook is MUST!
If you don’t really have a digital employee handbook, then it’s time to write one up. It must include remote work policies, like hours company expect employees to be available, information about company culture, etc. Also, convey the company’s expectation clearly to the new hire.
- Invest in right technology!
You can set the tone for employee engagement from the beginning by investing in employee self-service portal (ESS portal) and AI-powered HR chatbot. ESS portal allows your remote employees access as well as update their personal details in the system and HR bot can help remote staff with almost every common HR-related query. Such systems can automate and streamline many of the repetitive activities necessary for onboarding remote workers. Digitize your paperwork!
- Arrange collaborative learning via training management system
Connect your new remote workforce with other existing remote staff by using online training management software. Make use of such tools to arrange training sessions and inductions to give a platform for face-to-face interaction. Serve them opportunities to access online courses as they are always looking for more work-related trainings.
- Support them to set up home office space
It is possible that remote workers may not have a proper home office set up, so help them to do so. Give them a list of office essentials to simplify this experience for your new hires.
Let’s redefine onboarding process with the use of technology to engage and retain the talent you’ve worked so hard to recruit!
