New employees are often introduced to the culture, values, processes, and staff of their new company through the process of onboarding.
With so many of us working in a remote or virtual workspace, remote onboarding is increasingly becoming more popular. So much so that companies with both remote and traditional working options are finding it to be beneficial in many ways.
But first, let’s quickly discuss why onboarding itself is an important part of making new employees feel welcome and how it benefits both employer and employee.
Why Is Onboarding Important?
Onboarding is an important process that helps employees to adapt to their new role, understand the company’s philosophies, and get to their new coworkers.
A good onboarding process doesn’t only help to retain new hires by making them feel a sense of belonging, but it also allows the new hire to be equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to contribute to the company.
Importance of good onboarding.
Remote onboarding helps new employees acclimatize to their new working situation by:
- Letting them know what is expected of them
- Introducing them to their co-workers
- Informing them of the company processes and procedures
- Letting them know the company culture.
Remote onboarding helps employers and the human relations department by:
- Providing the employee with concrete expectations
- Providing the employee with the information they need to start their job
- Providing the employee with incidental information such as parking and lunch facilities.
Not only will effective and comprehensive onboarding streamline the process of welcoming new employees, but research shows that structured onboarding improves the onboarding experience for new employees.
With many fun remote onboarding ideas available, remote onboarding has become a great choice that will benefit both the employees and the employers.
The rest of the article discusses the benefits of remote or virtual onboarding for both employers and employees.
What Are The Benefits of Remote Onboarding at a New Job
Remote onboarding can benefit both the employer and the employee in many ways including, quicker operation times, the flexibility of virtual training, greater productivity, and providing a welcoming work environment.
In this article, we list the best benefits of remote onboarding, and how this new onboarding arrangement can benefit both the employees and the employers when helping new employees adapt to their new workplace.
1. Better workplace efficiency
The best argument for remote onboarding is its efficiency. Of course, it might take some time to develop your remote onboarding platform but once you have and it is ready to go, the process should be a streamlined breeze.
There are many things to include in a remote onboarding platform. Depending on your workplace, you might have:
- A welcoming video from the President and Chief Operating Officer
- A welcoming video from each departmental manager, targeted for each area
- A message from the human resources department
- A virtual map of the company, including hierarchies and line reporting options
- A telephone/email directory
- A schedule for online meetings
- A list of benefits that the workplace offers
- Links to and a schedule of any requirements that need to be completed, including orientation forms and Health and safety quizzes
- Links to significant software and instructions on how to download and install it
When the remote onboarding process is up and running, it can be as simple as guiding the new employee to it. And what’s even better is that they can go through the process at their own pace.
According to Harvard Business Review, it is a good idea to identify and appoint a dedicated onboarding liaison. Not only will this be a welcoming point for the new employee, but they will be able to provide the most efficient service.
Most importantly, they should not be the new employee’s manager. It is crucial that the new employee feels comfortable asking any and all questions, big or small, without feeling judged or overwhelmed.
2. Workplace flexible
Having an organized remote onboarding system is a great way to signal that your company is organized and prepared to put in the hard yards to make changes to the workplace arrangement, such as remote working or hybrid work when requested.
Most modern workers are technologically savvy, and they can spot an inflexible workplace a mile away.
According to Forbes research, workers are increasingly willing to switch jobs and explore new opportunities in order to satisfy their desire for workplace flexibility.
When the remote onboarding process allows employees to complete the tasks and learn about the company when and where they want, employees will be able to recognize that they are working for an employee-centered company that values its employees’ time.
When your remote onboarding offers digital options to complete the reams of paperwork that often comes with a new job (for example health insurance and next of kin details), the processing time is reduced and workers can complete multiple forms with a minimum of time and effort.
3. Demonstrating more ways to communicate
Remote onboarding allows employees to demonstrate that they are active communicators who are willing to provide many options for communicating with their employees.
One of the most important parts of starting a new job is getting effective communication. Without it, employees might feel lost, forgotten, or unappreciated.
However, with the options of active communication that remote onboarding provides, this is not likely to happen.
During remote onboarding, there are many ways to communicate effectively to employees, such as:
Having a ‘remote buddy’
This will help guide the new employee through the onboarding process. Depending on the workplace software, communication is done through audio or video.
Common communication software used by most companies are:
- Slack
- Favro
- Microsoft Teams
- Zoom
- WebEx
- Trello
- Skype
- Yammer
- Google Workspace
- or use a private smartphone app etc.
Having a directory of Frequently Asked Questions
Employees will likely have many of the same questions, such as when to submit timesheets and the payroll period.
You can provide an easy-to-access FAQ list that anticipates these commonplace questions.
Having a library of helpful videos
The videos don’t have to be long (1-2 minutes maximum), but having a friendly face to guide employees through processes unique to the company is a great reference for employees.
Having a library of important documentation
Many people feel more comfortable using written reference material.
A library of all important documents, sorted accordingly, is a great reference not only for new employees but their established co-workers as well.
4. Quicker operation times
With an established remote onboarding system, you will be able to implement many time-saving options that come with remote technology such as e-signatures.
Not only is this quick and easy to use, but cuts down operating and processing times because we don’t have to rely on physical documentation to move from one place to another.
There are many types of e-signature software to choose from, such as:
- Acrobat Sign
- SignNow
- GetAccept
- HelloSign
- ZohoSign
5. The option of remote training
There are few jobs where new employees won’t need some type of training, be it in company procedures or a specific set of skills.
With remote onboarding, virtual or remote training can be included as part of the package or as a tailored and unique add-on specific to the role.
6. You can have a paperless workplace
According to research published in the Journal of Business Economics and Management, it is extremely easy for office and in-person workplaces to consume more paper than they need.
As more and more workplaces work towards greening their offices, using less paper is increasingly becoming the norm.
With remote onboarding, traditional paper-based forms such as health insurance, personal details, banking details, and next of kin can all be converted to digital portals and completed online. While offices tend to have printing and scanning facilities, many home offices do not have the same capabilities.
As long as you offer digital options, remote or virtual workers will not be discriminated against through the lack of workplace facilities. It also eliminates the need to send large or bulky files through email.
7. Onboarding promotes virtual engagement
It can be easy to assume that most people are technologically savvy. However, not everyone has had the benefit of working with technology and they might find virtual working environments intimidating and difficult to navigate.
Remote onboarding is a great way to introduce virtual workspaces and engagement to employees who otherwise might struggle with the concept.
The onboarding program can even include modules to help people acclimatize to virtual working environments.
It can also be used by both in-person and remote workers, as well as by employees that use a hybrid model.
It’s all about fairness, and as long as all employees have access to the same communication, knowledge, and help options, the option for virtual engagement will be available to all.
8. You can do it anywhere
According to research published in the Journal of Human Resource Development International, one of the primary drivers of the popularity of remote work is that you can do it anywhere, as long as you have the equipment and wifi capabilities that you need.
For some people, they can even choose when they want to work!
It’s all about flexibility and with a remote onboarding program, new employees can complete the onboarding wherever they choose.
This means that some people can choose to do the onboarding outside of office hours so that it does not impact their work schedule.
9. A welcoming virtual workplace
A company’s remote onboarding program is only as good as the company that created it. If you want a welcoming virtual workplace, there are many innovative and creative ways you can signal this desired culture for your new employees.
You can include:
- Friendly and inclusive language
- Informal communication
- Options for out-of-work socialization
- Spaces to communicate privately, both about work and non-work activities.
Read Also:
- How to Introduce Yourself at Work on Your First Day (with Examples)
- How to Evaluate a Remote Job Offer (It’s About YOU)
- How to Evaluate a Freelance Job Offer For Freelancer ($$ Don’t Always Matters)
- How to Evaluate a Startup Job Offer (4 Powerful Steps)
- 20 Best Practices For Onboarding Remote Employees (Why & How)
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