{"id":10410,"date":"2017-07-31T06:54:31","date_gmt":"2017-07-31T13:54:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/recruitloop.com\/blog\/?p=10410"},"modified":"2017-06-20T19:29:05","modified_gmt":"2017-06-21T02:29:05","slug":"5-best-practices-onboarding-remote-employees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/5-best-practices-onboarding-remote-employees\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Best Practices For Onboarding Remote Employees"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em><strong>Editor\u2019s Note:\u00a0<\/strong>This is a guest post by Hugh McCullen &#8211; President of MicroTek. His opinions are his own.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The importance of successfully <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/5-ways-your-employee-onboarding-helps-define-your-employer-brand\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">onboarding new employees<\/a> is undeniable. Onboarding helps new hires acclimate to their work responsibilities as well as to the company\u2019s social and professional environment, so they know what\u2019s expected of them and how they fit into the organization. Most employers have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/portfolio\/new-hire-orientation-onboarding-checklist\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">an effective onboarding procedure<\/a> in place for on-site employees, but the real challenge lies in designing a satisfactory program for onboarding <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/mistakes-avoid-managing-remote-teams\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">remote hires<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Why is this an issue? The widespread availability of instant communication via chat apps and video conferencing software allows companies to hire the best and brightest employees regardless of their home locations. In fact, 57 percent of companies have a formal policy in place allowing employees to work remotely.<\/p>\n<p>While the lack of face-to-face communication makes it difficult to onboard and train remote employees, it is not an insurmountable difficulty \u2014 a little planning and a lot of organization is all you need.<\/p>\n<p>Below are the five best practices that, when designed and implemented thoughtfully, deliver optimal results.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"1-organize-your-onboarding-process\"><strong>1. Organize your onboarding process<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Make your remote onboarding process consistent and repeatable by documenting it. Your onboarding document should read like a lengthy to-do list, and it should be shared with the new hire to ensure that everyone is on the same page.<\/p>\n<p>Organize your onboarding process into distinct chunks so you can keep track of your progress. The following items should be covered in your document:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Things to accomplish before the remote hire begins work, <\/strong>including a \u201cwelcome to the team\u201d email, paperwork to fill out (e.g., tax, payroll and insurance forms) and what to expect during the first week.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Items to cover during the first week <\/strong>such as facts about the company, an introduction to relevant tools and software, login\/password\/security information, the training schedule and topics, work expectations, and a list of employees and how to get in touch with them.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ongoing or intermittent tasks<\/strong>, including checking in with your remote hire every few days, work product assessments, the sharing of tidbits from company events, regular video chats and anything else you can think of to make your remote employee feel like a valued member of your team.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>As part of the remote onboarding process, you should develop a training manual that includes dates, topics, task descriptions and expectations, and an indication of how progress is evaluated.<\/p>\n<p>Store your training manual and other materials, such as self-help articles, written policies and online training tools, in some kind of learning library that is easily accessed and referenced as needed.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"2-introduce-your-new-employee-to-the-team\"><strong>2. Introduce your new employee to the team<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>Welcoming new employees in person is ideal. You can evaluate their reactions, they may feel freer to ask questions, and it\u2019s easier for all employees \u2014 both those on-site as well as the new remote worker \u2014 to connect names with faces.<\/p>\n<p>What can you do to make the remote worker feel like a part of your team? The easiest and most effective solution is to invite the new hire to spend his or her first week at your office. This allows all employees to get to know one another, introduces the new hire to your culture, and facilitates training.<\/p>\n<p>But what if your new virtual employees cannot travel to your office? You simply adapt your welcoming process to accommodate them \u2014 without sacrificing face-to-face communication. According to the Society for Human Resource Management, video conferencing technology is an extremely valuable tool for onboarding remote hires.<\/p>\n<p>Incorporating video conferencing into your onboarding process lets you bring the office to your remote employees. Start by setting up a video meeting that permits you to introduce the new hire(s) to your current employees. How about a virtual tour of the office? Even better, why not conduct a virtual walk-through to present the new employee to each coworker individually?<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"3-break-training-into-steps\"><strong>3. Break training into steps<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Break down the training into small, discrete elements; after completing each step, assign the employee a series of activities that allow you assess his or her understanding of the task. When the employee has mastered an item, move on to the next one.<\/p>\n<p>As training advances, begin assigning \u201creal\u201d work with short deadlines so you can provide detailed feedback. It\u2019s vital to point out mistakes and reinforce correct work methods before too much time has passed. Make sure your new hire knows where to put work in process so everyone involved in the project can track its progress.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"4-instill-your-companys-culture\"><strong>4. Instill your company\u2019s culture<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>This may be the most difficult part of the remote onboarding process. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/5-ways-get-company-culture-thrive\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Company culture<\/a> is transmitted almost effortlessly when new on-site employees spend time in the office and interact with their coworkers.<\/p>\n<p>But how do remote hires learn the professional and social norms of an organization? It takes some work, but building relationships between on- and off-site colleagues is well worth the effort. Communication is key. Speaking \u201cface to face\u201d via video chats, instant messaging and conference calls helps nurture connections. Always remember to include remote workers in meetings, and encourage them to share their ideas and opinions.<\/p>\n<p>Another, and perhaps the best way to instill culture in remote workers, is to assign an on-site mentor or coach, whose goal is to make the remote worker feel like a member of the work family. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/6-things-you-never-knew-about-mentoring\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mentors<\/a> are responsible for helping new hires adjust to the way things work, the company\u2019s overall goals, and work product expectations.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"5-make-improvement-an-ongoing-task\"><strong>5. Make improvement an ongoing task<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Continual evaluation and tweaks are necessary to keep your remote onboarding process and materials up to date. Ask for feedback from new employees about their onboarding experiences. What could or should you have done better or differently? What questions were asked that you did not anticipate? Did you offer enough personal support to make your virtual employees feel comfortable working remotely? Are your on-site employees communicating effectively with their remote counterparts?<\/p>\n<p>Use the responses and reactions from all employees to make thoughtful improvements to your onboarding program.<\/p>\n<p>Remember, if you can successfully integrate remote hires, you are free to look virtually anywhere in the world for the best candidates.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Below are 5 best practices that, when designed and implemented thoughtfully, deliver optimal results for onboarding remote employees.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":10412,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[23,30,31],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>5 Best Practices For Onboarding Remote Employees<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Below are 5 best practices 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