Canadian HR Reporter

16 www.hrreporter.com F E A T U R E S HIRING is only half of the equation when building a remote team. The other half is increasing the likelihood that new team members will stay and setting them up for success through remote onboarding. On someone's first day at an office, they can be greeted in person. They' ll be shown to their desk, introduced to everyone and explained the training process. At noon, they might grab a welcome lunch with the team. This constant and intentional contact over the upcoming weeks helps them become familiarized with the company, the work and their colleagues. Onboarding for a remote team is very different. It's often done virtually: An in-person handshake becomes an introductory message by email and a welcome lunch becomes asynchronous greetings that might span several days across multiple time zones. Mastering remote onboarding is crucial and will ensure new team members thrive in their role. Here are six ways to make for a smooth onboarding process out of the office: Introduce new team members While your team might already know that a hiring process is taking place, they may be unaware of the successful candidate. Give them a heads-up beforehand about the new hire and how their role will fit into the larger team. Before the new report begins, ask them for a short bio about themselves to introduce them. Ask for: a few details about themselves, where they worked before, what skills they'll bring to the team, what they're looking forward to in their new role and a few photos of themselves. what their onboarding will look like and what they can expect over the next few days and weeks. Provide a new hire checklist Giving new hires a way to feel like they're learning and making progress on the job is crucial. In advance, create a list of small-scale responsibilities as a warmup. Onboarding task lists should be department-specific and modified slightly for each person. There should be "foundation items" that everyone who joins should complete and then "department items" that are specific to a certain area. Foundation items could include: articles or podcasts that describe your company's ethos; the company's general documentation; and access to all general software and cloud accounts used internally. A new hire checklist helps people build momentum and confidence, but it may take a few days or weeks to finish. Pair them with a mentor A good practice for remote onboarding is pairing new team members with a mentor. This shouldn't be a direct manager but someone senior on their team. A mentor is a trusted guide to help new team members navigate an unfamiliar environment and feel less isolated on a remote team. This mentor relationship should last anywhere from the first three to six months of a new team member's tenure. A good mentor acts as a point of contact for any questions or concerns and should regularly meet with their mentee. Once a week is a good cadence for meetings. BETTER RETENTION AMONG PERKS OF STRONG ONBOARDING EFFORT Start a dedicated welcome thread in your communications platform. The first post can be written by the manager or people operations specialist and should include information from the person's bio, what they'll do in their new role and encourage everyone to give them a warm welcome. People should respond with their name, where they're working from and what team they're on. Make a good first-day impression If possible, arrange for a swag package to be sent to their home before they start. This can include items such as a T-shirt, water bottle, laptop stickers or personalized short note welcoming them to the team. Rather than stepping into an office, the new team member should log in through the company's team communication tool. This is their first introduction to the wider team, so ensure your team's conversations are organized to make catching up easy. This way, new team members can go back and get up to date about what's transpired at a company before they began. A direct manager or someone from HR should also schedule a video call to welcome them to the team face to face. Let new hires know they're free to ask any questions, and walk them through With the massive growth of remote workers during the pandemic, onboarding is that much more crucial to welcome new employees. Fadeke Adegbuyi of Doist outlines several important ways to ensure a new arrival's success for the long term F O C U S O N : R E C R U I T M E N T 6 STEPS TO ONBOARD REMOTE EMPLOYEES Building a remote team takes careful planning and consideration, and it requires the creation of a virtual space based on trust and cultural appreciation. 82% Improvement in new hire retention with a strong onboarding program 70% Improvement in new hire productivity with a strong onboarding program 2 IN 3 Number of high- performance programs that include formal mentorship and coaching in their onboarding 33% Number of high- performance onboarding programs that build social networking into new hire onboarding 60% Number of employers who say the top purpose of onboarding is to integrate employees into the organization's culture 37% Number of employers where onboarding lasts up to a week; 24 per cent say it's a month and 10 per cent say it's a year Source: Brandon Hall Group, Kronos

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