Bringing in new employees when your whole team is based remotely can present certain risks. It isn’t possible to follow the same steps you’d use for recruiting a new team member face-to-face. That isn’t to say remote onboarding isn’t feasible or can’t be done successfully.
Here are five top tips for finding your new team members properly, helping them become productive quickly while ensuring they feel welcome.
1. What to Look for in a CV When Hiring a Remote Candidate
Recruiting a remote candidate is a whole different ball game than recruiting someone to work on-site or in-house. Similarly, candidates tailoring their CV to entice remote positions or freelance work is a little different to putting together a conventional CV. Thankfully, CV-writing companies such as https://purplecv.co.uk/ make the process simpler for candidates.
But what can you as the employer look for when it comes to a remote worker’s CV? Can the prospective remote candidate demonstrate the below points?
- Commitment
- Self-discipline
- Organisation and time management
- Enthusiasm and passion
- Attention to detail
- Communication skills
- Problem-solving
- Remote working experience
- Ability to work independently
2. Pre-Boarding Package
One of the best ways to help new employees feel at home is to send them a pre-onboarding package. This can include a welcome email with some company blurb. Inform them who their colleagues are, who they’ll be reporting to, and who they should direct questions to, should they have any.
Arming the candidate with as much info as possible prior to getting started can keep the remote onboarding process as efficient as possible. The new team member will know what’s expected of them over the first couple of days and who to speak to if they aren’t sure of certain things.
3. Let Employees Submit Documents Digitally
When it comes to a new job, new workers must sign a range of HR documents, including ones relating to company policies, compensation and benefits.
It’s important to ensure these documents are accessible online for remote workers. So, create digital editions of the usual employee documents – like handbooks, policies, culture checks, vision statements, and so on.
Providing these documents can aid in helping your new team member understand the organisation and what’s expected of them as employees. It can also help them learn more about the company’s culture.
You could even go one step further and produce onboarding videos to go alongside every document. Create an explainer video detailing what each document is, or even record yourself or a team member reading out some of the content.
In doing this, you create a more tangible connection with your new team member. As soon as they’re able to connect with your workers and company, they’ll feel more connected to the job they’ve been recruited for – something that’s very difficult in the first couple of days of a home-based job.
4. Introduce Them to Their Team
When everyone is working from home, it can be trickier to give your team the chance to connect outside of a traditional workplace. If staff are office-based, it’s easier for team members to communicate with each other, as company-wide happy hours or events can be arranged.
You’ll need to work a little harder to encourage your new hire to bond with their team. However, you can organise some online events to enable the new employee to connect with the individuals they’re working with. Perhaps organise an introductory video call with all the team members and departments or even a recurrent happy hour or virtual watercooler channel within Slack or your chosen communication tool.
Encourage new team members to get involved and make it simple for them to participate. It’s also worth checking in with existing staff to see if they’d be willing to keep an eye on the new hire, as the first couple of days can be overwhelming. It can be especially useful to have another team member on hand, as working from home makes socialising tougher.
A good dose of proactive behaviour is required on all sides for the remote hire to be successful.
5. Check-In Frequently
If you’re taking on a new remote employee, communication is key. In which case, organise regular meetings and check-ins to prevent your new worker from feeling detached from their other team mates.
Arrange check-ins between new staff members and their managers, HR, and individual teams. It’s also worth having new team members meet their colleagues online, too.
Let your new hire know what to expect before every meeting so they can prepare a few questions of their own as well as provide feedback and requests. Let your new hire have their say during the meeting, too, rather than merely answering questions.
Just make sure you don’t micromanage, as there’s a fine balance between this and effectively checking in with them. If you’re satisfied they’re settling in well, then ease up on the check-ins.
It’s Your Call
Sure, your usual office-based onboarding process might be brilliant. But you’re probably going to have to make a few adjustments when it comes to onboarding remotely. That said, with the right attention to detail, it’s easy to engage your new remote workers even before they begin working for your organisation.
All it takes for successful remote onboarding is some good communication and strong connections.