Many companies today combine in-office and out-office work, with some moving fully remote. However, the new work structure hasn’t been a walk in the park. Many employers are still struggling to streamline their remote operations. One area that’s proving to be a headache is the onboarding process.
Remote onboarding is the process of training and integrating new virtual workers into your organization. This can be done through online methods like video conferencing and other remote communication tools. It aims to provide new hires with resources, support, and the necessary information for their new role. It also ensures the smooth transitioning of the staff into the organization’s remote work culture.
Integrating new hires into a traditional setup is relatively easy because of the face-to-face interaction. But doing it via online communication tools can be tricky for managers. So, what are the main challenges of this process, and how can you overcome them? This article will discuss everything you need to know. Read on!
1. Difficult To Manage Employee Engagement
Onboarding is the best opportunity for you to make a good impression after hiring remote workers. Therefore, one of your primary missions must be to make the whole process interesting for the new hires. You can achieve this with an efficient staff engagement plan.
Traditional offices allow employees to interact by swinging by their colleagues’ desks or through water cooler sessions. New hires can even learn something by observing their co-workers in action. However, this is hard to accomplish in a remote setup, which can be detrimental to the whole process. Many organizations still struggle to overcome this challenge, affecting their overall output.
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Solution: Leverage The Experience Of Existing Employees
Your existing team members already understand how the systems work. You can take advantage of this experience in your virtual onboarding process.
Select the best workers in your organization and assign them a new hire each. They’ll be responsible for showing the newcomers around and ensuring they enjoy smooth transitioning. This structure also allows the new remote staff to learn the company culture through job shadowing sessions.
You can also leverage the power of the staff intranet or other similar platforms to facilitate interaction throughout the process. These platforms are designed for knowledge sharing and internal communication, which are crucial in virtual onboarding. These allow new hires to interact with their colleagues and easily reach out to top management.
2. New Hires Struggling To Set Up Their Equipment
Information technology (IT) plays a vital role in modern business operations. The IT technicians usually set up the computer hardware and software for the new employees. As such, the onboarding process becomes more straightforward, even for someone who isn’t conversant with technology. However, it’s pretty different for new remote hires.
For the new hires, you first must ship some of the equipment to them since they can’t come to the office in person. They then need to unbox and set up their workstations from scratch. This process involves downloading the necessary programs and logging in with their work emails. This allows them to access essential tools like project management and team messaging.
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Solution: Provide Enough Time And An In-depth Guide
The best solution is to ensure the employees receive all they need before the start date. Shipping the equipment early enough will give them ample time to familiarize themselves with the systems. Send them the shipment tracking link as soon as possible to avoid unnecessary delivery delays.
Another thing that can help here is a video and a written guide. Create an in-depth how-to guide covering everything from unboxing to installing the necessary software. You can demonstrate the process in a video to make it easier for the new remote hires to understand.
Scheduling a tech session on the first day is also crucial. It’s the best time to ensure that everyone has their system working correctly. You can also take this opportunity to troubleshoot any reported issues.
3. Communication Difficulties
The lack of proximity and face-to-face interactions makes communication difficult during virtual onboarding. Remember, you’re bringing someone new into the mix, and they may not know how to communicate with their co-workers.
It’s easier to create an effective communication system in a traditional office. The face-to-face meetings allow the new hires to ease into their roles without complications. They can learn the process by observing the most experienced employees.
Unfortunately, new workers don’t have this luxury in a remote work environment. Instead, they must first learn how to set up and use various communication tools like messaging, video calls, and email. As such, they may feel uncertain about the right tool to use for a specific task.
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Solution: Share Clear Communication Guidelines
A proper communication system starts with clarity on your end. You must provide the new hires with straightforward instructions to guide them in their new roles.
First, you must be specific about your preferred communication tools. For instance, your team might be comfortable using cloud-based messaging apps for daily interactions and emails for official announcements. Also, explain the type of content staff is allowed to share on various channels. Your teams may not appreciate sensitive content, but you should communicate the level of sensitivity.
Another solution is to share a communication plan that the new workers will use during their specific projects. It should list all stakeholders who need regular updates and how often they should be informed on project status and details. This will help the new hires plan themselves well before commencing the project.
Conclusion
Virtual onboarding can be challenging if you don’t have an effective plan. The lack of in-person interactions makes it somewhat complex for your new hires. You can solve this by ensuring that each newcomer has an experienced employee who helps them transition into their new roles.
Other challenges include setting up new equipment and communication difficulties. The best solution you might want to try is providing clear guidelines to the new employees. Create written and video instructions showing how to accomplish all the necessary tasks.
