How to Create a Welcoming Virtual Environment For New Employees

The way companies and businesses are recruiting has changed tremendously over the last year. Instead of performing on-site interviews and job shadows, many companies are doing everything virtually. Once the interviews are completed and an offer has been accepted by the new employee, the company needs to have a plan in place for virtual onboarding. If your company is unsure what needs to be done to be successful, check out the tips below.

Set them up for success with all the tools they need.

It is essential to send any equipment (monitors, keyboard, mouse, laptop, headset) to the employee’s residence before their first day. It is also important to have any company programs already installed on the computer. Having this all set up will help with the transition to a virtual career. When starting a new position, there are many documents that need to be filled out and signed on the first day. Having an e-signature tool installed on their computer will help the new employee easily view, edit, and sign any documents and will help your company collect those documents.

Kick off the first day with a manager welcome meeting. 

The manager responsible for the new employee should meet with them right away in the morning and talk about expectations and responsibilities. The manager should explain what the first week will be like and what the employee should expect regarding meetings and other tasks. This is also a great time to get to know the employee personally.  

Make an agenda for the first week.

The new employee’s manager will want to make a first-week agenda for the new hire. This helps eliminate downtime and will make the new employee feel included in what is happening in the department. You will also want to set up meetings with the team to introduce the new employee. Have the new employee observe meetings of other team members to give them some experience with the position. Also be sure to add them to any meetings with others in departments they may be working with.

Assign a mentor.

Starting a new career virtually can make an employee feel isolated and uncomfortable asking questions when they need help. Assigning a mentor within your team is essential to their success. The employee should feel as if they are able to ask questions and be vulnerable when learning their new position. Having a mentor to meet with daily or weekly to get information, tips, or tricks regarding the position will help them settle into their new role and gain more confidence.

1 on 1 meetings.

Having a good relationship between the manager and new employee will help with onboarding. Schedule 1-on-1 meetings with new employees to talk about what they have been working on and what obstacles they have faced. This is also a good time to talk about how they would like feedback regarding their work and what form of communication they prefer. These 1-on-1 meetings should be scheduled every week for the first few months and then can go to every other week once the new employee gains more confidence around the position. Being virtual means that more meetings need to happen to stay connected. The manager should check in even if there are no work-related issues.

Encourage feedback and make changes based on individual needs. 

Onboarding an employee virtually can be difficult and different for each new employee. After the first day, week, and month, gather feedback. You will want to know what is working and what the employee needs more of. This can be different for each employee, so it is important to get feedback from each new employee. This will help with future onboarding and make things run even more smoothly.

Resources:

https://www.indeed.com/hire/c/info/16-steps-to-effective-virtual-onboarding-with-checklist-and-sample-schedule?aceid=&gclid=EAIaIQobChMItYbN07vx7gIVq-HACh0UBA_iEAAYAyAAEgKIF_D_BwE

https://www.flexjobs.com/employer-blog/welcome-new-remote-workers-team/