Summary:

You win or lose remote employees with an onboarding process. You win if you take steps that make them feel welcomed, comfortable and engaged. And you fail if you make them feel isolated and disconnected with the organization. To make remote hiring a practical reality, it’s essential that HR leaders see and address the problems of the virtual. The author presents ways for HR leaders who want to create an effective onboarding process that prepares the international employees just as effectively as an in-office environment would do.

An onboarding process entails a series of phases that range between welcoming an employee to training them for the job. The purpose is to boost the employee morale and make sure they have everything they need before starting the job.

But distance matters. Your remote employees are more vulnerable to dissatisfaction. Therefore, careful thought is required to turn an unkind onboarding process to something engaging and fun.

This guide discerns the problems of international remote onboarding. It addresses them through suggesting an effective onboarding process that will help you create and deliver a fulfilling employee-first experience.

Send a Welcome Letter and New Hire Paperwork.

At the start, just to keep up with employee excitement, send them a digital welcoming letter and the new hire paperwork. 

This step is really impactful as it makes the employee feel comfortable through reassuring the job. If you tend to get late for this step, it may make your employee feel tense and uncertain regarding the hiring.

Along with the letter, you can also include resources that help the employee get connected with the company. Things to provide can include:

1. Employee Newsletter
2. Bios of the executives and leadership
3. Latest press release
4. List of benefits and company-set remote perks etc.,

Make a call.

To minimize the allieness and isolation of the virtual world, call your new hire for a personal welcome. 

This brings a sense of recognition to your employees. 

Getting a live call from company leadership is also very pleasant as the employees start to build a connection with the company and appreciate its people-centered values.  

Ship Tech Before the Training Phase.

All that the employees wait for now is the training phase. But before you start the training, send all the tech pieces to the employee location. They need the systems and tools to train on.

Also while shipping the tech, make sure you include an IT handbook that outlines step-by-step setup of devices and accounts. Include a helpline to support the employee in any IT issues. 

The training phase should not be started before taking approval from every member on the IT setup.

Assign an Onboarding Buddy.

This step eases-off an employee’s uncomfortable feelings. When you pair up your new hires, you allow them to make connections as they get to know each other and share their onboarding experience.

Any anxiety that comes as part of the onboarding can be mitigated when you connect new hires. They exchange useful information and suggest solutions to the problems. 

Concluding remarks: Formulating an onboarding process could be challenging. But thinking through the perspective of an alone, isolated remote employee can help. Think of the problems. Create steps that make them feel comfortable, connected and engaged. 

Here are the ideas from the blog:

1. Send the job letter right away
2. Make a personal welcome call
3. Ship all the tech
4. Assign an onboarding buddy

And that concludes a simple 4-step onboarding guide to secure your newly hired talent.