Virtual Onboarding – How It Works In Reality
With the current lockdown of countless cities and countries, many companies have adopted for working from home policies, and new talent is being onboarded virtually.
We have seen a flurry of new starters working remotely and we are very pleased to report that we are successfully supporting our clients with the virtual onboarding of new permanent employees, contractors, and consultants.
We asked some of our recent on-boarders and hiring managers to share their experiences…
“We have used Danos many times to hire previously and trusted their recommendations on contractor hiring. The onboarding of a candidate was achieved within 48 hours as requested and we are pleased to have had the extra onboarding support from Danos at this difficult time”. Head of Compliance, Asset Management.
“A prime example of how recruitment in an ever changing and dynamic environment can still be executed efficiently and swiftly. The Danos team facilitated a streamlined and adapted recruitment process to support the financial services industry being thrust into uncharted territory, whilst still meeting the high standards required by their clients. Very impressed by the team’s work ethic and diligence in making ‘virtual’ recruitment an entirely seamless and successful experience”. Compliance Consultant, Private Equity.
There are many guides on how to onboard remote staff, here are eight top tips for hiring managers:
IT hardware and manuals – Don’t forget a mouse and keyboard. Your IT department will assist with setup.
File and software access – Identify what is required and notify your IT department to provide the right level of access.
HR paperwork – Having your new hires sign employment contracts and other legal documents can be time-consuming if they need to print, scan and email all copies or send them via mail. Consider using an e-signature tool, like HelloSign or DocuSign, so that employees can add their signatures digitally and share contracts in a secure environment.
Company communications – Ensure new hires understand how to use the company communication tools. Describe the best ways to contact managers, team members and how to troubleshoot communication technology. People might need support setting up tools such as:
- Company email
- Group messaging tool
- Video conference software (Skype, GoToMeeting, Zoom, Cisco….)
- Webphone application
Company culture – To help them understand the culture, share:
- Your employee handbook in digital format
- Any presentations or literature on your company values
- Pictures and videos from recent all-hands meetings
- Overview of the company’s charity work and support programmes
- Articles or podcasts that describe your company’s ethos
Goals and expectations – Prompt managers and/or the new hire to set clear goals and expectations, including completion of online training:
- Define short-term and long-term goals
- Develop and share a task calendar after new hires’ training and onboarding sessions
Scheduled meetings – Connecting with people is very important, with today’s technology we can do this very effectively remotely, set-up:
- Weekly one-on-one meetings to discuss upcoming projects, progress and resolve potential issues
- Meetings with team members and other key employees. These meetings could be one-on-one and/or group calls with: Managers, Direct reports, Coworkers, Key stakeholders from other departments
Role-specific training – Use interactive training courses, that are user-friendly to boost engagement:
- Record product demos to better explain features through video
- Arrange a training with your IT department. Remote workers should get familiar with: File-sharing applications and cloud backup software (like Google Drive, Dropbox, Carbonite). Computer security (for example, how to lock laptops and install anti-virus software). Password management and data encryption tools to protect their devices
Onboarding remotely is different. It’s done virtually: an introductory handshake becomes an introductory message and a welcome lunch becomes a greeting over technology (email, video, audio). However, it is evident, more so in these current times, that if new hires are properly onboarded virtually then they will thrive in their remote roles.
If you would like advice on virtual onboarding or have any questions on virtual permanent or interim hiring, please feel free to reach out to our experienced team and they will be happy to support you in anyway.
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