Onboarding New Hires in a Virtual Workplace

By Wes Leatherman, MBA | wleatherman@frederickcountymd.gov

It goes without saying that hiring and onboarding new hires looks a bit different these days.

New employees may not be able to come and tour the facilities; they can’t go out to lunch with their new colleague as a way to build rapport; and job shadowing is no longer as easy as observing someone’s work in person.

The old way of onboarding may be a thing of the past, or at least sidelined for a bit. However, that does not mean onboarding is any less important. In fact, the infographic below from DronaHQ shows how and why onboarding should be even more important in 2020.

So what should you, as an employer, do now to effectively onboard new employees?

Start by considering a few simple but very important questions. These are not new questions, but they are questions employers should be hyper-focused on as we settle into a virtual state of normalcy.

What kind of experience do you want your new employees to have?

An overload of emails and videos will quickly burn new employees out and may have them questioning whether or not they made the right choice. Find a way to break up their day as well as the material you are requesting them to review. Consider mixing in some positive and meaningful interactions with their new teammates. Arrange to have some informal meetings just to make your new hires feel like part of the team. Later on, you can use this same technique to cross-train new employees and provide a better understanding of how the organization operates as a whole.

How will you introduce new hires to your organization’s culture?

Most of us can find the About Us on a company’s website, so getting a new employee to embrace your culture needs to go a bit further. Try scheduling time for them to speak with the CEO or the company’s founder. Let new hires know how the company was started, where the company is going, and how their position plays a vital role. Also, schedule time for their colleagues to share what they love about the company’s culture. Interactions like these will open those lines of communication and help new employees get excited and see more of the big picture.

“Schedule time for colleagues to share what they love about the company’s culture. Interactions like these will open those lines of communication and help new employees get excited and see more of the big picture.”

Will new employees feel like they are being set up for success and able to contribute?

Don’t micromanage, but be a support. Managers should check in periodically to see how new employees are progressing. Start off by assigning relatively easy tasks and steadily progress into the more complex tasks related to the job. You want to make sure new hires are feeling challenged, but at the same time, allow them an opportunity to celebrate small wins. Managers can show their support with emails or calls during the day as well as a few face-to-face video chats throughout the week. Be as open and accepting as possible when communicating. Remember, we are missing the ability to read small cues we would normally get from those chats by the copier or in hallway conversations. Also, don’t forget the value of having a mentor. This should be a person who can help new employees navigate their role and easily identify how to use their skills. Make sure the mentor is someone who is friendly, patient, and approachable with strong communication skills.

Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) conducted a survey finding that a company’s average cost-per-hire is $4,129. Unfortunately, without a structured onboarding process, much of that money will be wasted. Thinking about the above questions and making appropriate adjustments will help to minimize the risk of turnover in the virtual workplace.

For more resources, best practices, and all there is to know about virtual onboarding, check out Human Resources Today.