Can remote onboarding work?

During this time of remote working, a key concern is how new joiners receive a good experience. For many of us, we have always onboarded people face-to-face. Can remote onboarding work?

FIRST IMPRESSIONS COUNT

I remember my first experience onboarding at my first job at a fast food restaurant called Chick-fil-a. If you have never tried their chicken sandwich or waffle fries, I am sorry! They’re so good that people are posting I miss Chick-fil-a songs on YouTube since they’ve been closed during COVID.

I was 15 ? and finally old enough to get a job so I could pay for my car insurance, a requirement of my parents letting me drive at 16 years old. While the uniform was not horrible, it was not attractive and luckily this was before hairnets. The first day I remember reviewing the menu and recipe guides, learning about safe food handling, but the strongest memory is the manager telling us we had been chosen because we would represent the brand well and could make the customers want to come back. I felt proud that the company chose me, and it made me determined not to let them down, in addition to saving enough to have me behind the wheel of my own car.

Onboarding is how we welcome people, how we show them what we need them to do and how we assimilate them into the organization and on the team.   According to a Gallup survey of employees, only 12% of companies onboard effectively even though it has been proven to have a direct correlation on employee retention. This was before COVID-19.

Ten years later, as an HR Associate at an investment firm in Manhattan, a key part of my role was to create an individualized orientation session for each new hire, where I presented the company information, explained and helped them complete the forms required and provided specifics on the benefits we’d offer for that position. The meetings were always one to one, highly personalized and important enough to the company that I would fly to the new hire so we could meet in person.

CAN YOU CREATE THE SAME EXPERIENCE WITHOUT SEEING THEM IN PERSON?

Now, in 2020 when my company implemented a global working from home directive in response to COVID-19, one of the first of many questions asked was, “will we have new hires start remotely or should we wait?”.  

Each market has its own complexities and nuance - even without COVID-19 – for instance, fax machines are still a part of the process in one market (I know!). The key question was, could we create the same employee experience without seeing them in person?

Onboarding used to be similar regardless of the industry. It would start with the company history, share the company mission and vision, then end with loads of paperwork to complete. Now, onboarding is about the culture.   It is not just the ‘what I will be doing’ in the new job but also the how.   In Saplings research on the top onboarding experiences, consistent elements include an approach that matches the business and industry with plenty of personal touches. Personal touches can include ensuring everything is ready for the first day, asking what the new joiners partner/family thinks about them taking a new job, or what they are most looking forward to.

SOME UNEXPECTED BENEFITS

While we had a lot of angst about onboarding without that face-to-face touch, we have been successful at onboarding new hires remotely. Because the process is new, we are taking more time on the communication and handover points and managers are more invested in the process than ever before, thanks to the fear of hiring or onboarding being frozen.  Enboarder cites that 72% of new hires state the time with their manager is the most critical during their onboarding.

What we have been experiencing is that new hires are firstly very appreciative that they have even been able to start with the company. With the uncertainty bought on by COVID-19, knowing they will be able to work and earn a paycheck is essential. 

They have also commented that as they are meeting with their new colleagues, people are being more themselves, more personal. WebEx calls in their homes, in their casual clothes, seeing their dogs, children and as is often the case here in Hong Kong, bonding over the never ending noise of construction has become common and has made the process much more authentic.

IT’S NOT THE PHYSICAL LOCATION THAT MATTERS

Think about your own onboarding experiences- which stands out as the best? Which stands out as the worst?

I have had at least a dozen jobs, part time and full time, for both large and small companies, managers in the same location and remote. In all those onboarding experiences it was never being with someone that had the most impact, it has always been about feeling valued.

We show new joiners they are valued through:

(1)   A well thought out process

From the delivery of the laptop, meeting colleagues, accessing the first paycheck to passing the probation period. Map out the current and desired experiences ensuring to involve key stakeholders.

(2)   A manager who is invested in the onboarding and the new hires success

Managers and HR should work together on the desired experience - plan, implement and check in. It does not have to be perfect, but it should show the new joiner they are valued, and their onboarding will be a collaboration.

Ways to add a personal touch for onboarding include:

BEFORE -

·        Ring the new joiner before their first week and ask their preference on the model of laptop, mobile phone, anything they have a choice on.

·        Send a text/WhatsApp a few days before to let them know you are looking forward to their first day.

·        Send flowers to their home a week before starting with a short note that you cannot wait to welcome them to the team. 

DURING -

·        Announce they are joining with a welcome on LinkedIn.

·        Ask what is important to them in their onboarding plan each week and adjust the schedule accordingly.

·        Send a small congrats upon passing probation with their favorite fresh pressed juice or craft beer.

Investment and effort spent as one enters the organization will be reward with an increased personal investment as they come up to speed faster and yearn to contribute more quickly. This is the start of the relationship and the investment and should continue throughout their employment. As Will Rogers said, “You never get a second change to make a first impression.” This applies to interviews, meeting your in-laws and onboarding!