Onboarding in a remote world

Working in a disruptive SaaS startup like Silverfin for the past 2 years and a half has  exposed me to a dynamic environment. In my opinion, growth is almost exclusively dependent on the people it stems from, hence the importance of providing new joiners with the best onboarding experience possible in the first couple of weeks. I have onboarded around 10 new SDRs in the past year or so. Although incredibly fulfilling on a personal level, COVID-19 has made me rethink the entire structure of my onboardings, making sure to adapt  newcomers to the current world of remote working.

Set a clear structure at the start

How can new starters learn as much as possible in a limited time? How to minimise Zoom fatigue? Having a clear onboarding structure is critical. It provides them with a clear understanding of what to expect every day, and offers the manager talk tracks to discuss at the end of the day. Having a clear theme for the first 5 days is important in that respect.

At Silverfin, 

• Day 1 is all about learning more about the accounting industry.
• Day 2 focuses on getting to know the tools we use and Silverfin’s value proposition.
• Day 3 is all about the SDR job itself. 
• Day 4’s aim is to attend client meetings and listen to calls. 
• Day 5 is about developing a personal outreach strategy for the next week and learning the basics of the Silverfin software. 

The learning curve is steep and Zoom fatigue is something that all of us experience. Blocking moments throughout the day for personal time and breaks after meetings are two of many solutions. In addition, make sure you switch up the formality of the meetings throughout the day, for example, having an informal Zoom team chat after a roleplay or a meeting around value proposition.

Showcase what success looks like

A new joiner in an SDR team is eager to show the best version of themselves. To do so, they will look around them to gather best practices from peers. While working from home, they can’t proactively turn around and ask a quick question to their colleague. They can’t observe how others perform calls or meetings. Relying on them asking a colleague for an explanation via Zoom is unrealistic. So why not facilitate the knowledge-sharing process? Make them interact as much as possible with top performers, as these should be the ones to help the onboarder with some of the training around objection handling, role playing and internal tools. They will share their own best practices and will add credibility to the learnings.

In my opinion, setting clear expectations is necessary. The new joiner will want as much information as possible, so why keep it from them? Creating a profile of the ideal SDR and sharing it to all is a good base to build upon. This will provide every employee with an explicit reference of what the Leadership team expects from them. When it comes to target setting, explain to your SDR the logic behind every component of their OTE. Transparency is key.

Ease them in through encouragements

Now that they know what great looks like, how can we help them reach 100% and more as soon as possible? Ease them into it. Asking a new SDR to reach 100% in their first month is often unrealistic and can be demotivating. Implement a ramp-up phase to your programme and communicate this with them clearly (going back to setting clear expectations). Once this is done, encourage the new joiner through informal rewards, regardless of how small the achievement is. They have had their first good call? They have booked their first meeting? Celebrate it and they will be even more eager to reach for the stars.

Company culture in a remote world

Let’s be clear on one thing. Company culture is more than just going for a drink after work, or being nice to each other. It is about creating the best environment possible to foster communication and push individuals to do the best they can. The first weeks of a new joiner are critical to ensure they buy into the company culture. They should feel comfortable enough to ask questions and go through the onboarding plan. 

My colleagues will know that in my time as an SDR, I was LOUD (really loud). This is a characteristic of many Sales teams. How to keep this up when everyone works at home? Schedule kick-off meetings daily or a couple of times a week, set up live call listening sessions where anyone can give their input, have some water-cooler moments throughout the week and some regular team-building exercises.

Company culture is also dependent on cross-team collaboration, which is why you should encourage your new joiner to interact with other members of the company. At Silverfin, we have a buddy system which pairs the new joiner with another employee outside of their team who has been in the firm for a while. What are the benefits of such a system? They will learn more about how other teams work (and therefore know how to effectively communicate with them). In addition, pairing them with someone who has been in the company for long will help them visualise an example of successful progression within the company.

To end this personal brainstorming session, I will add that every onboarding plan should be living structures. Get feedback from people having experienced it first hand. This will bring your onboarding plans from good to industry-leading, and your employees will feel truly supported that way.

Happy onboarding!