Part II: Bringing the Culture to Life with Remote Employee

The question, for which there are many suggestions but no clear-cut answer, is how to get the new, remote employee to move beyond an intellectual understanding of the values and behaviours, of living them in all interactions with internal and external contacts. Why is this so critical? Former Campbell Soup Company CEO Doug Conant put the importance of employees living the company culture in perspective when he stated: "To win in the marketplace, you must first win in the workplace."

Why is this vital to any company's success? One survey of 1,033 employees (Nubal) revealed something I have been talking about for years; once people accept the job, money is not the driver of retention. The survey asked which is more important to the employee – a raise or a strong positive company culture? They then asked it from three perspectives: physically present in the office, working in hybrid mode, or working entirely from home.

In all three cases, a good company culture won over a higher salary. More telling was that 48% said they left a job because of the company culture. These respondents were also far less likely to accept more money to remain in a company with what they believed to be poor culture or working environment.?

The conclusion is clear – culture is paramount when people consider taking a position, and even more important once they have the job.

Here are some ideas for consideration when acclimating a new employee to the culture:

Before Day One

1. Reflect the culture.?Ensure that everyone's activity during the recruitment, interview and job offer process reflects the company culture.

2. Use apps as a resource.?Having tools and apps is great for efficiency, but they are only a resource and not a substitute for the onboarding process. Use the app to gather all the usual paperwork. An app can facilitate completing traditional paperwork collecting vital information, primary contact, tax, and insurance information.

3. Consider the jargon of the organization.?One cosmetic company we worked with had anachronyms/jargon for everything. I discovered that new employees felt they did not fit in because they didn't know the company language. As a result, they built a 30-page explanation of all the company-specific 'words.' They now share those days before the first day so employees can familiarize themselves with the shorthand words they will hear in meetings.

4. Introduce the new hire.?Have members of the team virtually introduce the new hire before day one on the job.

5. Set up the tech.?Ensure, before day one, and the remote employee has all the home office technology they need and have tested it with your IT people.

Day One

6. Be welcoming.?Show you know something about the employee and offer a word of encouragement to make the new person feel welcome.

7. On their first day, don't overload them with information.?Take it easy and focus on meeting all the team members and all the critical people they will need to work with to accomplish their results. Remember back to your first day on the job. How overwhelmed and insecure you were. Draw on that knowledge to make the day informative but not overwhelming. With Onboarding, people can take only so much screen time. Make the first couple of days shorter, don't exceed four hours.

8. Share the plan.?Build into the first two days an understanding of the business plan and how the team and the new hire will contribute to the company's overall success.

9. Share the culture and history.?Most importantly is to build an understanding of the culture and how work gets done. The best way of doing this is through what I call Corporate Legends. Share the oral history of the company regarding those times employees stepped up to live the values.?

For the Balance of Year One

10. Build for success.?It is essential for everyone to feel positive about their contribution to the success of the company. Ensure that you can express the company's success as achieving movement towards the company's vision or purpose. By setting their expectations, you connect the individual's work to the team, department, and organizational purpose and vision. In this way, they will know that their personal goals (KPIs) are essential to the overall success of everyone. What actions differentiate the successful Onboarding from the traditional orientation? Onboarding is not one and done. It happens from the start of the recruiting process through to the end of the first year. Onboarding is an intentional plan that engages the new hire as an essential member of the team and the company. It is not over at the end of the probation period. The process must focus on integrating the new hire into the passion, purpose, and the essence of the culture's behaviours. The success of the Onboarding process relies on your ability to build a strong connection between the person and the company.?

Returning to Doug Conant's observation: "To win in the marketplace, you must first win in the workplace." remember, 40% of new employees decide to leave within the first 45 days. And 4% don't even return on day two because they did not feel welcomed or are overwhelmed. Hiring people because they can perform the technical aspects of the job won't keep them coming back.?

One final thought...

This is Not an HR Thing

Thus, every manager or team leader plays an essential role in culture transfer and helping the new hire fit into their role. When managers actively participate in Onboarding, the new hires are 3-4 times more likely to agree that their onboarding process was powerful. The logic in this is that the new employees know that it is the HR thing to talk about policies, procedures, culture, and associated topics.

But, who will they be looking to for direction on how to and what to do, their manager and other team members? Suppose you allow HR to conduct the Onboarding process; it will happen but will not have a lasting impact. If HR sets the process in motion but your mandate that the hiring managers and team members are accountable and responsible for executing the onboarding process, the chances of time to productivity and improved retention dramatically increase.