In what is generally considered the “new normal”, people are trying to learn how to accustom themselves to changes happening not only in their personal but also in their professional lives. Even though businesses in Myanmar faced unprecedented challenges when the 2020 pandemic started to affect the country, it has opened up new opportunities for businesses to move forward their road to the digitalized workplace.
Despite the situation changing continuously, the world of business marched on. Businesses in nearly every industry are implementing innovative projects to be able to adapt to the rapid changing world.
One of the key challenges employers are struggling within these uncertain time is onboarding new hires. Research by Glassdoor pointed out that organizations with a strong onboarding process improve new hire retention by 82% and productivity by over 70%. Given the challenges of onboarding new hires while working remotely, here are some tips and best practices to properly welcome and onboard your next great hire digitally.
1. Develop a virtual onboarding plan – Plan a virtual onboarding process for a new employee to help them integrate within the team and get them up to speed on their responsibilities. Before the first day of the new hire, work with the HR team and line manager of the new employee about the preparation of a detailed onboarding plan and review it with the team about the delegation of training tasks. Let the team members know what the responsibilities of the new hire are, and how his or her role may affect the team’s current projects beforehand.
2. Welcome with excitement – Host a virtual team-wide welcome meeting on a suitable and compatible platform such as Zoom, Google Meet, or Microsoft Teams. Prioritize this welcome meeting on your schedule and ask the team to do so when the meeting is set on the date of the new hire’s first day. Ask the team members in advance to think about the script for the welcome introduction, for instance, name, responsibilities in the team, strength at work, a hobby for fun, etc. Encourage the team to show up to the meeting on video and keep the conversation casual, lighthearted, and positive.
3. Pair new hire with a good buddy – A buddy system is a knowledge sharing method used to onboard new employees into the workplace. Pair a new employee with one of their colleagues to guide him or her through their first weeks. Assigning every new employee to a buddy who can help them feel welcomed gives employees a reliable, enthusiastic and ongoing single point of contact for any questions they may have because communication on remote teams needs to be more intentional and frequent than in an office environment.
4. Review the onboarding plan – Invite the new team member to give feedback on the effectiveness of the onboarding program towards the middle of it to be able to adjust the course for moving forward. Ask their opinions about the areas where they need more training, where they want to improve more, what new information they need more, etc. If the same feedback is frequently received from new hires, it is probably a good idea to review the plan and make adjustments to improve.
5. Have regular check-ins – regular communication is vital during the onboarding period. Remote employees can sometimes feel isolated since remote teams are not being able to spontaneously meet up for a happy hour or coffee. It’s important to foster the team connection virtually and regularly. Schedule weekly or monthly virtual happy hours to make sure new hires have the opportunity to connect, laugh and bond with their fellow team members.
The present moment can be a challenging and unique time for new employees joining a new company. By using the best practices listed above, we believe every employer can help their new joiners get acclimated and thrive in their new work environment.
Continue reading >>> A Guide to Remote Employee Engagement in the Virtual World