Onboarding new employees virtually is becoming a common and necessary process during the pandemic. Here are four ideas to make the virtual onboarding process smoother, simpler, and more enjoyable for all involved.
Simplify Things
According to some pre-pandemic estimates, the average new hire had to complete 54 onboarding activities. That figure can be overwhelming under the current circumstances. Streamline your onboarding process to avoid causing unnecessary stress to the new members of your team. Some measures you can implement include:
- Use checklists
- Automate as much as possible
- Establish a virtual buddy system
- Merge similar/compatible activities
Keep Participants Engaged
We know that being engaging is easier said than done, but lively, friendly communication is more important than ever. Make the onboarding process as interactive as possible and give new hires time to get to know one another. Virtual activities, such as trivia games or digital scavenger hunts are good ways to break the ice and help new hires hit the ground running at your company.
There’s No Such a Thing as Overcommunication
Remote communication poses many challenges. Video calls are extremely useful, but they fail to convey important communication elements, like body language. To compensate for this, make sure to overcommunicate. This means stressing important points more than once and using all the tools at your disposal (email, chat, phone calls, and video calls) to check in with new hires.
Culture Is Key
Talking about overcommunication: Make sure to overcommunicate your culture. Emphasize your mission, vision, and values during the onboarding process. Under the current circumstances, where the employees of many organizations are not sharing the same space, culture is more important than ever. This is the glue that keeps teams together, and that’s exactly what companies need right now.
More Resources to Navigate the Virtual Workplace
The COVID-19 pandemic has upended our work habits in unexpected ways. These are some previous posts you can check out for more ideas to deal with the challenges of the “new normal.”
- How to communicate more effectively at work
- Do you want to be more productive? Try mindfulness.
- 4 Ideas for entrepreneurs to take it easy as parents
- How to conduct successful webinars
- Adapt to new consumer trends with these ideas and tools
At the Pomona Chamber of Commerce, our mission is to keep you up to date with the most relevant developments in business management and administration so you and your company can take advantage of new opportunities. Contact us by email (info@pomonachamber.org) telephone (909-622-1256), social media, or click on this link to join and start enjoying the benefits of membership today.
