Founder & CEO of Creative Business Inc a financial advisory firm specializing in serving elite entrepreneurs across all creative industries.
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Half of small businesses say it’s getting harder to hire new employees and more than 30% have open roles they haven’t been able to fill for three months. So when small businesses finally land a great new hire, it’s critical they provide an engaging onboarding process that sets employees up for long-term success. This is even more important in a remote or hybrid setting where new hires may have a harder time assimilating into their teams and connecting to the company’s culture.
Here are some tricks to help your company master the remote onboarding process and retain new hires and top talent:
1. Choose an onboarding manager who isn’t the employee’s direct manager.
While a new hire’s direct manager seems like the obvious person to lead onboarding, it’s better to choose someone else to serve in this role. This way, the employee feels comfortable asking even mundane questions, like how to request time off or when they can expect their first paycheck.
2. Make setup easier with a single sign-on platform.
Getting set up on all of your company’s operational platforms is an essential step. A single sign-on platform that houses company applications can be useful for streamlining this process. Be sure to also include instructions for personalizing accounts, such as creating an email signature, updating profile photos or adding contact information in Slack.
3. Be clear about expectations from the onset.
It’s more difficult for remote employees to glean norms and expectations from existing employees since they don’t have the benefit of daily, in-person interactions. A successful remote onboarding program should cover expected business hours, how to communicate (Email or Slack? Synchronously or asynchronously?), video conference dos and don’ts and work setup requirements.
4. Regardless of the role, explain what you’re selling.
Whether you’ve hired someone for finance, IT or sales, it’s important that all employees understand what your company is “selling.” Go through the product lines or services at a high level. If your new hire is asked “what does your company do?” or “how does it make money?” they should be able to answer quickly and simply.
5. Spend a lot of time on values.
It’s important to spend ample time communicating your company’s values. What are they and what does it mean for your employee to uphold these values? Give concrete examples of what specific employees have done to exemplify those values or, better yet, have employees record videos of themselves to share what the company’s values mean to them.
6. Don’t forget about the organizational chart.
New hires should understand where they fit into the company’s organizational chart. Start with a general overview of different departments and who leads them. Have team leads record a short video describing what their team does and how it’s responsible for contributing to the success of the company.
7. Finish with something fun.
End on an engaging high note. Conclude your onboarding program with a virtual happy hour with the other new hires or their respective teams, or add them to some fun Slack channels. You can also use an app like Donut that pairs random co-workers together to encourage them to set up a virtual coffee. If you haven’t already, consider complementing your onboarding process with a welcome care package from the company that includes some fun company swag.
In today’s job market, the hiring and onboarding process is more important than ever, and yet many companies have been slow to develop a program that reflects the remote environment. Try out some of these tricks and you’re more likely to turn your new hires into well-tenured team members.
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