How to Conduct Virtual Onboarding Effectively

ManagementSeptember 29, 2022 10:00

Onboarding is not orientation

Employee onboarding is merely an orientation session on the first day? Think again! Orientation is primarily to complete the necessary paperwork and routine tasks such as assigning the new hires a work laptop. During orientation, new hires will also be briefed about their role and the workplace.

Orientation for new hires only takes a day whereas onboarding is an extensive process that can last up to twelve months. This process may include orientation sessions, but encompasses so much more than that.

Onboarding is vital for your company’s success

Effective onboarding empowers new hires to be high-performing employees as soon as possible, while also engaging them for enhanced productivity and increasing the likelihood of retaining them.

Onboarding is vital for your company’s success as it helps acclimate new hires to your company. The onboarding program introduces them to your unique company culture as well as working environment. New hires will gain a comprehensive understanding of your company’s vision and mission—not to mention what your company can offer them such as team lunches, personalised mentorship, and various overseas opportunities.

The entire onboarding experience is essential in demonstrating how dedicated your company is about nurturing talent and making them feel welcome. When new hires are successfully acclimatised, they are more likely to be engaged employees (as opposed to quiet quitters). Consequently, it also helps your company to retain these new hires—and not lose them to your competitors.

Unique challenges of virtual onboarding

With companies gravitating towards remote work during and after the Covid-19 pandemic, onboarding has to be altered accordingly. Now, instead of heading to the office and going through a physical onboarding process, new hires can start their jobs via video calls with management or HR personnel.

The virtual onboarding of remote employees gives rise to unique challenges. Without meeting their manager and colleagues in-person, new hires may often feel isolated. As advanced as they are, video calls cannot replicate the warm and intuitive feel of face-to-face interactions. That lack of human connection during the onboarding process may potentially affect the sense of belonging new hires feel to the company, and in turn, impact retention.

Furthermore, virtual onboarding may cause new hires to have gaps of understanding about their job scope. Remote communication is especially daunting for new hires as they cannot just drop by their manager’s desk to clarify doubts. Many questions that new hires have may be left unanswered, which results in a general lack of clarity about their role and responsibilities.

How you can conduct virtual onboarding effectively

But the good news is that there are ways to mitigate these challenges posed by virtual onboarding! Here are some suggestions for how you can conduct virtual onboarding effectively.

First, plan and document every step of the onboarding program in advance. This is to ensure consistency of what the new hires will experience when they join your company. Ideally, new hires will be given access to a whole library of resources—from pre-recorded videos to employee handbooks in PDF format—so that they can receive detailed guidance while working remotely.

Second, create a culture in which managers regularly check in with new hires. It is recommended for managers to schedule video calls with new hires on a weekly basis: to find out how they are coping so far and address any concerns they may have. These calls are highly useful for aligning work expectations. You can also consider implementing a ‘buddy’ system, in which you appoint other employees from a separate department to guide the new hires in their first month.

Third, organise a variety of virtual team bonding activities and include the new hires. Get creative, you can host an online board games competition, or even a virtual happy hour! This way, the new hires will have an opportunity to make some new friends and feel at home in your company.

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