Nowadays, attracting and retaining talent is undoubtedly tough. If you want new leaders to stick around in your organization, the onboarding process is critical -especially if they’re working remotely. But, as Forbes noted, “it’s impossible to onboard a new hire virtually using an in-person methodology.” The spontaneous social interactions and coaching opportunities that are key to successful onboarding are very hard to replicate in a remote scenario. So, if you’re about to onboard top talent remotely, here are a few strategies you can implement to make it as comfortable and friendly as possible:
The first thing you should do is schedule a HR orientation where your new leaders can digitally sign any HR documents, learn about the company benefits, and set up any accounts they may need access to. Hosting a communication orientation with IT can also be of great use.
After the first meetings, make an effort to digitize all existing employee documentation as well as information about your company values and culture. Many organizations use an intranet or internal wiki to keep digital documentation of projects, success stories, and culture outside of day-to-day operations. But bear in mind that you shouldn't overwhelm them with an information dump on day one. Our advice is to spread out the training over a few days to help them digest the information.
New leaders need help navigating your organization and getting to know their key stakeholders and peers. Give your new managers a list of people to meet and context for how they're going to work together. Send a personalized email to each stakeholder to reinforce the new relationship, and set up video coffee chats to make introductions easier and friendlier. Parallelly, you can also assign a virtual-onboarding buddy to your new leader.
Like every new employee, your new managers need to figure out how to create value in the organization. To that end, giving your leaders clear short-term objectives and tasks will allow them to understand what’s expected of them during the first few weeks in the new role. Moreover, by completing these goals, they get to know people in their team, learn about company policies, and slowly begin to carry out their daily tasks.
Having a blended learning program to onboard new leaders is key. You can, for instance, create a playbook for training managers. Said book can include suitable courses like emotional management training and career navigation, along with ideas for activities and discussion prompts. Moreover, you should provide opportunities for new hires to access online training and events during or after orientation, and a stipend for their personal and professional development of their choosing. This way, leaders will feel like there's still room to grow, which they'll appreciate.
Being a new manager is hard - and in a remote setting, it’s undoubtedly even more challenging. To make the process easier for everyone, it’s essential to have the right software to speed up the onboarding. At Talcura, we have the most comprehensive services and software for HR professionals, specifically designed to help onboard top talent. Schedule a free demo and learn more about our customizable solutions!
