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When you're working remotely for a company, or if you are in their HR department, oftentimes you may be entrusted with the responsibility of training or even hiring new employees. You're responsible for their well-being, as well as providing them with the tools to get the job done correctly. Although this can be a challenging process for any business, it can even become more complicated when you start onboarding remotely from your existing workforce - especially when there are a number of remote employees who need to work together in order to provide the best services possible.
What Is Remote Onboarding?
Just as there can be no employee successfully onboarding an executive without having training, there can be no successful training program for new hires without onboarding. Onboarding simply refers to the period of time where a new recruit is introduced and integrated into a new team, meanwhile, remote onboarding refers to this process with remote employees. Training helps employees gain the skills they will need to perform their tasks in a new environment and helps them adapt quickly to a new way of doing things. Furthermore, training provides employees with a sense of confidence in their own ability. A strong sense of self-worth and self-direction is vital to organizational development. On the other hand, onboarding makes sure that the new employees feel like they fit in.
Ask Your Current Employees
Developing an onboarding program often requires input from a variety of perspectives. At the start, it is important to consult with current and former employees to gain insight into current challenges and issues. Employees who are dissatisfied with their current employer should be encouraged to voice these views in an honest manner. Trainers and supervisors must then take all of the information gathered and develop an onboarding training program tailored to each employee's needs. This involves brainstorming techniques, providing training in relevant topics, maintaining communication lines with employees, and ensuring that the training program continues to be effective over the course of time.
Think Long-Term!
In addition to creating an effective training program, onboarding requires that leaders provide clear expectations of what will occur once the training program begins and continues. Leaders must demonstrate a continued commitment to onboarding in all situations. In some situations, this may mean providing employees with periodic training at the beginning and end of the term of employment. For other situations, it could mean offering refresher courses or advice on how to best use the training they have received. A solid commitment by an employer to onboarding also includes implementing best practices throughout the organization on a regular basis. This ensures that employees recognize the value of participating in a training program and remain engaged and informed.
Create a Plan, and Follow It
You should focus on creating a plan that works for your new employees. For example, start out with smaller projects and short-term expectations. Organizations that fall short of achieving their goal of successfully onboarding employees for the long-term run the risk of losing potential recruits and this is often affected by new employees feeling like there is no vision for their future work or nothing concrete to work towards. This can have a significant impact on an organization's bottom line and employee turnover.
Organizations that do not effectively implement onboarding may find that they miss opportunities for true improvements in their company culture. Leaders must continually evaluate the success of their own onboarding initiatives, just like they must oversee the onboarding process over the course of the few months it might take– this means that you need to monitor your employee’s success and progress! Onboarding takes time, so make sure to be ready to do it properly to see great results in your team and company!