A remote-friendly environment that’s reflected in the company’s culture is crucial for onboarding success. Every employee should understand where they fit into the team and how their work impacts the organization as a whole. Onboarding is the process used to integrate new hires into a company and its culture. Although onboarding is used to welcome new employees into an organization, it should be treated as a continuous process to boost employee engagement.
What’s more, it’s easier to set up virtual coffee chats or team lunch-and-learns than it is to move the conversation beyond awkward small talk. Instead of relying on icebreakers and dreaded silence, set the team up to have real conversations right away by establishing a baseline pool of topics that everyone can discuss. One format I particularly like is a multimedia content “playlist” that the team curates together—a compilation of anything safe for work which showcases the unique personalities and interests of team members. Perhaps folks will add favorite background music for focus time, links to podcast episodes, books, blog posts, pet pictures, descriptions of their remote work setups, and so on. Sharing this in advance helps to break the ice, providing new team members a window into what others on the team are interested in or care about.
- Onboarding in 2025 needs to be employee-centric, data-driven, and tech-powered.
- Remote onboarding is the digital process of welcoming a new starter, and includes various stages that seek to familiarise them with the details of the organisation and their role.
- For those comfortable with it, it’s a chance to showcase what they’ve done early on and reinforces that the team cares about their work and impact.
- Ensure you get all those signatures on the employment contracts, policy acknowledgments, and payroll forms.
- As we get into remote onboarding tools or a more detailed discussion of creating a “how to onboard a new employee” checklist, it’s essential to focus on the remote aspect of this work.
Following best practices ensures that remote employees not only understand but also align with the company’s culture, values, and mission. As remote work and working from home is becoming more common, effective onboarding processes is key to help new employees feel welcomed. In 2025 and beyond, onboarding is no longer a one-way process where HR professionals deliver training and move on.
Remote Employee Onboarding Checklist
At Hubstaff, we also like solutions like Wistia that make it easy to create videos and share these recordings by embedding them on websites or in things like Google documents. Turn training into a series of videos so new hires can watch them in small, consumable chunks to learn and get used to new programs and processes. Video is vital for remote onboarding and running a remote organization. Review your tools and how you use them elsewhere to identify gaps or needed training. Start with reliable video conferencing tools such as Zoom or Google Meet to ensure clear and effective communication. Your other communication tools, such as Slack, may have video and live-meeting features as well.
Lack of physical proximity, use of remote work tools and a tendency towards asynchronous work can all make it more challenging for an employee to thrive in their new role. To get ahead of this challenge, companies need to be strategic about employee onboarding and ensure all new hires have the company support and tools to thrive in their new role. This tech company implemented a fully digital workflow, leading to a 70% reduction in onboarding time. Their experience includes automated document processing, AI-driven training modules, and a centralized onboarding hub that allows new hires to find and access all the information easily. These practices create a digital onboarding experience that feels personal and supportive, helping new employees feel valued from the start.
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Additionally, creating a digital onboarding resource hub can provide remote employees with easy access to essential information about the organization, its mission, and their specific roles. This hub could include training videos, policy documents, FAQs, and contact information for key personnel. A proactive onboarding plan ensures that remote employees feel like part of the team from day one. Even the most experienced companies face challenges when onboarding remote employees.
What is the onboarding process?
This is key to ensuring that top talent doesn’t slip through the cracks. The longer you keep an employee happy, the more likely it is that they will be part of your company for years to come. A clear, structured onboarding experience helps new hires feel confident, supported, and valued from day one.
Complete All the Paper Works Digitally
Use an LMS, like TalentLMS, to deliver asynchronous courses and live webinars through video conferencing tools. Schedule Q&A sessions with team leaders and managers to reinforce expectations. Use surveys or pulse checks to get feedback at weeks 1, 2, 4, and beyond. In 2025, it’s a make-or-break phase that determines whether new hires become thriving contributors or early exits. As expectations evolve and hybrid work environments become standard, onboarding must be structured, engaging, and tech-empowered. When it comes to financial institutions such as banks, digital wallets, or credit unions, digital onboarding refers to verifying and integrating new customers using advanced digital onboarding software.
They can respond to your new hire’s queries and help with their transition to the new position. It is common to feel disconnected from the new recruit when working in the remote work culture. The best way to avoid that is by scheduling regular check-ins with them. It will provide you with their working status, solve their queries, guide them, and give feedback on their performance. A seamless, secure process gives employees confidence in your company, fostering a strong sense of trust and long-term commitment.
- Introducing new employees to the various applications they’ll need for daily tasks can be overwhelming, right?
- Remote onboarding should emphasize digital tools and intentional touchpoints.
- Digital onboarding takes various forms, each designed to meet different business needs and employee experiences.
- In many ways, this person will guide the way your intern feels about their new work environment, so you want their influence to be a positive one.
- Perhaps folks will add favorite background music for focus time, links to podcast episodes, books, blog posts, pet pictures, descriptions of their remote work setups, and so on.
While onboarding may historically have been a half-day spent in a meeting room listening to a replay of the organisation’s history, today it’s shifted to virtual. There’s no denying the importance of a consistent, positive remote onboarding experience, but how can you ensure you’re continually providing it? And how can you leverage onboarding software while maintaining important personal interactions with your newest employees? A structured remote onboarding process typically lasts 30 to 90 days, but ongoing support is essential for long-term success.
IBM, Adobe, and Ford show that, when done right, digital onboarding streamlines operations, boosts employee satisfaction, and improves retention, making it a vital investment for businesses. Exploring existing case studies from innovative companies helps gather inspiration and digital onboarding best practices to design your own process with cutting-edge technology. There are many great examples of major companies turning old-school onboarding into fully digital experiences, resulting in increased efficiency, engagement, and retention. Once you’ve selected the right digital onboarding tools, set up automated workflows for document signing, identity verification, and benefits enrollment.
#13 Use shadowing and social learning
That’s why scalability makes digital onboarding an ideal solution for businesses of all sizes, from startups to large enterprises, reducing resources while increasing efficiency. It reduces manual paperwork, speeds up onboarding, increases profitability, and helps new hires adapt quickly, boosting productivity from day one. Digital onboarding automates document signing, identity verification, product setup, and many other processes. While much of the paperwork and initial setup is automated, employees access live support or schedule meetings with HR or their managers to clarify questions or receive guidance.
Employing a webinar software will facilitate streamlined information sharing, remote access and allow for interactive Q&A sessions between recruits and HR. The software will simplify the virtual onboarding process and help new employees to better understand all necessary processes. Also, regular check-ins promote a welcoming remote work environment where employees feel comfortable and provide honest feedback on their onboarding experience. Additionally, it’s vital to establish communication norms, such as response times and meeting schedules, to foster collaboration and maintain productivity.
This is a vital time for HR managers to see if their new hire has any issues or needs help. As an HR manager, you can’t wait for quarterly or annual performance reports. You can’t take remote onboarding best practices a quick walk around the office and stick your head in the new hire’s cubicle to check in on them. That’s why it’s necessary to create a strategy that supports these regular check-ins.