Let's face it – most companies don't have exemplary onboarding programs; it's even worse if it's a remote onboarding program. Onboarding is a crucial first step in preparing new hires for success in their role, but most onboarding programs only include administrative checklists. The new hires are excited, but probably also nervous and have a lot of questions they might not want to ask. And if the onboarding process is a cold administrative burden, they're unlikely to speak out to their new boss for fear of being seen as too negative. Instead, they take out their frustrations on places like Reddit:

As if onboarding wasn't bad enough, the shift to remote work makes it even worse. Remote onboarding is particularly challenging for new hires because it makes it harder to communicate, build a team, and learn about company culture through virtual calls and meetings. The consequences of a poor onboarding program are too great to ignore. The consequences of poor onboarding programs are too great to ignore. A study by BambooHR found that one-third of employees quit their new job in the first six months. And that's after companies have spent the time and resources to hire them in the first place. These costs can add up to one-third of an employee's salary. In this article, you'll learn how managers and companies can develop an onboarding program that ensures the success of employees in the field.

Outline

• How is onboarding a remote employee different from an office worker?
• Virtual Onboarding Challenges
• How to build an onboarding program for remote workers
• The Key to Successful Overseas Employee Onboarding
• How is onboarding a remote employee different from an office worker?
• Remote employee onboarding is a completely different experience than traditional in-office onboarding:

Onboarding in the office

When new employees first come into the office, their manager can greet them, escort them to their desk after they've been introduced to colleagues, and answer any questions they may have. The supervisor is highly involved. This face-to-face interaction helps new hires reduce their fears and settle in.

Remote onboarding

Onboarding a remote employee requires much more communication than onboarding in the office. There are social cues that employees can perceive in the office, but do not have the opportunity to do so. In a remote workplace, new hires are likely to receive a virtual call from their manager on their first day. This can be a long 1-2 hour conversation where everything from setting up the computer to setting goals and clarifying priorities is discussed. The new remote employees are expected to quickly find their way around and understand their new role.

Challenges of virtual onboarding

Virtual onboarding comes with unique challenges that in-office teams don't have to deal with. Here are three challenges of remote onboarding.

Communication: Whether it's an in-office or remote team, the manager often needs to communicate with their new hires to help them settle into their new role. But the new hires may be reluctant to ask questions on the spot. They don't want to harass their bosses when they're busy and make a bad first impression. This can lead to the employee treading water without daily targets.

Technical support can get even more:  frustrating: There is likely to be a technical support in the office that will make sure that email, computer, phone, etc. are set up on the first day. In a remote environment where this help is not available in person, the technical setup can take much longer and be even more frustrating.

Integration of new employees into the corporate culture

The biggest challenge of onboarding employees remotely is integrating them into the company culture. In order for new employees to feel a sense of belonging, it is important that they meet and get to know people from different areas of the company. If they don't get that opportunity, isolation can quickly creep in and affect employees' ability to quickly settle into their roles. For example, a study by researchers at the Portland State University School of Business Administration found that "new software engineers in India who were unable to build meaningful relationships with their peers gathered less information about the company – a behavior that is critical to the success of newcomers."

How to build an onboarding program for remote workers

Remote employee onboarding doesn't have to lag behind on-site onboarding. There are best practices that companies can apply to quickly prepare and integrate employees into the company remotely.

Step 1: Early onboarding

A good onboarding program starts even before day one. New hires will have a lot of questions and will be curious about the team culture. To tap into their enthusiasm and take away their nervousness, leaders can provide them with resources that provide context and answer their questions.

Managers should start sharing information such as:

• Who they will work with.
• Valuable resources about their industry or product.
• Strategy documents related to their role

Some managers even put together an FAQ for new hires that includes answers to frequently asked questions, or a presentation in which future colleagues introduce themselves. A slide deck is a great tool to give them a sense of who else is on the team and how their role relates to others in their department or the company as a whole.

Step 2: Discuss the basics of onboarding

Create an administrative checklist to make sure you don't miss any important steps in the onboarding process. This includes tasks such as:

• Setting up the new employees with the right software and equipment.
• Signing the required employment documents.
• Send a schedule for the first day of introductory meetings

It's important for the other team members to know what's on this checklist so they have a better idea of what they need to prepare for the introductory interviews they may be attending.

Step 3: Get off to a good start on day one

Managers should plan their new hire's first day in as much detail as possible to ensure the experience is exciting, engaging, and to make a good first impression.

Since they can't observe other employees and don't have a work environment to orient themselves to, it's important to give new hires enough to do so that they don't have to deal with little work for a long time in their first week. However, don't overwhelm them with too many meetings or tasks, and always be available for questions and queries.

• Offer a warm welcome

IDEO, an internationally renowned design company, has developed a strategy to alleviate the nervousness of many employees on the first day: those who interviewed the new employee send him a welcome letter that begins with the words: "We think you are a big number, and here's why". This may seem like a small measure, but such efforts show employees that they are welcome as members of the team. It also builds relationships that make it easier for them to reach out in the future.

• Introducing new employees to their colleagues

After a warm welcome, new hires should arrange face-to-face meetings with their supervisors and colleagues with whom they will work closely. One of the biggest challenges of remote work is isolation. In order to integrate new employees into the company, a face-to-face meeting is essential. These face-to-face meetings are primarily to introduce new team members, but they're also a great opportunity to build relationships that are critical to a new hire's progress.

Step 4: Provide an "onboarding buddy" to remote employees.

In addition to face-to-face meetings with team members, working with an "onboarding buddy" can facilitate the integration of new employees into the company. Netapp, a cloud services company in California, hires 200 interns every summer. Part of the onboarding program is to assign them a buddy for their internship. This strategy strengthens the team culture and fosters collaboration between the new interns. In an HBR article, Microsoft reports on its onboarding pilot program, in which each new employee is assigned a colleague who has been with the company for some time. They found that an onboarding buddy:

provides the new employee with an important context.

• increased productivity.
• increased job satisfaction.

Step 5: Build trust and belonging in the first 30-60-90 days.

In the first 90 days, new hires should build relationships with their colleagues, learn their work, contribute their ideas, and receive constructive feedback. Management theorist Simon Sinek suggests in his 2014 TedTalk that great leaders give their employees a sense of security. He draws on his experiences from interviews with marines to understand why they are so willing to put themselves in danger to save their teammates. "They would have done the same for me," was the answer they all gave. The main goal of onboarding is not for new hires to be able to start as soon as possible, but for them to build trust so that they feel part of a hardworking team.

Step 6: Provide mentors

Similar to providing peers for new employees to help them adjust to their new role and the company, mentors are critical to employee development ahead. Mentors differ from managers in that they are more concerned with the holistic improvement and growth of their trainees than with specific performance metrics. Mentors are signposts and advisors that employees can lean on to get an unbiased view. Mentoring relationships established early on are positively associated with employee productivity and confidence five and a half years later. The impact of this type of support is invaluable.

The key to successful remote employee onboarding

Remote employee onboarding programs are more difficult than on-site employee onboarding programs because it's harder to communicate from home and learn about the team culture. To create a successful onboarding program, managers need to focus on building a sense of trust and belonging within their teams. By following the steps outlined in this article, companies can develop a remote employee onboarding program that is more than a checklist for HR, but a process that effectively integrates new employees into the company and paves the way for their success.