The pandemic-ridden world has completely changed the way organizations used to function, creating several bottlenecks in the working process. Thus, companies are coming up with several innovative solutions to bridge the gap generated due to the work-from-home system.
One such area to focus on is to keep every team going irrespective of the proximity generated among colleagues and other leaders. Moreover, organizations also need to change the way they hire and onboard new employees. With everything going online, virtual hiring is a new method to find new employees. Though this helps organizations hire new talent even during the pandemic, virtual hiring also comes with specific challenges.
The challenge starts right after the hiring process gets over and the training process begins. No matter how innovative and employee-focused virtual platforms you are using to hold on to your team, to generate a physically connected team’s efficiency, you need to create a high-touch employee experience. It would be best if you worked on recreating a similar experience for your team members virtually, as it used to be before COVID-19.
It is essential to make every new hire feel like they have a strong understanding of the organization’s culture, its history and objective, and its role on the very first day. New employees need to feel supported, and their employee experience should be valued.
Here are a few steps that will help you create a streamlined virtual hiring experience for a high-touch experience of new employees:
Provide onboarding guide
When the entire team used to be under one roof, it was easy for newly hired employees to get a sense of the company’s objective, work culture, and who their coworkers are. But now, with newly hired employees working from home, it gets difficult for them to go through the onboarding process. Organizations often face the challenge of conveying their company culture to new hires. Right from the moment a candidate gets hired, they need to feel valued and a part of your organization.
You can create and offer new employees the necessary tech guide and study materials to brief them on what to expect on the first day and what your organization expects from them. It is vital to make sure that your newly hired employees are on the same page as your organization from the very first day. You can also organize onboarding programming features such as training from company leadership and subject matter experts. Allowing your newly hired employees to learn directly from the core team members is the best way to speed up the onboarding process.
The Importance of a High-Touch Employee Experience
A high-touch employee experience goes beyond simply providing information and resources to new hires. It involves creating a personalized and engaging journey for each individual. When employees feel valued and supported from the beginning, they are more likely to be productive and committed in their roles. Establishing a positive onboarding experience lays the groundwork for enduring employee satisfaction and retention.
Preparing for Onboarding
Before the new employee’s first day, HR and the hiring manager should collaborate to ensure all necessary paperwork is completed and technology is set up. Sending a warm welcome email and detailed information about the onboarding schedule can help ease any pre-arrival jitters.
Breaking the ice with a video meeting
Since you cannot talk to your new employees face to face, you should schedule a video meeting to fill that gap on the very first day. This will help you break the ice and offer the whole company a chance to get to know the newly hired.
Training and Skill Development
Remote onboarding should include a well-structured training program that addresses the specific needs of the new employee’s role. Utilizing interactive training modules and assigning mentors can aid in knowledge retention and skill development.
Create leadership principles
To keep new employees on track, companies need to have firm leadership principles and stick to them. This keeps the company’s expectations from their employees transparent and helps new employees streamline their work. With your team not being around you, you must have a strong belief in what you follow and make your team work on it.
Connect new employees with old ones
To help your newly hired employees get a thorough understanding of your company culture, you need to introduce them to other existing successful employees before their joining date. This gives the new hires a chance to deep dive into your company culture. You can pair each new employee with an old employee and make them meet digitally right after they are hired. Allow the new employee to ask any question they want to their partner to solve any issue.
Interconnect your teams
For an organization to work successfully, all its teams need to work together toward the final objective. This requires continuous discussion within every team to update all your employees on every ongoing project’s progress
Leveraging Technology for Seamless Onboarding
In the digital world, technology plays a vital role in creating a seamless onboarding experience. Utilizing video conferencing tools, virtual reality for onboarding simulations, and collaborative platforms can enhance communication and engagement during the onboarding process.
Nurturing Company Culture in the Remote Work Era
Maintaining a strong company culture in a remote work setup requires conscious efforts. Encouraging virtual team events, recognizing employee achievements, and upholding shared values help nurture a positive and inclusive work culture.
Schedule weekly meetings
To understand how your newly hired employees are performing, you need to stay updated on their tasks. For that, you can organize weekly meetings once or twice based on the need. Ideally, you should schedule a meeting on Monday to brief the employee about the work expected throughout the week. There must be another meeting on Friday to update what they have completed over the week. Use this opportunity to inform your employees about company growth and how their work is affecting it.
In this digitized world, to offer a high-touch employee experience, you need to give all your employees equal attention, especially the newly hired ones. Thus, it is essential to have a flawless onboarding process with the necessary support. Offer the newly hired employees a platform to share all their experiences and get solutions to their problems.
Measuring Onboarding Success
Tracking the success of the onboarding process is essential for continuous improvement. HR teams can use surveys, feedback forms, and performance metrics to gauge the effectiveness of their onboarding strategies and identify areas for enhancement.
The Future of Onboarding and Employee Experience
As remote work continues to gain prominence, the future of onboarding lies in finding innovative ways to create meaningful connections in a digital workspace. Embracing new technologies and staying adaptable to changing work dynamics will be key in shaping the employee experience of tomorrow.
Conclusion
In conclusion, onboarding in the digital world requires a human-centric approach that values personal connections and employee growth. A high-touch employee experience during onboarding can lead to increased job satisfaction, improved productivity, and enhanced retention rates. By leveraging technology and fostering a strong company culture, organizations can ensure that new hires feel welcomed and supported from day one.Be a part of our community for free and access the best resources, trends, and new technologies from peers and industry experts. You can also check out our other awesome blogs over here.
