Onboarding in a hybrid environment cannot be done the same as in a traditional setup. Yet, enrolling people remotely becomes more
common as flexible work arrangements are now part of our ways of working and essential to fostering employee satisfaction, productivity,
and retention. So, how do you create a sense of belonging when new hires only occasionally meet their colleagues in person? What strategies
can you implement to improve the onboarding experience of people working in different locations? How do you make sure you start this new
collaboration on the right foot?
Workplace connection, team bonding, tools and procedures’ understanding, culture embracement… All these are strong aspects that enhance an
onboarding process that makes a difference in your employees’ journey. In this article, we share 7 best practices to implement to onboard
talent successfully. But first, understanding the main challenges a hybrid worker might encounter when joining a new company is crucial.
One of the biggest challenges in a hybrid or remote work setup is to maintain a strong corporate culture. It is hard to sustain this
aspect with workers who have been by your side for a long time. So imagine building this core pillar of employee experience and workplace
connection with new recruits. It is difficult for them to capture the company's cultural characteristics when not coming on-site and seeing
colleagues daily. Therefore, it is fundamental that, right from the preboarding phase, every part of your onboarding strategy and the employee
journey needs to mirror your organizational culture.
Hybrid Onboarding Best Practices to make this Key Phase Successful
Employee experience is a vital aspect of every company. But fostering this aspect starts before the first day of your new colleagues.
It begins right from the moment you announce they’ve got the job. Succeeding in creating a thriving preboarding experience fosters
satisfaction, engagement, and excitement to meet their teammates and start their new positions. For example, a great preboarding
ritual is to send a welcome package to your new staff. If you can personalize it, you’ll go over the top! But, whether they get
onboard virtually or in person, employee experience needs to be considered at each step. The following best practices all aim to
foster this key aspect.
The role of managers in the onboarding process is fundamental and must be emphasized. A study about Microsoft’s onboarding strategy
in the hybrid world reveals that “new employees were 3.5 times more likely to say they were satisfied with their onboarding experience”.
Yet, enrolling remote or hybrid workers is still relatively new for leaders; they don’t always know the best practices to implement to
succeed in this process. Learning to onboard new people in a hybrid team is essential. You can help them by sharing this article and
providing them with online or face-to-face training.
Those who have changed schools in the middle of the year during their childhood probably remember how stressful it is to joining a
system and a new group of people who already know each other is. This is no different from entering a new company and starting a new
job. Except that, when it’s done remotely, finding its fit, getting to know colleagues, and understanding how things work is more
challenging. But if you have a buddy to support you, answer your questions, and introduce you to the rest of the team, the onboarding
experience becomes much more enjoyable, doesn’t it? Onboarding buddies are undoubtedly a core pillar of successful onboarding in a
hybrid environment.
A Cheat Sheet to Create a thriving Hybrid Onboarding Journey
We must admit this is a lot of information to memorize and a long but essential process to implement. To help you start, here is a
cheat sheet with the main takeaways to remember when creating the onboarding program for your hybrid workforce:
1. Design a preboarding phase.
2.Train managers and emphasize their role.
3. Ask leaders to plan one-to-one meetings regularly.
4. Provide synchronous and asynchronous learning material.
5. Pair new team members with onboarding buddies.
6. Organize team events to break the ice and create connection.
7. Check on recruits often to see if they need anything.
8. Be transparent with new hires right from the beginning.
9. Include them in important meetings and decisions.
10. Use technology as an ally.
VENKY