When new employees are brought into a business, it is important to introduce and familiarize them with the company, its policies, procedures, values, and more. In the past, onboardings were done in person, often in large groups. But with the advent of fully remote jobs, onboardings have gone virtual. This has presented new challenges for the onboarding process.
Onboarding remote employees, while similar, is very different from onboarding in-person employees. Since the process will take place digitally, your means of doing that are crucial. The remote onboarding software you choose is an integral to the success of your onboarding. It can make or break your onboarding experience. A stellar software can result in a comprehensive and impactful onboarding that gets new employees informed, motivated, and excited for work. Poor software can result in a disorganized and chaotic onboarding that turns new employees away. This means that the software you choose is essential.
As with most software, there are a lot of options for onboarding software. And since best is subjective, it is hard to say what the best onboarding software is. With so many options available, trying to sort through them all can be overwhelming. However, there are ways to make the process more approachable.
One of the most important decisions to make is whether you want paid or free software. Paid software is typically more robust, better made, and has better support. Free software is free, but that usually comes with fewer features, less reliability, and a lack of support. Depending on your needs, free software may suffice. For most businesses though, the features found on paid software will be worth the cost. Eliminating free or paid software from your search greatly narrows down the results.
After that, carefully consider your needs and compare them to the available options. If you need to host onboardings for 100 or more employees at a time, see which options can do that. If you want customizable virtual rooms for your onboarding, find out which software offers that ability. This will help you find out which software can meet all of your needs and allow your onboardings to proceed without issue.
As mentioned above, employee onboarding software is critical to the success of your employee onboarding, especially if it is remote. Its importance is not to be overstated. It is one of many employee onboarding tools that are necessary for comprehensive and impactful onboardings. These tools and software can come in a variety of different forms.
For example, many opt to use an employee onboarding app for cell phones and tablets. This may sound odd given most people have computers which are more functional, but there are advantages that apps have. Since most people have their phones on them all the time, using an app can make a new employee feel more included. They download an app and are instantly involved with their job.
Another benefit of these apps is the paperwork. Starting a new job often requires lots of forms to be filled out, which is annoying for the new employee and the person who has to process it. But with apps, this paperwork can easily be filled out and submitted digitally, saving time. This also allows new employees to focus more on their onboarding instead of paperwork.
You also may find onboarding software free. This may be tempting, but it would most likely be better for you to choose a paid option. You get way you pay for is very much a true phrase. While free options are cost saving, they are also limited and lack proper support, which could ruin an onboarding for a larger business. They work for smaller scenarios, but most businesses will require a paid software.
All that said, there is a company who stands out when it comes to digital employee onboarding—Filo. Their onboarding software is some of the best on the market, offering a feature filled platform capable of handling nearly any onboarding. Filo allows for seamless virtual onboarding and training, faster onboarding, improves retention, and helps cultivate connection between new and existing employees.
In the end, that means a lot of time saved and stress prevented, all with a more comprehensive and faster onboarding. With employees who are quickly ready to get to work and be excited about it, your business is bound to improve. And since they will spend less time onboarding, they will spend more time making the business successful.
With all the technical talk out of the way, let’s focus on the actual onboarding. The virtual onboarding experience is the most important aspect of your onboarding. It is the overall experience a new employee will have when onboarding.
Everything from the invitation and look of the digital space to the informational videos and discussions are part of the onboarding experience. This experience will shape your employee, how they work, how they view the company, their relationships with coworkers, and so much more. This means that the onboarding experience is crucial to an employee’s success.
The remote onboarding experience is also important in other ways. With employees putting more value on work-life balance, healthy boundaries, good relationships with coworkers, and quality of life, onboarding has become even more important.
An onboarding can show employees why they should stay with a company. If your onboarding demonstrates that you value employees, respect boundaries, treat them fairly, and have a healthy social environment, employees are much more likely to stay. Conversely, if your online employee onboarding shows that your focus is entirely on efficiency, productivity, and output, it can show employees that you do not value and respect the employees outside of them as a means to profit.
There are also benefits of remote onboarding that do not transfer to in-person onboardings. Though you may not expect it, there are serious advantages in going remote. Just to note a few, remote onboardings give you and employees more flexibility, save money, and allow you to open up your talent pool to a wider area. All of these benefits serve to make your business more successful and profitable in the long run.
When it comes to the remote onboarding process, there is a lot to consider. What kind of invitation should you send? What videos should you show? How long should the process be? What fun activities should be included? These factors are all part of the process.
To avoid being overwhelmed or making any large mistakes, follow some of the common remote onboarding best practices. These tips have been used by industry leaders and are proven to work for onboarding remote workers. Taking advice from the best can help ensure that your onboardings are as successful as you hope. For example, a common best practice is to start the onboarding process early. By sending out information (and some free goodies) as soon as the hiring process is complete, you will help you and your new employees succeed. The information will help them get familiar with the company before their first day, and some free swag can make employees more excited about work. They may even post about it on social media, which is some nice promotion.
Another tool which can help in the process is a virtual onboarding checklist. Using a checklist, just like best practices, can ensure you do not miss anything and that your onboarding goes off without issue. These checklists cover the basics such as scheduling an individual meeting, giving them time to review materials, schedule an HR meeting, and more. Take advantage of the resources made available by industry experts.
Lastly, your remote onboarding tools are also a part of best practices. A common best practice is to use good software that can meet all of your needs. Refer to the previous sections for more information and advice about choosing your onboarding tools. When choosing your onboarding tools, just be sure that they are a good fit for you and your specific needs.
Though remote onboarding has a lot to offer, there are remote onboarding challenges. With the digital medium comes a whole new array of challenges to be dealt with. A common challenge is not being able to properly form relationships with other coworkers, which is a serious issue if left unaddressed. This is just one of many challenges that the digital medium presents to onboarding.
Many have opted to go with hybrid onboarding to balance out the pros and cons of virtual and in-person onboarding, but the hybrid medium also presents its own challenges. The inconsistency that comes with hybrid work can make it difficult for new employees to get accustomed. Hybrid onboardings also involve physical and digital tools, which is more costly than using one or the other.
Thankfully, many of the challenges in onboarding process are avoidable because of the technology and tools currently available. Software like Filo has made things like forming impactful relationships digitally easy. By using modern technology to alleviate the flaws of digital onboarding, you can have impactful and effective onboardings.
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