In a COVID-19 world, most new employees will have to be\nonboarded virtually. This presents a host of challenges, as many onboarding\nactivities, such as orientation, training, and drug screenings, are normally\ndone in person. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
To overcome these difficulties, we recently hosted a webinar\nto discuss virtual onboarding best practices that will help companies keep\ntheir employees engaged and productive during COVID-19. The discussion \u2013 which\nfeatured TalentRise\u2019s Kristen Lampert and Terumo\nBCT\u2019s <\/a>MJ Tatum \u2013 covered topics such as management styles, technology\nplatforms, communication strategies, and many others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you missed the webinar, don\u2019t worry. We have the\nhighlights, and we\u2019ve presented them below with five key takeaways that will\noptimize your virtual onboarding approach: <\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. Be Understanding<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Understand that during this time,\nnew employees might be experiencing heightened stress or anxiety. Realize that\nworkers may have extra responsibilities, like childcare, that they have to tend\nto throughout the day. Be caring and empathetic in your management approach to\ngain the respect and trust of your new hires.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Additionally, understand that\ncertain background check requirements might be difficult or impossible to\ncomplete right now. For example, new employees may not currently be comfortable\nor able to perform in-person drug screenings. Consider waiving drug screenings temporarily\nso you can onboard new employees safely and efficiently. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. Tailor Your Performance Management Approach <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Treat all new employees as individuals.\nTake into account their preferences, and tailor your management approach\naccordingly. Some employees may prefer daily touch bases, while others prefer\nless frequent communication. Customizing your management style to fit your\nemployees\u2019 needs will help them feel more comfortable and be more productive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. Utilize Technology Platforms to Maintain Engagement <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Tools like Microsoft\nTeams<\/a>, Slack<\/a>,\nGoogle\nChat<\/a>, and Zoom<\/a>\ncan be useful technologies to stay in touch with your remote workforce. When\nonboarding new employees, it\u2019s critically important to make them feel like part\nof the team. Engage them using the technology you have at your disposal, and\nmake sure they can stay connected with their team. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Also, use your intranet to provide new\nemployees with resources that will help them perform their jobs and navigate\nthis difficult time. You could create a COVID-19-specific page on your intranet\nwith information on how to stay safe, recommendations on how to effectively\nwork from home, and health and wellness tips \u2013 all of which will keep your\nworkforce safe and satisfied. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 4. Keep Spirits High <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Coronavirus may have you down, but it\u2019s\nimportant to keep morale high. Come up with creative ways to have fun with your\nteam. You could create chat channels dedicated specifically to sharing funny\nmemes or happy music. Consider hosting a virtual happy hour with your team over\nvideo conference. Whatever you choose to do, keeping spirits high will help recently\nonboarded employees feel at ease with their new jobs and connected to their new\nteammates. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 5. Communicate, Communicate, Communicate <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Open, honest communication will be key to\nengaging all employees, especially new hires. Send regular communications about\ncompany updates, and schedule frequent check-ins to make sure everything is\ngoing smoothly. Avoid over-communication and micromanagement, but let your\nemployees know you\u2019re there to keep them informed and help in any way you can. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition, establish communications plans that your hiring managers, HR, and IT departments should follow when bringing on a new employee. This will help streamline processes such as new-hire paperwork and equipment delivery\/setup. During this time of uncertainty, creating communications plans ahead of time will ensure that you\u2019re prepared to bring on workers quickly and without roadblocks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While we\u2019re all experiencing some disruption to our normal\nworking lives, innovation and collaboration will help us move forward\nsuccessfully. We hope that the webinar and this information will assist your\nvirtual onboarding efforts and optimize the management of your remote\nworkforce. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019d like more insights into how to better engage and\nmanage your workforce, visit the TalentRise Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, and LinkedIn<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you have more questions about virtual onboarding, don\u2019t\nhesitate to connect with Kristen Lampert<\/a>,\nthe webinar\u2019s host, on LinkedIn. You can also connect with the webinar\u2019s\nfeatured guest, Emjae Tatum, on LinkedIn<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In a COVID-19 world, most new employees will have to be onboarded virtually. This presents a host of challenges, as many onboarding activities, such as orientation, training, and drug screenings, are normally done in person. To overcome these difficulties, we recently hosted a webinar to discuss virtual onboarding best practices that will help companies keep […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2348,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trends","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n