Tips On How To On-board New Staff And Contractors During COVID-19 – Working From Home

So, you’ve managed to hire a new team member during these unprecedented times and are now faced with the challenge of onboarding them in a virtual sense.  The team at Kaizen are currently faced with this challenge as are several of our clients who are either crying out for resources to cater for increased customer contact or simply pushing on with certain initiatives.  Based on our experience and conversations we’ve had with clients, to date, I’d like to share with you several ideas in consideration of making the virtual onboarding process as smooth as possible.

Prior to start date – Setting expectations & maintaining engagement:

1. For those leaders and key stakeholders (such as team buddy) who haven’t already reached out to your new team-mate, it’s extremely important that you put in a call to introduce yourself and welcome them to the team, albeit by phone.  The benefit of maintaining engagement will help reduce first day/week jitters associated with starting a new role and meeting a new team, all whilst working from home – it’s also a good idea for the leader to send an email the working day before they start reiterating that the team is looking forward to having them onboard
2. Setting up expectations between leader and team member prior to starting is key to creating a framework to work within, with particular reference to the employer policy on working from home (including onboarding, induction and training)
3. Regarding working from home, this should include the following considerations:
   1. Provision of appropriate technology (including infrastructure) and other tools of trade which provides your team member the ability to get and stay connected with team, customers, suppliers, partners and broader community
   2. Providing guidance on what an acceptable workspace looks like within a home environment is important to establish for compliance with OHS legislation – for example, creating an information or FAQ document/checklist (via intranet or other digital application) that anticipates answers to basic questions the team member may have about their home office setup can be useful

Onboarding – Establishing relationships, fostering inclusivity and providing access to information:

First day:

1. Ensure appropriate technology and tools of trade have been delivered to the team members home in readiness for day one – additionally, provide access to technical and HR support to setup workstation and completion of HR policy relating to onboarding, respectively
2. Create time for a team meeting (via your choice of online team-based platforms such as Microsoft teams or Zoom) as a way of welcoming your newest team member to the team – for those leaders who aren’t tech savvy or familiar with these platforms, it’s time to shift your mindset and embrace this mode of interaction as it’s here to stay!
3. Ask each team member to setup additional one on one time with the team member to encourage relationship building on a personal and professional level – further to this, providing an organisational chart of ‘who is who in the zoo’ adds as a visual aid in getting to know who the other key stakeholders are within the business

First week:

1. As a leader or team buddy, establishing morning, midday and end of day checkpoints allows opportunity for the new team member to ask questions as well as seek and provide feedback – additionally, creating an agenda and scheduling time for training is also key to providing your new team member with structure as well as access to online resources and information – further to this, providing a calendar of events (be it project-based, working groups, recurring reporting, online training and marketing activity or birthdays) can provide broader context of how individuals and teams connect across the business
2. In the absence of sitting down at the end of the week for a team lunch at your regular ‘dive’, dedicate the same allocation of time to bring the team together, in a virtual sense, for a wind down session as a way of fostering inclusivity and creating a sense of team and belonging – at Kaizen, we’ve set aside Friday afternoons for an end of week virtual team get together as a relaxed way of stepping into the weekend (BYO – drink and nibbles)
3. Importantly, give consideration to the personality type (e.g. dominant vs. supportive) of your new team member (if unsure, there are affordable solutions online to assist here) to enable the right type of support during their onboarding experience – working from home can throw up different challenges for different personalities so understanding this can reduce your risk of new hire turnover – equally as important is understanding your own personality type and that of your team to find a ‘match’ or be able to adapt your leadership and coaching style to suit that of your new team member

Ongoing:

1. Be sure to develop a customised learning and development program (leveraging the plentiful amount of online webinar, seminar, collaborative and networking offerings) as well as a team-based support network or buddy to encourage ongoing growth and development – use this time working from home to fast-track learning opportunities whether it be of a system, data, process or people orientation
2. Regular and on-going performance discussion should be reciprocal.  This will allow both leader/buddy and new team member the ability to provide and request honest and constructive feedback that aligns to your organisational trademark, shared purpose and values

If done well, the onboarding process albeit virtual, can positively contribute to organisational retention rates by supporting individual morale and confidence as well as promoting high productivity and performance.  Suddenly, the challenge of virtual onboarding doesn’t seem as daunting as first envisaged and can become an opportunity to create new ways of working that can integrate with best practice ‘in-office’ onboarding guidelines that leverages the best of both worlds.

Kaizen Recruitment specialises financial services recruitment across funds management, wealth management, superannuation, investment consulting and insurance. We are based in Melbourne and Sydney. For assistance or further information please telephone our office at +61 3 9095 7157 or submit an online form.

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