Runway Magazine, the fictional Vogue surrogate that acted as the centerfold for the film The Devil’s Prada, may have had the worst onboarding process in the history of onboarding processes.
Wide-eyed Andy shows up on her first day, not having done any research about the company or her job role (not a good look). Meanwhile, not a single person schedules time to show her how to do anything, yet they act in shock and dismay when she fumbles at every turn.
Miranda Priestly needed more forethought when outsourcing HR services because we all know she would never deign to train any employee.
The movie would look very different in 2022. Virtual onboarding? Groundbreaking.
Go watch The Devil Wears Prada, then come back to read how managing employees remotely might just be the biggest trend since the Spring collection.
Table of Contents
Welcome to the Future with Virtual Onboarding
Whether you manage a hybrid or a fully remote workplace, implementing a virtual onboarding process will land a great impression on your new hires.
Using virtual platforms helps to complete mundane yet essential tasks like filling out paperwork with ease. It also saves you time that you would have to carve out of your already busy day.
You want your new hires to have a strong start so that their talent can shine. Effective and well-designed onboarding processes have been shown to lead to an increase in employee retention. When managers and colleagues genuinely work to make new people feel welcome and feel prepared, they will want to stay at the job longer.
Don’t make your onboarding process dry and technical. You want to thoughtfully design an engaging experience that new hires will not sleep or doom scroll through. If you want to streamline the process making it easier, partnering with a PEO Company would be the solution.
How to Set Up A Successful Remote Onboarding Process
Virtual onboarding platforms, while offering many benefits, might easily turn into a complete disaster that no one has fun at. Here are some tips to enhance the onboarding experience:
Use Task Lists
Setting up new hires with virtual task lists offers simplicity and transparency. HR managers can closely monitor how quickly employees move through all the steps. They might also need this tool to know when to send a follow-up reminder email to complete those last steps.
Virtual task lists help make the process pain-free and user-friendly for people as well. Their tasks get organized seamlessly into logical and incremental steps.
It also helps when you can save your progress and come back to different tasks later. It’s not too early to get acclimated to balancing a busy schedule and juggling multiple priorities. Often, new hires might already have started working on projects with their team.
Building a Library of New Employee Resources
Remote work platforms enable great features like storing key files and informational content that will help new hires learn everything they need to know about the new position.
You can create PDFs of well-written and thoughtfully curated documents that focus on such topics as:
- Learning about the company’s history
- Introduction to the company’s branding
- Employee Handbooks
- Tips on setting up your home office
These offer just some ideas for you to get started. Managers can use their creativity to come up with really cool content.
Video content can save a lot of time in the long run. Pre-recording videos to present complex topics like health benefits and company policies can add a valuable resource.
Also, watching videos will feel much more engaging than having to scroll through endless reading.
Setting Up Opportunities for Breakout Rooms
No doubt onboarding will include multiple zoom meetings, especially if you bring on multiple people around the same time. Setting up breakout rooms will engage new hires and help them socialize with their new colleagues.
This engagement will get them excited and motivated. You might also use the video conferences as an opportunity to host new hire happy hours.
Choose the Right Software Platform to Fit Your Onboarding Needs
Working with the best HR software platforms will create the best experience for managers and new hires alike. Some features that make up a high-quality platform include:
- Automated Payment and Paperwork
- Self-guided tasks and programs
- Tools to create job ads and communication tools for HR managers
- Setting up effective and easy workflows
Learn more about how to improve your company’s onboarding practices.
Get Inspired by What Other Companies Do for their Employees
Front-running tech companies share their processes and tools for effective and successful onboarding. Human Resources professionals create optimal experiences by developing and offering extensive communication tools and check-ins for employees.
Workbright Creates a New Product to Simplify Hiring Documents
Workbright has designed a user-friendly onboarding platform. All the tools needed to onboard new employees are easily available using the best software.
The platform sets employees up with Remote 1-9, a new product that sets up paperwork to follow legal guidelines. Users can autofill Section 2 of the 1-9 form, or they can set up a virtual representative to assist them.
Workbright software offers great advantages because of its self-guided interface. An HR professional or administrator doesn’t have to meet in person to operate these tools.
Employees can complete onboarding tasks at their own pace with a platform that helps them stay organized with a guided process and set reminders. HR managers can also rely on special auditing logs built into the programs to track when and how long employees engage with their tasks.
New hires can complete their onboarding with their phone. Workbright offers one of the few platforms that are mobile-first, meaning it’s designed specifically for mobile use.
Check out a demo of this product at https://WorkBright.com/verify-i9-remote/.
Engage with Interactive Content Using Bob
With the motto “say hi to Bob,” this software platform has developed a highly personalized automated product for HR departments. The company, Bob, designed a social platform for onboarding. It has created a very special niche to ramp up the industry.
Bob’s platform humanizes the virtual working experience. HR managers can create memorable experiences in their hiring process. These tools also facilitate an engaging company culture.
HR professionals who invest in this platform can save their time and brainpower. That’s because Bob creates products that enable the automation of HR processes, like filing paperwork. It makes the essential functions of HR simple and friendly.
Bob’s products also have tools to automate the payroll process. And it offers special features for People Analytics. HR managers can collect and mine data about their employees.
They have the tools to present new insights and create people-focused solutions. HR has gotten personal.
Book a Demo with Bob on their website.
Collaborative Onboarding with GitLab
GitLab offers an impressive DevOps software program that offers an extensive management tool for businesses. As a tech company, they know a few things about creating a high-quality virtual onboarding experience.
This development company sets its new hires up for success through an onboarding process that incorporates three essential elements:
- organization
- technical
- social
Creating a strong social experience right away will help employees feel like team players. Gitlab does this by assigning an “onboarding buddy” for everyone. They also encourage organized informal communication.
It also sets up structured activities to encourage socializing among new hires and staff. This includes many online activities.
Facilitating consistency, transparency, and community in company communication takes onboarding to new heights. You also get to have a better experience building a remote work culture.
Gitlab has built a company culture that makes use of a process called “dogfooding.” This means that all employees can make major platform changes. Gitlab staff collaborates through a program called Gitlab issues, where they can add their pages and content.
They even have a say in the company values and can offer feedback directly to the CEO via Twitter.
See how Gitlab creates one of the coolest onboarding processes on their website.
Revolutionizing Onboarding at Google
Based on how much HR-related content covers it and how many workplaces have adopted some of its models, Google easily has the most famous onboarding process.
Google has become the leader in onboarding new hires because it has built a program focused on education and support for staff.
Like GitLab, Google has a buddy system for new employees starting on the job. They have opportunities for frequent check-ins so they communicate their ideas or concerns. Google also tailors its onboarding process based on the needs of each department.
Every department has its onboarding practices that are unique to its needs.
But Google’s model has become a template for so many companies because of the company culture that it builds. Google gives its employees agency and encourages creativity. Their famous 20% time practice gives staff one workday a week to work on their projects.
Read more about Google’s onboarding practices in this article.
Outsourcing Essential HR Services
HR professionals have a very important role in the company. They have great organization and social skills. This helps them manage a company’s most valuable resource, their people.
As the workplace becomes more virtual, companies continue to rely more on consultants in place of having departments in-house.
HR consultancy can be an interesting opportunity. HR consultants don’t just work with one office. They have the option to spread their influence and passion for people to dozens of offices. Consulting gives HR professionals variety and flexibility to grow in their strengths.
HR managers are responsible for the following roles:
Talent Recruitment
HR managers often speak to prospective hires before anyone else in the company does. They make the first impression that will shape an employee’s time at their job.
You’ve already heard a lot about onboarding, which has the largest role in hiring new staff in a process called organization socialization.
They have the task of defining what the job roles entail and communicating that effectively on hiring platforms and hiring ads.
Human resources ensure that companies hire the best and most qualified candidates.
Performance Management
HR managers lead performance management efforts with the help of executives and managers in a company.
They facilitate performance reviews, held quarterly or annually, and actively engage in appraisal meetings to discuss employees’ achievements and areas for improvement
During the hiring process, staying on top of a new hire’s development and performance is crucial. Regular performance review comments provide valuable insights into an employee’s progress, allowing HR managers to offer constructive feedback and support, ultimately contributing to the individual’s success in their new role
The HR department helps staff set up and actualize personal and professional goals. They communicate one-on-one to be consistent with follow-up. This will help track the employee’s progress.
Developing Administrative Systems
Human resources work on many administrative tasks that make sure employees get paid and get time off and holidays.
A big part of HR administration involves data management. HR managers regularly track and input data. They are responsible for data analysis and tracking trends in the office.
They also handle maintaining records for all employees and managing payroll.
What Can Be Outsourced
The three essential duties above could potentially be outsourced to a consultant. A lot of HR companies exist now that specialize in recruiting for companies, payroll services, and even people analytics.
Recruitment outsourcing includes finding talent for permanent staff as well as hiring agencies that hire temporary workers.
HR consultants function as highly specialized experts in a particular aspect of human resources. Especially when you just start out running a business, looking to outsource your HR needs will be very cost-effective.
Consultants also provide very fresh and forward-thinking takes. Because they come from outside the company, they offer an objective outsider’s perspective. They don’t get bogged down by biases arising from office cliques or social dynamics.
Other areas in HR that can be outsourced include:
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)
- Creating content for employee manuals and company policies
- Harassment training
- Specialized Coaching
- Benefits and developing compensation plans
- independent contractors compliance
Human resources continue to develop into a growing innovative field that promotes an array of advanced skills. Essential people and management skills help drive a business.
Here to Revolutionize HR
Human resources managers can be influential in their company. Or they can help transform many companies in their career.
HR services humanize a company, especially big organizations. You want to work with people who act as thought leaders and game changers.
A business’s success depends on a passionate workforce.
Check out the rest of our blog for more discussions about cool trends and big ideas.
