How to help a new employee adapt if the work is remote

With the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, the labor market has changed dramatically. Interviews have moved to the online format, companies have transferred employees to a remote location, and to apply for a job, you no longer need to come to the office.

In an unfamiliar reality, long-established methods of onboarding for employees have ceased to work: now newcomers may not appear in the office for weeks or even live in another city.

How online onboarding differs from usual

At first glance, it seems that working remotely is a great option for a beginner. He does not have to communicate with chatty colleagues, waste time to impress the "old guard" or maintain some kind of image. In fact, all communication will be business-like and less frequent.

And this is precisely the main difficulty of online onboarding. The new employee finds himself out of touch with his usual office life. He does not cook in a common cauldron of corporate values: he does not talk with colleagues during breaks, does not communicate with people from other departments unnecessarily, and misses common

activity. And such a person is unlikely to have an attachment to a cozy office in a beautiful place. So it is much more difficult to motivate a new employee and keep him / her for a long time.

In addition, in the office and at a remote location, adaptation tools are significantly different.

And companies either use non-working schemes and do not cope with the adaptation of newcomers to a remote location, or generally forget about onboarding when it comes to remote employees. The latter are left alone at home and are not offered any help or guidance. And then people quickly leave the company without really recognizing anyone.

What are the main tasks of online adaptation

There are two things to consider when doing remote onboarding.

1. It is important to make the employee feel like a part of the team, even if they are not in the office. For this, it is necessary to constantly keep in touch with the person and promptly help with emerging problems. And in new conditions everyone has them.
2. It is necessary that the employee clearly understands what is expected of him and what he himself can count on. It is better to provide the most complete information about working conditions, tasks and opportunities in the first days.

On the one hand, it will help the newcomer avoid communication deficits and better get comfortable in the team without feeling too much stress because of the difficulties. On the other hand, it will allow a person to clearly understand their responsibilities. The second challenge is just as important as the first: polls show that mismatching expectations and reality is a common reason for leaving. So, it was she who was namedJob Seeker Nation Study 2018 / Jobvite 43% of the interviewed employees from among those who left in the first three months of work.

Who should be involved in the adaptation process

It is better to define these people in advance, so that everyone clearly understands their tasks and roles. In this case, the likelihood that some kind of blind spots will remain. It is worth attracting to onboarding:

• HR manager. The organizational burden will fall on him. He will have to draw up an adaptation plan, instruct the leader and mentor, and introduce the newcomer to the company.
• Direct manager. It is he who sets tasks, controls work, gives feedback and solves key problems.
• A mentor. It can be like one of colleaguesand the leader. The mentor helps with daily activities, introduces the specifics of the work and the company, shares life hacks and supports the newbie.
• Team members. As a rule, these are employees of the department in which the person got a job. Their task is not only to participate in joint meetings, but also to insure and support the newcomer.

How to organize your first day of work for a beginner

The main task is to acquaint with the company and employees, as well as to define work tasks for the near future.

Acquaintance with company values

In some companies, newcomers are immediately sent a bunch of documents by mail and offered to familiarize themselves with them. As a result, a person can read job descriptions and product descriptions all day long, watch presentations about the mission and values ​​of the company alone.

This is not the best idea: it is important that the employee first gets to know the corporate culture through real examples and only then consolidate the information with the help of documents and other materials.

The company and its values ​​are best discussed in person. Welkam training or a meeting with the leader is suitable for this.

The first format is suitable when several new people came to the company at once. In this case, it is convenient to organize an online conference where the HR manager or head of the HR department will talk about the company. It is important to rely on specific examples. So, if the value of the organization is people, it is worth describing how they are cared for (for example, psychological training is provided).

First meeting with the manager

If no wellness training is planned, the manager should tell the newcomer about the corporate culture at the first meeting. It also needs to discuss:

• the tasks and responsibilities of the employee, the more specific the better;
• technical aspects of work, for example, how tasks are set and controlled, is there a reporting system, what services are used;
• regulations for the planning and meetings;
• peculiarities of interaction with the head on work issues (where and when it is better to write);
• plan for the first day.

During a conversation, it is important to make out several important nuances that beginners usually worry about:

• how long does it take to wait for an answer to tasks before reminding about yourself;
• how clearly the working day is regulated and at what hours and days you can not be in touch (at a distance, people often overwork, so it is important to tell at what time they can rest easy);
• how the schedule is formed vacationswhen the first vacation is possible and for how many days it is given;
• what rules are adopted in the company regarding sick leave and time off;
• on what days and in what parts the salary is paid.

Meeting with colleagues

It can be organized by a HR manager or a direct manager. It is necessary to invite other employees of the department where the newcomer came to it, including a mentor, if his role was not taken by the boss himself.

The meeting itself is best done in the middle of the day, such as at Zoom. For starters, ask the newbie to introduce themselves. If he is shy, the manager can describe the new employee himself and only then give him the floor.

Then let them tell about themselves colleagues. Just ask them to talk in advance not only about work experience, education, hobbies, but also about their area of ​​responsibility and possible points of contact with the newcomer. Thanks to this, he will know who and why he can contact.

Meeting with the manager at the end of the day

It is needed to find out how the employee's first day went, what questions he had and what difficulties arose.

To avoid monosyllabic answers, you can ask additional questions that will help you better analyze the beginner's emotions and thoughts:

• What did you like the most? What things caused pleasant emotions, and which ones - anxiety?
• How clear and convenient are the working tools? What difficulties did you encounter while using them?
• How did the person understand his tasks and responsibilities? Can he describe them in detail?
• How does the employee plan to organize his work in the coming days? Where to start? What does it expect to accomplish?

How to organize your first week of work for a newbie

At this stage, it is important to provide the beginner with calmness and certainty. Therefore, you need to draw up a clear schedule with all the affairs and projects in which the employee will participate. Most likely, these will be various online meetings with the participation of a leader, mentor or team.

In addition, you need to take time to:

1. Analyze business processes. It is necessary to once again tell about all the organizational points, regulations and standards that are important for the employee. The better the latter understands the mechanics of work, the faster he will be able to adapt.
2. Describe the motivation system. It is necessary that it be completely understandable for a beginner. He must know how the salary is calculated, what bonuses he can receive, what KPI must be done.
3. Warn about potential problems. There are bottlenecks in any job that can lead to dead ends. Therefore, it is important to discuss the most common problems and tell you how to act in these situations. It is better to warn the beginner about all possible difficulties.

The manager fluently examines all these questions on the first day of the beginner's work. However, it is impossible to assimilate such a large amount of information at a time. You will have to repeat it several times so that the employee does not miss anything. In addition, a beginner can be involved in several projects at once. And it is important to analyze the specifics of each of them.

How to organize the first month of a beginner's work

During this period, you need to build a work process, so it is important that the leader or mentor constantly monitors the newcomer and is in touch. This will allow you to control and guide employee and not leave alone with problems.

The most convenient way is to interact through online problem setting systems. With their help, you can track the work process and the hours of the employee's activity (for example, when he creates tasks or, in principle, is in the system). This will prevent overtime or, conversely, unnecessary negligence. And also - to understand which tasks cause more problems for a beginner.

Particular attention should be paid to feedback. It should be constructive, clear and consistent. In the first month, it is better to communicate with a newbie at least several times a day using video calls or instant messengers. During such conversations, you need to clarify tasks, sort out mistakes, help to cope with difficulties and reassure if something went wrong.

This does not mean that it is necessary to monitor every newbie's action. The main thing is to clearly set a task for him, give all the necessary inputs, establish assessment criteria and determine how and when the employee will receive feedback on the work done.

How to evaluate adaptation results

Although the probationary period often lasts three months, by the end of the first one the employee must fully adapt to the new job. Too long the onboarding process is unprofitable for business after all, real results are important.

That is why, following the results of the first month of work, it is useful to hold an online meeting for the newcomer with the head or HR manager. During the conversation, it is worth conducting a small survey.

• How well does the job meet personal expectations? What moments do you like and which ones embarrass you?
• How is communication with colleagues structured? How quickly and how effectively do you manage to resolve working issues with them? What are the problems?
• In which direction does the person plan to move within the framework of the work? What are your personal goals and objectives?
• Are the key objectives of the company clear? Do they relate to work tasks?
• What emotions does work in the company evoke? How anxious or fun was the first month?
• Did you have any technical difficulties when working with services within the company?

The answers to these questions will help to assess how confident and calm the newcomer is, whether he is in the mood for work in the company and what problems need to be solved.

During the meeting, it is also important to give detailed feedback: discuss with the newcomer his strengths and weaknesses, and be sure to praise. When discussing skills that require development, specific recommendations need to be made. If the manager considers the new employee very promising, then the latter can be offered additional training already at this stage.

If the conversation is productive, then it will turn out to increase the employee's loyalty and his confidence that he will be able to comfortably and efficiently work for this company.