Tips + Tricks for Pandemic Onboarding
The reality of onboarding a new hire has changed drastically in the past decade. From providing almost nothing beyond the training itself, to coordinating a welcome with current team members, to...working from home?
We've already given some suggestions on how to onboard during a pandemic - check it out here.
Keep reading for our top 6 tidbits:
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Come up with a virtual training plan.
This one seems kind of obvious. But, even more than usual, it's important to have an established schedule for your new hire to follow. They're feeling all the normal anxiety and awkwardness of starting at a new job, plus the oddness of not being in a normal environment. Having a set schedule helps your new hire to understand what's coming up and how to be best prepared for it.
This is an element that normally happens organically. Team members can assist with questions, joke about customers, show them the ropes, all that good stuff. But with team members either not in the same space at all, or at the very least more distanced, that natural camaraderie is much harder to grow. Setting up a few different team bonding experiences is a great way to encourage those relationships to flourish.
Want to spice up your meetings? Check out our FREE Zoom backgrounds!
Or need an idea of what to play? Try our Welcome Back Trivia!
3. Expect more questions.
Let's face it, even the most technologically savvy among us have been foiled by a Zoom call. So be sure to keep that in mind when your new hire is learning. Encourage them to feel comfortable asking any and every question - it'll for sure save any headache or confusion in the future! At Baudville, we follow the buddy system and assign a veteran employee as the new hire's go to person for questions, trainings, advice, and more.
We asked a few of our new hires for the best and worst parts of their onboarding experience! Keep reading to find out what they had to say!
- "Onboarding was simple because most of the process was digital. I spent a day in the office for orientation and enjoyed meeting the team. There was no "worst part" for me."
- "Working from the comfort of my home made me feel more relaxed during the interview process."
- "Ehh parts were...not meeting future team members in person [and] onboarding from home is challenging - I realized how important asking questions in person is!"
So, there you have it!
