Small Business Tips
The number of employees working remotely for businesses in the U.S. has skyrocketed in recent years. According to statistics reported by Business 2 Community:
- Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, at least seven million people were employed in a full-time remote capacity in the U.S.
- At that time, more than 40 percent of U.S. workers were operating in a remote capacity at least one day a week.
- Growth in the number of employees doing their jobs outside of the traditional office has jumped nearly 45 percent in the past five years.
With this offsite work trend likely to keep growing, employers understand the value of onboarding new remote employees as efficiently as possible. While the onboarding process is similar to the more traditional new-hire orientation, there are also some key differences.
Here are five tips to help you get your next remote worker up and running as soon as possible:
1. Make the first day count
First impressions count on a remote worker’s “opening day” on the job. When new employees have immediate access to company email, intranet systems and other internal platforms, they can hit the ground running and feel supported by their new employer.
The delivery and installation of technology are crucial to this sense of support. Foremost among the necessary resources is cloud storage, where documents, spreadsheets and other files are securely stored and easily accessible.
Cloud storage enables co-workers to share links to files with the new employee without having to send large or cumbersome files as email attachments. It also facilitates real-time collaboration with other members of the team.
Video conferencing is another essential tool for remote workers. Having access to this resource enables the new hire to:
- Build relationships with fellow remote employees.
- Provides a real-time, “in-person” experience at little cost to the company.
- Utilize collaboration tools like screen-sharing and document editing.
- Eliminate time-consuming tasks like wading through long email chains, finding lost messages and other issues that cause confusion and prompt delays.
Another fundamental onboarding action is the delivery of the employee handbook ahead of time, so the new remote worker can review policies and guidelines before getting to work.
2. Set clear expectations
Employees who understand what’s expected of them on Day #1 are more productive than those who lack any counseling or guidance. Managers can help achieve this goal by following a few simple steps:
- Spend a few minutes “chatting” with the new hire. Ask about job goals, how they approach the balance of work/life, and what else they need to get started.
- Discuss communications preferences (phone, email, IM, video calls, etc.) so that both you and your new remote worker know how to best communicate in the days to come.
- Talk about how the new hire plans to structure their work-day, as well as a proposed schedule for upcoming deliverables.
