Checklist for onboarding remote employees

How to make use of the onboarding checklist

When you recruit a new colleague, the onboarding phase is important. A constructive experience reassures them they made the right choice, whereas a poor one can have the reverse effect.

This is even more true for remote hires. Lacking the chance to greet them in person or immerse them in the workplace means you must take extra care and adapt some practices.

An onboarding checklist is useful here; it provides a template to deliver a consistent experience for remote starters and makes it easier to scale the process as your organisation grows.

Drawing on Remote’s extensive experience with onboarding, here are the primary tasks and processes to concentrate on:

Arrange introduction callsRemote employees can often feel more isolated and siloed than in-office workers. As a result, you need to work harder to create a sense of belonging and cohesion. Set up informal virtual team introductions, including coffee chats and virtual social hours, and similar meet-ups that build rapport.

Action points:

• Arrange (or prompt your hire to arrange) one-to-one video calls with teammates and cross-functional partners

• Set up informal virtual team introductions, including coffee chats and virtual social hours,

  or lunch meetings

• Assign a dedicated onboarding buddy to help the new hire settle in

• Share personality assessments or work-style quizzes and discuss the results with the team online

• Encourage 'personal shares' where the new starter talks to colleagues about hobbies and background

Highlight essential policiesDon’t simply hand over a bulky policy manual and stop there. Emphasise the policies most relevant to remote staff, such as time off, expenses and equipment.

Action points:

• Compile and share concise policy briefs, codes of conduct and training materials

• Host virtual sessions or record Loom videos to explain remote-specific policies, for example reimbursements for home office expenses

• Make sure you cover cybersecurity and digital-asset policies

• Set out the rules on information protection and data privacy

• Allow space for asynchronous discussion about policy interpretation for distributed teams

It is also sensible to include self-service elements so that your hire can complete onboarding asynchronously and at their own pace. If you adopt this approach, consider providing a self-serve checklist for the employee.

Explain tools and communication flowsRemote workers depend more on software and tools to collaborate and manage workflows. Without the option to glance over a colleague’s shoulder or ask brief in-person questions, the new hire must become self-sufficient rapidly.To support this, explain the purpose of each tool they will use. Again, self-serve materials and user guides are recommended.

Action points:

• Create guides for signing into key systems and accounts

• Demonstrate (asynchronously if required) how different tools integrate and operate together

• Explain how the hire’s team uses project-management systems (if applicable)

Also explain how your communication channels function, particularly if the hire has not previously worked remotely.

Action points:

• Set clear expectations for online hours and availability

• Provide guidance on email, chat and meeting etiquette

• Explain norms for response times and use of video

• Share best practices for calendar management

Clarify roles and responsibilitiesNew starters need to understand which tasks are theirs, who they will work with and precisely what is expected of them. Clearly distinguishing their responsibilities from those of colleagues reduces confusion.Also set expectations for response times, meeting cadences and availability. For example, employees based in the US typically start their days much later than those in Europe. If the hire will collaborate across time zones, explain how this will be managed.Action points:

• Outline regional versus centralised responsibilities

• Set expectations for response times and meetings and include these in your handbook and welcome emails

• Identify key regional contacts and stakeholders

Promote your company’s cultureFor remote staff, the subtleties of your company culture — such as unwritten rules, in-jokes and workplace rituals — are harder to absorb. Make sure the new hire is briefed from the outset.

Action points:

• Email new hires a staff handbook explaining the company’s culture, values and work environment

• Explain company terminology, acronyms and traditions

• Send remote staff company swag, such as shirts featuring slogans or value statements

  Look beyond the first dayRemote personnel have fewer environmental cues and informal touchpoints than in-office colleagues. That is why their onboarding needs a more structured approach with more frequent check-ins.For example, remote workers miss informal learning opportunities such as overheard conversations or impromptu peer mentoring. A structured onboarding journey helps to offset this.

Action points:

• Set 30-, 60- and 90-day milestones and performance objectives that enable new hires to take ownership of their development

• Arrange check-ins to review progress and any obstacles new hires need to address

• Provide training on any new skills required for the role, for example product knowledge

• Arrange for new employees to connect with a mentor to discuss settling in, strengths and development areas

• Regularly carry out engagement and onboarding-satisfaction surveys

Use data

It is harder to read non-verbal cues and sentiments without face-to-face contact. Consequently, judging whether onboarding resources are effective for remote staff can be difficult. Remote managers may be more likely to make incorrect assumptions without data; data provides useful insights and reduces guesswork.

Action points:

• Send weekly polls about experience, challenges and needs

• Use learning-management systems (LMSs) to monitor training completion rates

• Assess how long new hires take to become fully productive in their roles

• Collect feedback on new hires’ preferred communication methods

Data helps to fill the visibility gaps of remote work, ensuring that your onboarding process meets the needs of hires you do not meet face-to-face.

Why does the employment onboarding process matter?

A personalised, well-considered onboarding process can help new employees to feel they belong in several ways.

However, successful onboarding is more than a welcome pack or branded freebies. A well-designed onboarding programme can:

• Foster meaningful working relationships that boost engagement

• Develop strong cultural alignment in new employees and help them feel aligned with your organisation’s objectives

• Enable new employees to connect with your mission and vision and encourage them to take initiative rather than merely follow instructions.

Onboard remote hires with Remote

One way to provide a consistent, positive onboarding experience is to work with a proven global HR partner such as Remote.

We handle all the administrative aspects of onboarding, and our self-serve platform lets team members access and submit what they need quickly and easily. This frees you to concentrate on integrating the hire into your company culture and ensuring they hit the ground running.To find out more about how we can simplify the onboarding process — and manage and pay your team — speak to one of our friendly experts today.