Onboarding checklist for remote employees

How to apply the onboarding checklist

When you welcome a new team member, the onboarding experience matters greatly. A well-planned process affirms their decision to join, while a poorly designed one can have the opposite effect.

For remote hires, a thoughtful onboarding approach is even more important. Because you cannot greet them in person or immerse them physically in your workplace, you need to take extra care and modify some practices.

An onboarding checklist helps here. It gives you a basic template to deliver a consistent experience for all remote hires and to scale the process as your company grows.

Drawing on our extensive experience onboarding employees at Remote, we highlight the key tasks and processes you should prioritise:

Schedule introductory callsRemote employees often feel more isolated and siloed than their in-office counterparts. For that reason, you must work harder to create a sense of belonging and team cohesion.Informal gatherings that build social ties deliver real benefits — improved engagement, productivity, and retention. They also help new hires feel welcomed, comfortable, and more likely to reach out for support.

To-dos:

• Arrange (or encourage your hire to arrange) 1:1 video calls with teammates and cross-functional partners

• Arrange informal virtual team meet-and-greets, including coffee chats and happy hours,

  or lunch meetings

• Assign a dedicated onboarding buddy to support your new employee’s transition

• Share personality assessments or work-style quizzes, and review the results together online

• Encourage “personal shares”, where the new hire introduces colleagues to their hobbies and background

Highlight key policiesDon’t simply hand over a large policy manual and be done with it. Point out the policies most relevant to remote workers, such as time off, expenses, and equipment.

To-dos:

• Curate and distribute policy briefs, codes of conduct, and training materials

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

• Explain relevant cybersecurity and digital asset policies

• Outline rules on information protection and data privacy

• Allow room for asynchronous discussions on interpreting policies for distributed teams

It’s also advisable to include self-service elements so that your hire can be onboarded asynchronously and at their own pace. If you do so, consider providing a self-serve checklist for the employee to follow.

Clarify tools and communication flowsRemote workers depend heavily on software and collaboration tools to get work done. Without the chance to look over a colleague’s shoulder or ask quick in-person questions, a new hire must become self-sufficient quickly.To support this, explain the purpose of each tool they’ll be using. Again, self-serve materials and user guides are the best approach here.

To-dos:

• Create guides for signing in to key systems and accounts

• Demonstrate (asynchronously, if necessary) how various tools integrate and work together

• Show how the hire’s team leverages project management systems (if applicable)

Also explain how your communication channels work, especially if the hire has never worked remotely before.

To-dos:

• Set expectations for online hours and availability

• Provide guidance on email, chat, and meeting etiquette

• Clarify norms around response times and video usage

• Share best practices for calendar management

Clarify roles and personnelNew hires want clarity on what tasks they should handle, who they will collaborate with, and exactly what their responsibilities are. Clearly delineating their duties versus colleagues’ responsibilities reduces confusion.Also set expectations for response times, meeting cadences, and availability. For example, employees in the US will typically start their workdays much later than those in Europe. If your hire will work closely with colleagues in other time zones, explain how collaboration will be coordinated.To-dos:

• Outline regional versus centralized responsibilities

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

• Identify key regional contacts and stakeholders

Promote your company’s cultureFor remote workers, the subtleties of your company’s culture — unwritten rules, inside jokes, and workplace rituals — are harder to pick up. Make sure your hire is briefed on these from the start.

To-dos:

• Email new hires an employee handbook outlining the company’s culture, values, and working environment

• Explain any company terminology, acronyms, or traditions

• Send remote workers company swag, such as shirts that display slogans or value statements

  Look beyond the first dayRemote staff have fewer environmental touchpoints and natural learning moments than in-office employees. That is why their onboarding needs a more structured approach with more frequent check-ins.For example, remote workers miss organic learning opportunities from overheard conversations or impromptu peer mentoring in an office. A structured onboarding journey helps make up for that.

To-dos:

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

• Schedule regular check-ins on progress and any barriers new hires need to overcome

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

• Connect new employees with a mentor to discuss acclimation, strengths, and development areas

• Regularly run engagement and onboarding satisfaction surveys

Leverage data

Without in-person interaction it can be harder to pick up nonverbal cues and sentiments. Knowing whether onboarding resources resonate with remote staff is therefore more difficult. Data provides useful insights and reduces the need for guesswork.

To-dos:

• Send weekly polls about experience, challenges, and needs

• Use learning management systems (LMSs) to track training completion

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

• Collect feedback on new hires’ preferred communication methods

Data closes the visibility gaps inherent in remote work, helping to ensure your onboarding process meets the needs of hires you don’t see face-to-face.

Why is the employee onboarding process so important?

A personalized and carefully planned onboarding process can help your new employee feel a sense of belonging in many ways.

But success goes beyond a welcome pack or some branded swag. An effective onboarding program can:

• Foster meaningful professional relationships that enhance engagement

• Build strong cultural alignment in new employees and help them feel more connected with your business objectives

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

Onboard remote hires with Remote

A reliable way to ensure a consistent, positive onboarding experience is to partner with a proven global HR provider, like Remote.

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