In a world of digitalization, the process for hiring an employee has changed into a digital onboarding process. Today, many companies rely on digital onboarding. What does this mean for your company and what steps should you take? In this article, we’ll cover the topic of the digital hiring process and how you can integrate a new employee into your corporate culture quickly and easily, and remotely.
What does digital onboarding mean?
Digital onboarding means using new processes and digital media to optimize your company’s day-to-day operations. New employees that are being trained in the home office or completely remotely, should feel like a part of a team and the whole process should be done effectively and comprehensively.
The importance of a functioning onboarding process is shown by Aberdeen’s 2013 study “Strategic Onboarding: A New Look at New Hires”. The study found that a good onboarding process within a company increases the likelihood of retaining an employee for the long term by 90-91%.
Good integration of an employee has always been important. So what has changed in digital onboarding?
Onboarding measures broken down into three parts:
Preboarding
Preboarding takes place in the hiring phase up to the first day of work. During this phase, it is especially important to provide structured guidance to the new employee. Preboarding is designed to familiarize the new employee with the company’s structure from the very beginning. Ideally, your company will have a permanent contact person who designs an induction plan and is available to answer any unanswered questions.
The first working days
Proper onboarding of new employees starts on their first day at work. This orientation phase lasts until about the third month. The employee becomes familiar with his or her duties. He or she gets to know colleagues. Tasks and procedures become routine. Make sure that hardware, software, and other work materials are available from the first day of work.
Integrating new employees into the company’s daily routine
Once the orientation phase is complete, the new employee can be fully integrated into the company. This phase usually takes place from the third to the sixth month. The employee should continue to be actively integrated into the company. Step by step, important work processes can be handed over. At this stage, the employee can already take the initiative or implement his or her own idea.
Why digital onboarding is so important?
According to the German Haufe Onboarding Study 2020, more than 90% of companies are firmly convinced that both the professional and social integration of an employee is significantly improved by digital onboarding. The same study confirms that 93% of the companies surveyed were able to use digital onboarding techniques to integrate employees socially more quickly.
Digital onboarding provides the basis for a positive, long working relationship. Successful onboarding means integrating new employees into the company quickly and efficiently. This process allows you to benefit from your employee’s skills right from the start. Furthermore, successful onboarding prevents the expensive turnover of new employees.
Tips for successful onboarding (remote)
Successful onboarding when done remotely, can also be executed in three phases. Unlike in the office, however, personal contact is missing. That’s why it’s good to use digital solutions. Here are the best tips for successful remote onboarding:
1. Time and patience
Digital onboarding takes more time and patience than office onboarding. It is best to accompany a new employee for twelve months. You need to take note – in digital onboarding, sitting next to a colleague is eliminated. There are no more common coffee breaks. Social and professional integration, therefore, needs more time.
2. Communication tools
ClickUp, Trello, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, Zoom, Skype – the communication tools are many. Pick the best option for your company structure. Arrange regular video conferences with the new employees. Offer chat rooms for questions. Employees should also be in contact regularly. This way, technical topics can be explained quickly. Video conferences are also essential for social integration.
3. Automate the process
One advantage of digital onboarding is that it can be automated. Certain tools and software need to be used by all employees or large teams. You can create videos and user guides to share with relevant team members. Various tools and software will also help you with this. Create a database of helpful resources and explanations that your employees can access at any time. This will allow you to answer many questions automatically without having to assign a supervisor every time.
4. The digital mentor
Just like in analogue onboarding, your employee needs a mentor to guide him or her. A permanent contact person is a be-all and end-all in digital onboarding. If your company works with employees in different time zones, it makes sense to have multiple mentors. This allows the new employee to reach a contact person at any time.
5. Regular feedback
A fundamental point in digital collaboration is regular feedback. You can learn more about how this works in our blog post on virtual feedback. Make sure you are open and fair with each other in your organization. Feedback helps both the employees and the company to grow and optimize processes.
Your experienced remote partner: Outsourcing4work
Outsourcing4work has been working completely remote for many years. Whether digital onboarding, customized BPO solutions, or IT Outsourcing, we stand by our customers as a reliable partner and consultant in remote work.
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