Supporting fully remote employees with onboarding / probation - General - Flexible and hybrid working

3 Supporting fully remote employees with onboarding / probation

28 Mar, 2022 09:57

Hello CIPD!

We are a SME of 120 employees who work in the technology industry, specifically around website and app design.

We have been operating a hybrid model of work over COVID, we decided to offer fully remote working as an option for all employees in February this year. As expected, we now have almost the entire workforce working remotely. Interestingly enough, we also have more people attending the office space than we did when it was the hybrid model.

Anyhow, I have recognised a large opportunity for us around how we welcome, onboard, induct our new employees and how we manage their 3 month probation period. This was much easier when everything was in person, but now we are fully remote it requires a lot more structure and planning.

Does anyone have any best practices or insights they can share to help me in this situation - I do not have any experience until now of working fully remotely, so anything would be great.

Thank you!

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David Perry | 0 Posts

28 Mar, 2022 11:51

Can you just clarify something for me Charles?

You say that every one now works remotely but now attend your offices more than before. Yet you say induction etc., is harder now than before.
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Charles | 0 Posts

29 Mar, 2022 10:19

In reply to David Perry:
Hi David,

Sure, allow me to clarify. Everyone effectively now has a remote working contract, we still have an office space which we are using up until our lease.

Ironically, now it is no longer a requirement to attend the office, we have more people attending than we did prior.

However for new starters who are now being recruited from all across the country, this isn't possible in most cases to bring them in. This has been good for us as we now have access to talent from all across the country rather than local to Birmingham, where our office is located.

We are therefore onboarding people remotely which is a new thing for us

Does that make sense?
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Johanna | 0 Posts

CIPD Staff

29 Mar, 2022 13:01

Hi Charles, I'm not in HR but do manage a team so will offer some suggestions!

- It can be helpful for new people to feel part of a cohort, so they always have that connection with people who started at the same time. Inducting in small groups can be reassuring for people and help them get to know other new starters at the same time.

- You'll be doing most of your inductions online via Teams or equivalent so make sure you have some pre-arranged familiarisation sessions in the diary for people to get involved in from day one.

- Also simultaneously, get your line managers to arrange inductions for new starters with the people they will be working directly with. This is a great way to put faces to roles and to find out more about the work the new person will be closely involved with. All these can be online but if practical, some could be in person.

- Line managers should get one-to-ones in the diary at regular intervals so they can be available for chats and guidance, more frequently at the beginning.

- Get them to do any mandatory e-learning eg GDPR etc early on so that's out of the way.

- Consider assigning a 'buddy' for more social chats, either in the team or outside of the team for extending contacts.

- Get someone from IT or line manager to checklist with them that everything is working ok as there's nothing worse than having tech/login problems and not knowing who to go to for help.

Just a few ideas, I'm sure others have more!

Johanna
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