From offer to onboarding: Integrate candidates virtually
In recent months, many companies have successfully transitioned to a fully digital recruiting process, showing how important it is to be adaptable, especially in a time when flexibility is key.
In the following, you will find some tried and tested methods listed on how you can virtually lead candidates from the offer acceptance to the onboarding.
From the acceptance of the offer to the first day
It is a win for talent acquisition and the recruiting team when a candidate accepts an offer from your company, just as it is for the candidate. Even if a candidate is classified as "closed" from a recruiting perspective, it is important to keep him "warm" - especially before his first day - to ensure that his onboarding can start off great.
When asked about their top recruitment challenges, employers identified the following three points:
- Remote hiring of new employees
- Conduct remote interviews
- Convince candidates to take a position without meeting in person
Although companies often hesitate to engage candidates from a distance:
The majority of tech talents said they would feel comfortable taking a job without meeting any of the teams in person. It is clear that developers and IT talents are not worried about joining a new team or company, even if the circumstances are different from normal.
How you communicate and support a new employee during their transition into your company will set the tone for what they can expect going forward.
It becomes a significant challenge for businesses to get their new employees ready to start as the first day approaches. Human resources or personnel teams should have a resource and new hire plan available. IT is responsible for the new employee receiving their hardware (laptop, monitors, mouse pad, trackpad, etc.) and being able to access their online tools with a username on the first day. Finally, if you invest in a welcome box along with welcome emails from your HR manager and new team members, new IT employees will feel like they are truly part of the team right away.
Remote Onboarding: A Community First Mindset
Companies can best welcome their new hires by creating a sense of community from day 1. The worst thing that can happen is for a new hire to feel alone or unsupported at the start of their new role. Tech candidates say they are open to remote onboarding with the right resources and support. When asked to define these "right resources and actions," the following were ranked as important:
- Comprehensive onboarding plan with timelines and themes
- Training with the IT department
- Role specific onboarding
- Designated mentors or an onboarding buddy
- Project management tools and best practices
- Documentation in a company-wide wiki
To help build a sense of community, encourage new employees to get involved in team/company events early on to help them integrate into the company culture more quickly. Whether a company has been transformed or has always been fully remote, maintaining a strong internal culture does not have to be tied to a physical office - the company culture lives in the team members, wherever they are.
Here are some virtual event opportunities to build community:
- Visit Zoom's lunchtime meeting rooms
- Zoom training courses
- Fun Friday Quiz or Polls
- Mini concert series
With more and more people working from home, friends and family members will also become a part of their community.
Similar to converting a recruitment process to be 100% remote, onboarding playbooks don't have to be thrown out but rather adapted to a new way of working. The remote integration of new employees is a challenge for talent teams. However, if you carefully consider and pay attention to what is important in onboarding new employees, you can set them up for success regardless of where you are recruiting or onboarding from.
