Creating an effective remote onboarding process for IT

Career AdviceWorking Life

Remote onboarding is difficult. Doing it correctly is even more difficult. This is how we do it at MURAL:

You never get a second chance to make a first impression, so make it count! Make sure your new hires get the best impression of your company culture during onboarding. It's more important than ever to help new hires build connections with their peers, the company culture, and the vision right away.

You can influence the future employees' experience at your company by having a strong onboarding program. For hybrid, all-remote and work-from-anywhere teams, it is even more difficult and important to achieve.

4 tips for a productive onboarding-from-anywhere process:

• digital mindset
• A team charter
• A quick-start guide
• A way to jump in

You can help us by onboarding new team members and making them feel comfortable with the group’s collaboration styles, communication habits, and processes. A little planning and foresight can go a long way in getting your new hires up and running, connected to the rest of the team, and ready to imagine new possibilities.

What do you need for a productive onboarding-program?

More and more companies are offering remote, hybrid, and work-from-anywhere (WFA) workplaces because they are seeing the benefits. However, that means your latest cohort of new hires might be located across time zones, countries or continents. Some may be fully remote, while others might be available for some in-person face time. Despite the challenges, effective scheduling is still possible!

If you want to make onboarding-from-anywhere work, you need to have the following prerequisites ready to go.

1. Digital mindset

Making digital the default is critical to effective WFA collaboration because it ensures that every employee has access to the same information, no matter their location.

Having a shared space with your employees is the key-aspect here. Whether the space is a physical office or digital is irrelevant, as long as everyone feels a connection. If some people are in the office while others aren’t, this can create a “here vs. there” dynamic that will inevitably lead to disconnection — unless it’s managed.

Having everything in a digital format makes it easier for new hires to get acclimated to the company, and for remote employees to participate in company activities.

2. A team charter

To get your new team members engaged and productive as soon as possible, it is important to establish clear guidelines for collaboration and communication. By doing this, you will make it easy for everyone to know what is expected of them and how they can best participate in team discussions.

Examples would be:

• How do we communicate?

Possible solutions like Microsoft Teams, Slack, Google Docs and others are all good as long as everyone knows how to work them and it works flawlessly.

• How do we handle disagreements?
• How do we communicate and implement new ideas?

Having a team charter is a great way to get everyone on your team to buy-in to your vision and goals.

Your team charter establishes the foundation for psychological safety, which is key for sustaining connection in your team.

3. A quick start guide

Joining a new company is an exciting time! However, it can also be nerve-wracking. There is a lot to learn in a short amount of time about both the company and the specific position. To help your new hires ease into the transition, we recommend creating a high-level overview or quick start guide to your organization. This will provide them with a (digital!) rundown of everything they need to know right away.

Onboarding Road Trip! Join us on a company-wide journey as we learn more about our new home.

Including:

• Company vision
• Company values
• Company history
• Organisational structure and leadership
• Main product lines/areas

The agenda for this onboarding process is designed to help new hires feel comfortable and get acclimated to their new surroundings. There is plenty of time for questions and answers, and we have also set aside space to direct new hires to other important company information.

4. A way to jump in

The onboarding process should result in your new hires feeling comfortable, safe and welcomed. Creating collaboration spaces is essential to fostering an inclusive and cooperative culture.

It's important to build connections with your colleagues, find others who share your interests and experiences, and consider yourself an integral part of the team. Some of the tools we use at MURAL:

• Virtual Watercooler
• Team Bookshelf
• Share your Office
• If I Were an Animal

We've found that using icebreakers, check-ins, and energizers in our meetings really helps loosen the mood and ease any nerves the newbies may have.

Entry-Level Employee Consideration

The last two years have shown that many organizations can successfully operate remotely, which opens up a whole world of possibilities for employees. The long-term effects of beginning a career in this unusual way are the subject of a lot of debate and speculation. However, according to an excerpt from Anne Helen Petersen and Charlie Warzel’s book Out of Office, remote work is not the worst way to kick off your career. With a bit of planning and creativity, new-to-the-workforce employees can ramp up in a remote or WFA environment.

Entry-level employees need a clear path to success. It's crucial to establish ground rules for collaboration with a team charter and team agreement. Use digital one-on-one templates to get entry-level employees and their managers on the same page, and encourage regular check-ins and conversations about goals and career growth. Anything that allows new workers to join a community (affinity groups, book clubs, virtual water coolers, etc.) will make them feel at home.

A formal mentorship program can help first-time employees learn the ropes, and veteran employees can get a sense of satisfaction from sharing their knowledge.

Onboarding from everywhere at MURAL

MURAL is the perfect work-from-anywhere company because we know how to help remote employees be successful.

MURAL 30/60/90-Day Plan

Our 30/60/90-day plan will help you hit the ground running and be successful in your new role!

By having a clear and concise plan laid out using MURAL, entry-level employees will know exactly what is expected of them.

Intelligent Collaboration

Collaborative intelligence is the key to success in today's workplace. By rewarding creativity and imagination during the new-hire stage, this system can help identify which team members are working well together.

We want to make sure that you have all the tools and resources you need to be successful in your new role, so we offer a variety of materials (traditional documents, murals, and other resources) as well as in-person sessions with leadership.

End goal

An effective onboarding process will result in engaged, informed and inspired new hires who are ready to perform at their best and whose teams are excited to have them aboard.