Onboarding During a Pandemic: How Do You Do It?

Today Jen Tait from Rise Learning Group joined me to deliver a webinar about onboarding during the pandemic. It was a great session and we all got a lot from it, so for those that couldn’t make it, here’s an overview.

Although there’s been a huge shift in the way the majority of businesses are working, many do still need to recruit.

Job vacancies plummeted by 52,000 in the first quarter of 2020, but there were still an estimated 795,000 vacancies. That’s 795,000 new starters that still need support!

So how do you make sure your onboarding process is as effective as possible whilst people are working from home?

Rise Learning Group’s top tips for digital onboarding

The biggest mistake you can make when creating a digital induction is expecting to use what you’ve already got and simply move it online.

Instead, use the time to review what you’re doing and think about how you can adapt it to work digitally. Consider the problems you currently have and how you can solve these going forward.

For example, if you’re making more job offers than vacancies because you know people don’t turn up on day one – how are you going to change your pre-induction to make sure they do?

Here’s an overview of the tips Jen shared for each stage of Rise Learning Group’s 4-step approach to onboarding.

1. Pre-induction engagement

If you’ve made a good hire, chances are that your competitors may be contacting them between the day they accept your job offer and they day they start. So you need to keep them engaged.

Make welcome videos

This could be a video from a line manager or someone the new person will be working with, congratulating them and giving them a tour of the company HQ. Even if they’re working remotely, it’ll help them to familiarise themselves with the company.

Start e-learning before day one

How much e-learning you send will depend on the role. Senior roles will expect this, but lower-level positions may not be so willing. As an incentive, you could offer to pay them for the time or give them a shop voucher at the end of their probation period.

Break the ice

Set up a pre-induction zoom call with the trainer and the new starters so that everyone can meet each other and feel more comfortable on their first day.

Whatever you decide to do, the main aim of pre-induction is to make sure new starters are engaged, excited to start, and feel they belong in the company.

2. Trainer-led activity

Although tech is now at the centre of training techniques, use a blended approach where possible.

Jen suggested a couple of great ideas for adapting trainer-led activity to work remotely:

Produce a library of short, simple videos alongside any written training guides you’re providing e.g. how to book a holiday, or job-specific guidance like how to take payments or adding notes to customer accounts.
Break activities into smaller tasks. You can’t do 9-5 online inductions, it’s too exhausting! Give people things to read and learn, and then bring them back for check-ins throughout the induction period.
Use virtual classrooms or breakout spaces. Software like zoom allows you to send people into virtual breakout areas for group tasks. Use these features, and make objectives crystal clear so that everyone knows what they’re looking to achieve.

However you’re choosing to deliver inductions, this should be reviewed at least every 12 months so that changes in policy or process are reflected in the training our people receive.

3. Implementation

This is the chance for people to get settled into their roles, and community is all the more important while you’re doing things remotely.

During the implementation period you should look to get all of your new starters back together with the trainer for focus groups.

This gives people the opportunity to discuss any challenges, share what they’ve learned, and stay connected whilst you’re not in an office together.

Jen also suggests giving employees access to resources from organisations that are relevant to your industry, or connecting through LinkedIn.

4. Post-induction

After induction it’s important to create paths for new hires to follow so they can see their own development journey.

This should be led by the individual so that they think about their own strengths or areas they may need to work on. They can then actively learn and apply these aspects on the job.

At the end of the onboarding process, your employees should be competent, confident, and feel that they truly belong. This is the point where they should be acting as role models for the next cohort of new starters, and thinking about the next steps they can take to grow within the company.

What are the benefits of digital onboarding?

Jen finished on a lighter note, highlighting the benefits to come out of digital onboarding…

A wider geographical reach

If you operate in several countries, it’s a chance for you can bring new starts together from around the globe. If this is something you’re keen to do, think about the support you’re providing for your leaders to successfully manage this.

Consistent new starter experience

Bringing all new starters together remotely means they are all getting the same new starter experience and consistent content delivery. This is all the more reason to review it to ensure it’s the best experience it can be.

Flexibility

Outside of scheduled online training sessions, people can to which content to engage in and when. To make this work, provide clear check points throughout the onboarding period and outline the aspects you expect people to have covered by each stage.

Cost-effective

Not having to pay for travel, expenses and training venues at a time when organisations are looking to reduce costs can only be a bonus.

A final note on the importance of onboarding

These stats pretty much speak for themselves in explaining how important the onboarding process is:

69% of employees are more likely to stay with a company for three years if they experience great onboarding.
New hire productivity increases by 50% with a clear onboarding process

So get reviewing what you’re doing!

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