Making an employee feel welcome isn’t just about showing you care about the hires you oversee. It’s also about helping your company succeed with employee fulfillment, productivity, and retention.
Employees who have a negative initial experience are twice as likely to search for new career opportunities in the future, whereas companies who ensure a positive initial experience improve retention by 82% and productivity by 70%.
So how do you successfully integrate and engage a new employee in your remote company?
You might already have an orientation process in place, focusing on routine HR tasks such as setting up systems and establishing your approach to working remotely, but a strategic onboarding plan is also required to help your new team member feel comfortable in their role.
That’s why online tools like Bright Breaks are crucial for engaging new hires in the onboarding process and beyond.
The recommended length of an effective employee onboarding process is 12 months, according to SHRM, but some companies opt for a shorter onboarding period of 3 months. However long your company decides to establish the onboarding period for, it needs to stretch well beyond the first day —and regular opportunities for team connection are needed.
To get started, here are six online practices we recommend to help make your new hires feel welcome, connected to their team, and establish a sense of belonging for lasting impact.
6 Practices to Effectively Onboard New Hires for Lasting Success
Genuine, informal, intentional, and informative. These are the key things you want to consider when it comes to welcoming a new hire and successfully onboarding new employees in a remote work environment.
Above anything else, you’re a team of humans, so understanding and appreciating each member as an individual is foundational for employee well-being and company success.
These six practices are simple to put in place, and once established, can be executed on a repeatable basis as your company grows and connection becomes even more vital.
1. Home office stipend
Research shows that several factors in your environment make a huge difference to your productivity, for example, lighting, furniture, house plants, and background noise. Yet remote workers often work from dull and poorly equipped spaces in their homes, making them vulnerable to physical pain and low mental health.
The simple gesture of providing new employees with a stipend to create a successful home office, and some advice on what to include, will improve their onboarding experience and personal well-being.
How much you spend on your home office stipend will depend on the size of your company. Compt, an HR software for perks and rewards, suggests $100/month, $500/quarterly, or $2,000 annually. You can use the software to communicate spending categories, track balances, scale the process, and provide valuable metrics.
2. Welcome kits
When the commute is as short as walking down the stairs, starting a new job can feel strange and isolating. Make your new employee’s first day special by celebrating it with a welcome package.
Here are 3 different kinds of welcome boxes you could choose from:
- Company swag pack. Infuse the package with your company’s culture, by including branded t-shirts, mugs, water bottles, and other company-related items that will help them feel part of the team.
Tools such as Sendoso, SwagMagic, and SwagUp, enable this to be done in a scalable way, without the need for manual packing and shipping.
- Work well-being box. Show the new recruit you’re committed to their wellbeing, by sending wellness and productivity gifts like stress balls, earbuds, inspirational quotes, and details of their new Bright Breaks subscription.
- Team survival kit. Turn your welcome pack into a team-building exercise, by asking each member in their department to choose an item for the box and write a welcome note that explains why they’ve included it.
For example, Claire chooses a certain tea she drinks to keep calm, Dave contributes a notepad because he always scribbles down notes, and Tom adds a postcard with a picture of a place that makes him happy.
Alternatively, you might consider sending the new employee a personalized gift card instead. By taking time in your social hours (see point 4), you should be able to find something that is tailored to their unique interests and hobbies.
This might be a book they mentioned was on their ‘to-read’ list, a magazine that relates to how they said they spent their weekend, a puzzle or card game they told you they enjoy, or a gift card to a restaurant or coffee shop in their local area.
It doesn’t have to be a grand or expensive gesture, even a small and thoughtful token shows you’ve taken the time to get to know them on an individual level.
3. New hire social hours
Establish a weekly or bi-weekly cadence of new hire social hours where the whole company is invited to attend and introduce themselves to the new recruits. This gives the chance for employees from all departments to get to know new hires.
The new hire can attend as many times as they like to get to know their co-workers, and as more people join the team, they can introduce themselves to those hired after them.
We strongly encourage middle managers and leadership to attend when they can, and encourage their departments to as well, by communicating the importance of new hire connection and belonging. According to Research by Microsoft, informal communication and cohesion is necessary for remote teams to work productively.
Here are some of the best virtual icebreakers to include in your social hours:
- Two truths and a lie – each team member comes up with two facts and one lie about themselves. Everyone else has to guess the lie.
- Would you rather – take turns asking the team a thought-provoking ‘this or that’ question.
- Home-office scavenger hunt – get your colleagues up and active by setting 25 seconds on a timer and sending them on a search for items such as something blue, something you write with, or something from a vacation.
As you want new hires and team members to attend regularly, keep things fresh by picking different themes for each social hour, such as: food and drink, vacation, sports, pets, hobbies, and interests.
4. Follow up one-on-one meetings
Set a good frequency for one-on-one follow-ups. A 30-day follow up with your new hire by HR is a great way to check in with your employee and reflect on their first month with the company, with quarterly check-ins after that.
It’s a chance to learn how effective your initial onboarding has been, how your employee is performing, how they’re feeling about their new job, and what you can continue doing to support them.
Questions you might ask include:
- Are you feeling welcomed by the team?
- What are some challenges you’ve faced in your first month?
- Is there anything you don’t understand about your position, you’d like more clarity on?
- What is your goal for the next 30 days?
By addressing issues one to one, your employee will be better equipped to work effectively in their new role.
5. Meet and greet coffee breaks
Set up 15-minute virtual coffee breaks between your new employee and the key people they’ll be working with, with takeout coffee gift cards they can both use.
Starting with a relaxed chat over coffee is a valuable way for members of the senior leadership team to reassure your recruit. It helps build a strong 1:1 relationship so your new employee is comfortable asking questions and engaging in the small talk that might not typically happen in a remote set-up, but is vital for workplace wellbeing.
6. Bright Breaks from day one
On the first day of orientation, ensure to introduce your new hire to Bright Breaks and encourage them to create their account. Invite them to participate on the platform with the team member conducting their orientation, other new hires, or even better, other members of the company.
Our workplace wellness system has a huge range of micro-breaks, such as meditation, yoga, stretching, strength training, gratitude talks, cooking workshops, and more. Many breaks can be done while seated, making them accessible for everyone.
By introducing Bright Breaks right away, you’re letting your new employee know that well-being is a priority in your workplace. It encourages them to take valuable breaks throughout their workday, which we’ve found helps employees feel more productive, calm, and connected to their team.
Unsure where to start?
- Ask your manager to invite new hires and the rest of their team to a Bright Break. This is a great team building exercise and demonstrates to the new employee that well-being is taken seriously throughout the company
- Build Bright Breaks into the new hire orientation, inviting all new hires to participate together. This will ensure they have created their account and experienced their free well-being benefit before they get inundated with information related to their role
- Analyze and track your team’s participation and engagement at a glance, to help you understand how best to support your new recruits.
Welcome your new employees with Bright Breaks
It might be a cliché, but if the studies tell us anything, it’s that first impressions really do count when it comes to welcoming and onboarding a new employee to your remote team.
Companies that make wellbeing a priority from the very second a new member enters their team will inevitably create a lasting impression on their employee. Amongst the other positive steps we’ve outlined in this article, this can be achieved by inviting them to Bright Breaks.
Through the platform, you can remind your employees (both new and established) to take a much-needed pause during the work day. As Pam Heline, V.P. of People & Culture at Tatango says, ‘‘[the breaks] take a whole-body approach to wellness…you feel like you’re making connections which is what keeps you wanting to come back’’. In turn, this helps to reduce feelings of stress and burnout, while increasing productivity and engagement.
By creating a genuine and warm welcome, you’re setting your new employee up for a successful and long career with your company.
