While classic onboarding measures are based on face-to-face communication, this proven process is currently being shaken to its foundations: contact restrictions, home office requirements and the desire for more remote work among employees mean that the "onboarding" of new employees is becoming increasingly digitalised.
In this article, you will learn how to quickly, effectively and comprehensively onboard new employees remotely, which tools help you and why digital onboarding ultimately saves time.
The goal of onboarding - whether classic or digital - is to introduce new employees to the company, to familiarise them with their field of activity and to integrate them into the team. A well thought-out and structured process helps you to save time and not to forget any important points - especially if several employees have to be trained at the same time.
The classic onboarding process 'on site' is divided into three phases (pre-boarding, start-up phase, familiarisation phase). During this time, new colleagues get to know the team, the boss, the managing director, the location as well as the corporate culture, employee roles and rules. They are also welcomed to their workplace, trained by a mentor and have their first meetings, feedback sessions, training or education.
Digital onboarding takes place online and without any offline measures at all. The three phases of onboarding (pre-boarding, start-up phase and integration) and their goals remain the same. Of course, what is completely omitted in digital onboarding is the direct personal contact in the company. This is not an insignificant factor for the integration of new employees. In the course of this article, we will therefore explore the question of how HR managers and supervisors can replace the lack of personal contact online.
Onboarding goes digital. Even after the removal of contact restrictions and home office regulations due to the Corona pandemic, more and more employees will be onboarded in the home office in the future.
You will see that virtual onboarding (or at least a mix of on and offline) is the way forward - even after Corona. Whether it's a pandemic, the desire for more flexible working hours or a shortage of skilled workers and the training of staff around the world - there will certainly be no going back to old patterns. Experts predict that the change in the world of work will be even more profound. They expect an increasingly global labour market without migration.
This makes it all the more important for companies to also implement the digital transformation in HR processes in order to recruit and retain suitable staff. According to the Haufe Onboarding Study, only 6% of the companies surveyed used digital tools in the onboarding process in 2018. In 2020, this figure had already risen to 23%. This means that usage has almost quadrupled in just 2 years. Companies have recognised that structured digital onboarding saves a lot of time and money through regulated and clear processes.
First impressions count, whether in person or virtually. But introducing employees digitally into a company requires a change in thinking. You should consider which points of the classic onboarding process you can standardise in advance in order to integrate new staff quickly and efficiently into the daily work routine and the team.
Of course, you can send links and try to retrain staff each time in long video calls. But in the long run, this is not only time-consuming (you would have to do this for every new employee!), it is simply not feasible when onboarding several employees.
The solution: standardised processes for digital onboarding in combination with online meetings, team events, digital "coffee chats" and online training.
We have shown you that the digital transformation in companies is not only taking place in recruitment, but increasingly in onboarding. If you are only thinking about the new documents, processes, tools and media and are panicking, then take a deep breath, because digital onboarding in the home office also means a lot of potential for you and your company.
When new employees join your company, a lot of information and unwritten laws of collaboration and work culture are exchanged during desk-to-desk conversations, lunch breaks or coffee chats. This part is unfortunately omitted when employees work from the home office.
For digital onboarding you need digital tools. Tools help you to standardise digital onboarding measures and to make the learning phase and communication efficient and simple, despite the home office. Here we give you tips on online onboarding tools:
The right onboarding is ideally already supported by good pre-boarding, which takes place directly after signing the contract. You have the following options to establish a successful digital welcome culture:
Give your new employees a first onboarding week in the home office that they won't forget.
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