Companies should work with the right software that takes both employee management and recruiting equally into account. It is important that all stakeholders can easily collaborate by documenting and communicating transparently within the program. Application tracking systems, such as Greenhouse or Bamboo HR, are highly recommended.
Ask yourself: Which process steps do we have and how do we represent them virtually? How do we set up a virtual Assessment Center? How do we set up internal and external communication?
It is certainly a challenge to conduct virtual, value-based interviews which are also crucial on an interpersonal level. This quickly separates the wheat from the chaff and shows who actually understands recruiting remotely.
Despite the distance, a recruiter must have the empathy and interpersonal skills to be able to identify internal company components such as culture, commitment and drive. Share as much as you can and be vulnerable: The best way to get others to share their thoughts is to first share insights about yourself, the company, work ethic and culture. Recruiters should always show an honest picture, build relationships, and communicate expectations. With the help of a suitable scorecard, these criteria can be made measurable and support the decision-making process.
It is important to create a great on-boarding journey for newbies so that they feel confident, fully understand their field of work, and can quickly become effective. It is a huge challenge to build a sense of team belonging and trust in a virtual world of work.
Preparation is key! Start with a great tool or predefined guidelines, which provides the employee with information about the company and the team, as well as a schedule of the first few days before they begin their first day, so that they know what they can expect. It continues with a reliable organisation of all on-boarding sessions, which obviously is not only dependent on the HR manager, who is organising it, but also on all stakeholders.
A sophisticated on-boarding (e.g. a 3 – 5 days schedule) includes information not only about the company and the different departments. Further workshops, such as how to use the internal tools, remote communication, efficiency workshops and sessions about tips and hacks will continue to increase the levels of confidence and productivity.
Virtual coffee breaks with colleagues, a buddy program, as well as clear expectation management, ensure that the new employees are involved, do not feel left alone and quickly get used to the new situation. In addition, regular check-ins with a manager, HR (after 1 week, 3 weeks, 3 months and 6 months), and teammates (with and without relevance to the tasks) that connect on an interpersonal level are important to get the newbies fully on board – as if they had their on-boarding in an office.
A well-organised on-boarding journey leads to higher job satisfaction, increases commitment and performance levels, as well as, will determine how long the new employee will stay with the company. Working remotely is part of our daily life. We were able to figure out best practices to make sure all employees have a great candidate experience and on-boarding journey. It is worth the time to invest!
