The first 90 days of employment is a crucial time for a new hire to build rapport with colleagues, management, and coworkers. Sharing your company’s mission, vision, values, and goals while showing an employee how to perform their work helps them be productive. Feeling like a valued member of your team increases the odds of your new hire remaining with your organization long-term. Although effectively onboarding remotely during COVID-19 poses challenges, it can be done.

Here are six ways to streamline your remote onboarding process.

Provide Technology

Make sure your new hire has the hardware, software, and technology needed to do their work. This includes a laptop, phone, email account, accounting and finance program, communication tools, online meeting solutions, and file-sharing applications. Send everything well in advance of their start date so the employee can set it up. Ensure your new hire understands how to access documents, share information, and maintain cybersecurity. Clarify whom to go to with questions and the best way to contact them.

Share Company Culture

Help your new hire feel like part of company culture. Provide an employee handbook and share the highlights. Talk about your departmental values and standards. Clearly define your expectations for the employee according to their job description and responsibilities. Discuss how constructive feedback is provided and performance reviews are conducted.  Introduce the new employee to team members and leadership through virtual lunches, coffee breaks or afterwork events. If possible schedule a socially distant meet and greet for the team.

Set Goals

Create goals for your new hire to reach. Clarify in advance which tasks to complete for the day or week. Create and share a task calendar. Outline short- and long-term goals. Set up regular one-on-one meetings to talk about upcoming projects, answer questions, and resolve issues.

Schedule Meetings   

Set up regular meetings with your team and other key employees. Continue to use part of this time to help your new hire get to know colleagues, managers, direct reports, and coworkers so they can develop relationships. If folks are remote, even for a short time, providing clear technology and communication expectations can be facilitated through these meetings. This facilitates collaboration and feeling like your new hire is part of the team.

Set Frequent Check-Ins

Set aside the same time daily to check in with your new hire. Stay on top of how they’re settling into their role and whether they’re experiencing any problems. Ask whether the employee needs additional support or resources to succeed in their position. Be attentive to their needs as you help them transition. Especially as companies are returning to work or growing during the economic reopening, this is more important than ever.

Provide a Mentor

Offer your new hire a mentor within the department. Cultivating a mentoring culture sets a strong foundation for success within the organization. Ensure the mentor is reliable, emotionally intelligent, available to handle questions and issues, and wants to help a colleague succeed. This helps your new hire build relationships within the company, resolve concerns, and be accountable for their success.

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