Why Company Culture is Vital in Remote Onboarding

Time to read: 4 minute read

Company Culture’s Role in Remote Onboarding Summary:

Company culture is important in any new hire onboarding situation, but even more important when remote onboarding.
The ways of company culture have shifted and evolved as the workforce shift to a fully remote workforce.
Steps every business with a strong company culture should take to warmly welcome the new hire.

Company culture is the element that attracts new talent and keeps current employees loyal to the business and mission. Good company culture is the sense of community and connection the business exudes, setting the tone of the business, promoting business values and goals, and offering transparency and open communications. Company culture is super important to any new hire situation; however, your company culture is vital in times of remote hiring and onboarding.

Remote work has shifted the way companies lean into the company culture. The workforce is seeing the same amount of interaction, but these interactions are happening at a different rate, rather, more mindfully. Co-workers are not bumping into each other in the halls or on their way to the common area, but rather scheduling time to meet on tasks. A “quick call” to ask a question is also seen as an opportunity to catch up. Managers and reports are meeting frequently and staying in touch with daily connections. Company culture has evolved and even strengthened, as remote work continues.

When recruiting and onboarding remotely, it is super important to share the culture early and often. Truly, make a point to share the culture through the recruitment and interviewing process.

How You Can Promote Company Culture During Remote Onboarding

Starting a new job is nerve-racking. Starting a new remote job is a whole different story. Companies are keeping business remote for the time being, which means recruitment and onboarding will continue at a remote capacity. Your new employee’s first day will not be the usual – for both parties – but there are steps companies can take to make that first day feel just as significant:

Formal Announcement

Take the time to craft a message to the whole company notifying and introducing the new hire. Of course, add the new hire to the email to give everyone a chance to reply with their own “welcome” message. Who doesn’t enjoy a warm welcome?

Establish Norms Around Video

Set the precedent, and use video early in the recruitment process. Video humanizes the interactions in a distant relationship. Conducting a phone screen in the first round is still a valid move. Should you take the candidate to the second round, schedule a video interview. The candidate will become more and more comfortable with the idea of being on a video conference with no hesitations once hired.

Offer Support

Construct a formal training and meeting schedule and be available for additional support. Plan frequent touch-bases to check-in and allow for questions. With that, schedule introductory calls with each department head. The first few weeks might look rather booked on the calendar. However, this continued communication and interaction will nurture the distant relationship and set expectations.

Virtual Happy Hour

Host a team happy hour before your new hire’s start date. A happy hour is a great way to foster employee engagement for current staff and will give your new hire an opportunity to meet everyone and put faces to names as they acclimated. Pro tip: play an ice breaker game!

Here are some additional remote work resources to look into and/or share with your peers and new hires:

Recruiting and Onboarding Remotely with Profiles

Profiles has been in the business of recruiting and onboarding from a remote capacity for quite some time. However, we have continued to efficiently streamline our process for our clients and talent. Interested in learning how we will recruit, screen, and onboard culturally fit, top digital talent into your organization? Drop us a line here.