How to engage with newly hired remote employees?

The pandemic has completely changed how businesses operate. Remote work used to be a rare concept before the pandemic; but suddenly, all employees are forced to work from home. It completely revolutionised the way companies hire, retain and communicate with new and existing employees.

Here are the PERSOLKELLY recommended practices for engaging with newly hired employees in your company:

Plan an onboarding process

Designing a cohesive onboarding process helps employees align with the culture, vision, and mission of the organisation. During this process, they can build connections with their team members and superiors, something that is often missing during working remotely.  Checking in with the new employees and assigning them a mentor can help them become an integral part of the team right away. 

Set up regular video calls

While emails are the formal mode of communication, they are often misleading, cold and can distort the essence of the conversation. Instead of emails, making video calls the primary form of communication to ensure information does not get overwhelming for the new employees.

Video calls are a wonderful way to establish a personal connection with newly hired employees. While you cannot meet or connect online, video calls help with non-verbal communication and develop a connection with them.

Take feedback

To make new employees feel valued, conduct virtual surveys regularly to take feedback about their experience, team functioning, work roles and ideas for improvement. Build an anonymous questionnaire to encourage them to respond without the fear of being judged or terminated. These feedback forms will help strengthen the company culture and make employees feel valued.

Be available for outside-of-work conversations

Not seeing or meeting in person limits personal introduction. As managers, try to engage in non-work conversations with the newly hired employees and try to understand who they are. Create frequent touchpoints with them and encourage the idea of flexibility and openness to understand each other. Make sure not to overstep any boundaries and invade their personal space.

Motivate them

Employee motivation plays a key role in the success of a company. When employees are motivated, they put in their best work for the team and increase team productivity. They look forward to the work and contribute to the company’s success. Some great ways to motivate new employees are:

• Welcome gift hamper or goodies
• Assigning mentors or work friends
• Innovative incentives (like free Netflix subscription)
• Continuous constructive feedback
• Virtual team building activities
• Daily check-in
• Inspirational quotes
• Virtual dance or award parties
• Virtual breaks
• Online board games
• Team movie screening
• Book clubs

Recognise their efforts

Most employees have high regard for recognition and appreciation from their team members. Awards like employee of the month, thanking them on online calls, and sending a congratulatory email are all effective in boosting their morale. Recognise their work regularly instead of waiting till the end of the quarter or the year. It is all about trivial things.

Pay attention to non-verbal communication

Imagine feeling lost, but being afraid of asking for help. While working remotely, new employees might not be able to ask for help when they are stuck. Therefore, it is important to understand what they are not saying by paying attention to the non-verbal cues. Has an employee suddenly become quiet during meetings? This could be a sign that they are dealing with an internal struggle. Reach out and try to understand what is bothering them.

Organise recreational activities

With virtual work, work-life balance has taken a backseat. Most employees have been working for days without taking a proper break. This could be a serious blow to their mental health and productivity. Organise recreational activities like virtual parties, game nights or simply a virtual movie night. This will not only refresh them, but also make them feel valued. Some time off can go a long way!

Empower new employees

Companies often take time to trust new employees and enable them to make their own decisions. They must work extra hard to be heard and trusted. While working remotely, that trust is more difficult to come by. Therefore, it is important to empower new employees to pitch their ideas, make their decisions and put forward their points of view. When they feel valued and becoming an integral part of the team, they are more likely to stay with the organisation.

Motivated and engaged employees are proven to be more productive, meet deadlines and produce high-quality work. They are more likely to stay in the organisation for a long time. It is critical to have proper communication and support for your new remote team beyond just webinars, virtual conferencing, and online communication. Creating a meaningful connection for employees will strengthen collaboration and a productive work environment that benefits everyone. Therefore, it is important for companies to engage with newly hired remote employees right from the start. If companies experience any difficulty in engaging with them, perhaps it is good to seek HR advisory to address any the concern so that the whole team dynamic will be fully optimised.

Contact us at hcmc@persolkelly.com and we’re happy to help you build a strong remote workforce through our Regional Talent Solutions that provide services such as Borderless Recruitment, Flexible Workforce Solution (FWS), Global Professional Employer Organisation (GPEO) and HR Advisory.