The COVID-19 pandemic will be with us for the foreseeable future, so having a virtual onboarding strategy is an essential part of getting back to work and ensuring employee success. Since your new hires will most likely miss out on traditional onboarding in an office, it’s crucial to have a virtual onboarding process that makes them feel engaged and a valued addition to the team. We’re sharing our four ways to virtually onboard employees successfully.
Create a Virtual Onboarding Plan
Before you can successfully onboard new employees, your organization most likely will need to create a virtual onboarding plan. The old processes of having your new hire sit in the office filling out seemingly endless forms and paperwork are gone – maybe for good – so it’s time to tweak your traditional process to fit the new virtual world.
Here’s a simple breakdown for creating a virtual onboarding process before your new hire starts.
- Change all your physical paperwork into editable PDFs. It’s also a good practice to send these digital files to your new hire after the offer is accepted but prior to their start date. This will save time; they’ll need to do admin work and let them start training faster.
- Plan their first week schedule. If your new hire meets with various departments, these departments should have an overview presentation prepared to walk the new hire through how each department contributes to the business.
- Set up their technology before your new hire starts. This will save time and headaches for your new hire trying to set up their systems. We’ll cover this further in this blog.
- Subscribe to the notion you cannot over-communicate with your new hire. Stay in contact with them between the offer acceptance and start date. Provide a clear agenda for their first week schedule and check-in with them regularly after they start.
Have Their Tech Ready Beforehand
Have their tech ready and set up before your new hire starts at your company. Your IT department should prepare your new hire’s computer, phone, and any other tech they’ll need to perform their job successfully before their first day, and then your company should either mail or drop off the new hire’s tech for their first day. When a new hire opens their laptop, they can download needed software and programs just by entering the right credentials.
Having your new hire’s tech ready beforehand not only will make their transition into their new role more manageable, but it will also show them they’re already a valued member of the team. Being remote, your new hire won’t have to worry or troubleshoot through setting up their computer or downloading any software they’ll need when the company preps their tech before they start. In other words, your new hire will be one step closer to hitting the ground running.
Don’t Try to Cover Everything in One Day
Starting a new job is exciting, but it can also be overwhelming for your new hire. Help set them up for success by spreading their onboarding and training over their first week. Don’t try to cover everything in one day with your new hire. Make an onboarding plan that covers the different areas they’ll need to know over the course of their first weeks. Create a plan for your new hire to meet virtually with any necessary departments and give them that schedule on their first day.
Spreading out the onboarding and training over your new hire’s first week helps them stem the overflow of information they’re taking in so they can absorb it better. Avoiding covering everything in one day also helps keep your new hire from becoming too overwhelmed by the influx of new information – leading to longer employee retention.
Keep Them Engaged and Connected
Besides getting to know the company and their role, successful onboarding includes your new hire getting to know their co-workers. Being virtual means your new hire will miss out on the face-to-face conversation and connection with their co-workers. Prevent them from feeling isolated by keeping them engaged and connected to the team. This can be done by having a 1:1 with their new manager within their first week, setting up a Zoom lunch with their team, and assigning one of their teammates to be their virtual “buddy” to answer any questions they have and make them feel more comfortable.
Having your new hire feel engaged and connected in their work and with their team is a vital step in any successful virtual onboarding experience – in fact, it can be a major factor in long-term retention. Successful virtual onboarding also includes taking time to have their tech prepped and ready to go as well as spreading out the training throughout their first week. By following these three steps for proper virtual onboarding, you’re ensuring your new hire, existing staff, and business’s bottom line are set up for success.
About EG Workforce Solutions
We’ve been in this business for decades and have developed a deep network of professional connections. Whether they’re companies looking for talent, job seekers looking for work, or an up-and-coming store in need of some temporary help, we know the right people to bridge the gap between the hiring and the hired.
But what’s more, we get to know people. From employers hiring to candidates looking, we take the time to listen and learn. We hear your likes, talents, and needs. We gain an understanding, and with it, we’re able to facilitate lasting relationships between businesses and people.
When you’re job searching, it’s not enough just to be noticed by hiring managers – you need to stand out from other candidates in order to land the job. Standing out as the “perfect candidate” doesn’t have to be hard; we’re sharing our five ways to stand out in your job search that will lead to an offer.
Ensure Your Resume is Accurate and Polished
Ensuring your resume is accurate and polished is a non-negotiable for any job search. Beyond making sure your resume is free of spelling or grammatical errors, make sure you back it up with relevant facts and data from your past experience.
Quantify your experience by showing the hiring manager data and numbers from your previous work. Instead of saying something like “I was the fastest parts assembler on my shift,” say – as long as it’s accurate and true – “I averaged assembling 18 parts on my line every 10 minutes, which is about six more parts than the rest of the team.” When you back up your resume with hard data, you’re giving the hiring manager a picture of who you are as a worker and your capabilities as part of their team.
Write a Cover Letter
Writing a cover letter is an important part of your job search. Writing custom cover letters for each application is what will set you apart from other applicants. It will be obvious to hiring managers if you’ve simply copy and pasted a cover letter from an online template or are using it across your applications. Hiring managers will want to see your cover letter as a reflection of your resume as well; some of your personality comes out when they read it. Professionally showing off some of your personality will make the hiring manager connect with you better and will more likely have you come in for an interview.
Dress for Success
Even though you’ll likely be having virtual interviews for the foreseeable future, you must still dress for success; this means you should avoid the business mullet (dressing professionally on your top half and pjs on the bottom). Not only will being fully professionally dressed give you a confidence boost and help you stay in the interview mindset, but it’ll also save you from any potentially embarrassing moments if, for whatever reason, the hiring manager sees your lower half.
Dressing for success doesn’t necessarily mean a full suit, but instead, it’s avoiding bright colors, flashy accessories, and distracting patterns. Instead, opt for neutrals, clean and unwrinkled clothing, and avoiding any flashy accessories that might distract the hiring manager from what you’re saying.
Use the P-I-E Method during an Interview
Hiring managers report the highest-rated job applicants are those who use the P-I-E (Positive, Interested, Engaged) method during the interview. Instead of obsessing over how to answer a question or what the interviewer is going to ask you next, stay focused, and confident. This is why it’s so crucial to practice common interview questions beforehand. To stand out in your job search, focus on being a thoughtful conversationalist with the interviewer instead of worrying about how you answered the previous question or what you’ll be asked next.
Send a Follow-up
You could answer every interview question perfectly, been dressed to impress, and been positive, interested, and engaged, but if you don’t send a follow-up to the hiring manager, it’s highly unlikely you’ll get a job offer.
After an interview, you should immediately send a “thank you” email to the hiring manager to thank them for their time and summarizing what you learned and shared in the interview. To stand out in your job search, go the extra mile and also send a handwritten thank you note and mail it to the hiring manager. This shows you care about the position and have an active interest in being part of the team.
Stand out in your job search by implementing these tips in tricks before your next interview. By making sure you have a polished up that resume, written a cover letter, dressed for success, used the P-I-E method to ace the interview, and sent a follow-up thank-you note to the hiring manager, you’ll be well on your way to standing out from other candidates helping you get closer to your dream job.
About EG Workforce Solutions
We’ve been in this business for decades and have developed a deep network of professional connections. Whether they’re companies looking for talent, job seekers looking for work, or an up-and-coming store in need of some temporary help, we know the right people to bridge the gap between the hiring and the hired.
But what’s more, we get to know people. From employers hiring to candidates looking, we take the time to listen and learn. We hear your likes, talents, and needs. We gain an understanding, and with it, we’re able to facilitate lasting relationships between businesses and people.
Did you know that engaged employees are more likely to invest themselves in the broader success of the company, rather than only showing up for a paycheck? Engaged employees are also more likely to view their role as an important part of the company’s mission. They will often support the company in a manner of different ways beyond their everyday responsibilities. However, research shows that 32% of employees are engaged in their work, suggesting that companies miss out on 68% of their employees’ best work. To improve your employee engagement, you have to be able to measure it first. We’re sharing four employee engagement metrics you should be measuring.
Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS)
You’ve likely heard of Net Promoter Score; maybe you’re even using NPS to measure the loyalty of your clients. A question is answered on a scale from 0 to 10, where anyone answering 0 to 6 is considered a detractor, 7 and 8 considered passive, and 9 and 10 respondents are considered promoters. Net Promoter Score measures the promoters and detractors for your company.
Have you considered running an NPS internally? An Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) measures the promoters and detractors within your organization. If your company receives a positive score, employees that are engaged will be more likely to recommend a position to a friend or colleague. Reversely, a negative score indicates that more employees said they would not recommend someone to work at your company. This is a red flag a majority of your employees are unengaged and not living up to their full professional potential.
Having a clear understanding of what your employees are feeling in real-time will help you improve their engagement or show that your employees are happy and thriving. Here at EG, we run an eNPS quarterly to access the highs and lows of our team’s engagement. When we hit a low, our leaders work with their teams to pivot their goals and interests to help boost overall engagement.
Absenteeism and Turnover Rate
Another way you can start measuring your employee engagement is by your organization’s absenteeism and turnover rate. It’s no surprise that engaged employees show up to work ready to contribute and put their best effort forward. According to market research, companies should target an employee turnover rate of 10% or less annually. While a certain amount of employee turnover can be beneficial in terms of moving the company forward and sparking change, unnaturally high employee turnover can be a massive ROI killer for your organization.
Departments with high absenteeism and/or turnover rates should be examined deeper. Is there a problem with how this department functions? Are their gaps in this department that prevent the staff from doing their job well? Is there an issue with leadership in the department? Identifying these problems can help you get your employees re-engaged, saving your company culture and bottom line.
Your company should also be measuring pre-absenteeism. This is when your employees come to work, but they are not actively engaged in the functions they are performing. They may be distracted, put less effort, or not be doing working on what they should be. Pre-absenteeism is a key indicator of dropping employee engagement rates within your company, and if it’s a team-wide issue, it‘s a sign it’s time realign your company’s success with that of your employees.
Employee Participation
Employee participation is another key factor in determining the involvement of company-wide engagement. Of course, participation may vary from time to time as different teams or departments move through busy and slow periods.
Employees will participate in company initiatives more successfully when they see value in their participation. Values can be highlighted by managers and executives. While it doesn’t seem like much, taking the time to show your employees you value them goes a long way. Leaders can highlight participation and value by writing “thank-you” notes to their team, recognize them for a job well done or a completed project, or a number of other low to no-cost options. As an employer, you should be taking the time to make sure your employees’ sense they and their work is valued and matters.
What you should measure to gain insight on your employee participation include the number of participants completing an eNPS, volunteering for projects, participation in meetings, and participation in “outside” events such as a happy hour or company gathering.
Diversity and Inclusion Rate
Measuring your diversity and inclusion rate within your organization is a metric that helps create a more welcoming company culture that retains your employees and attracts top talent. Also, companies with higher rates of D&I have also been found to more successfully be able to navigate difficult circumstances, even financial recessions. In fact, a 2019 study found that “During, and after the Great Recession, [companies with higher rates of D&I] gained a 4x larger stock return than the S&P 500.”
Investing in strong D&I initiatives is also a strategic and smart business decision for your organization. When your company starts a D&I initiative, it’s important to review your people data and find out where your company has any gaps. Check for imbalances in gender and ethnicity before they lead to employee turnover. It is also important to check the diversity of employees at your senior leadership and even board level.
Employee Engagement Leads to Company Success
Employee engagement is a crucial part of your organization’s overall success. To improve your employee engagement rate, you first have to measure it. Utilizing an eNPS score will first give you a baseline for where the majority of your employees fall in terms of engagement. You can also measure absenteeism and turnover rates, employee participation, and your company’s diversity and inclusion rate to measure engagement. Engaged employees lead to better, more productive companies.
About EG Workforce Solutions
We’ve been in this business for decades and have developed a deep network of professional connections. Whether they’re companies looking for talent, job seekers looking for work, or an up-and-coming store in need of some temporary help, we know the right people to bridge the gap between the hiring and the hired.
But what’s more, we get to know people. From employers hiring to candidates looking, we take the time to listen and learn. We hear your likes, talents, and needs. We gain an understanding, and with it, we’re able to facilitate lasting relationships between businesses and people.
These days, diversity and inclusion are more than buzzwords; it is a crucial part of the hiring process and the company’s culture. Many companies say they support diversity and inclusion, but can you identify if a company truly cares about it? Yes! While EG doesn’t claim to have a perfect solution, we’re currently working on this along with many other companies; we’re sharing what we’ve learned to find a company that values diversity.
Do Your Research on the Company
Doing your research online is a great way to start checking how a company values diversity. Start by visiting the company’s website. If they don’t use stock photography, what do you see in the photos? Are the people of many different backgrounds? Also, read through the site’s “About Us” or “Company Culture” sections as well. Be on the hunt for any data on diversity or hiring practices.
You can also research the company on third party websites that post anonymous reviews from current and past employees like GlassDoor. Take the time to carefully research companies to learn as much as you can about the organization.
Finally, you can also do your research on the company by checking their job postings. Read them carefully for more than just the information relating to the position. Is the language gendered or gender-neutral? Does it use language or jargon that wouldn’t be easily understood by any qualified applicant? Does the company include an EEO statement in its job posting? If the posting feels skewed or does not include an EEO statement, it may not have diversity as a top priority in their hiring process.
Check the Diversity of Current Employees
Check the diversity of current employees by researching who’s on the leadership team at a company. You should be able to find this information on the company’s website, but you can also search for it online, including on LinkedIn.
It’s important to note; not all diversity is visible to the eye. If it looks like a company lacks diversity from what your research has shown you, it doesn’t mean it isn’t working to change that. There may be strategy and a priority to build more diverse teams as part of the hiring process that just hasn’t reached the public eye yet. Doing the research will give you an idea of what diversity in a company looks like, but it won’t give you the whole picture.
Ask Questions During an Interview
Every interview will give you the opportunity to ask questions; this is where you’ll be able to gain insight into how the company values diversity. Here are some questions you can ask:
– Can you share some examples of how your company promotes diversity and inclusion?
– How is diversity shown to be an important value at this company?
– What steps has the company taken to increase diversity?
– Does the company offer managers training on diversity, equity, and inclusion?
– What does the company do to help ensure diversity and inclusion in the hiring process?
Asking questions during an interview on how the company values diversity will give you more knowledge than just your previous research. It should help fill in any gaps you have after checking the company’s website, as well as reading their job descriptions and reviews.
Diversity is an essential part of any company. Companies need diversity to bring new ideas, thought processes, and perspectives to the business’s overall goals. Building a strategy to value and promote diversity in the hiring process is crucial in finding top talent moving forward.
About EG Workforce Solutions
We’ve been in this business for decades and have developed a deep network of professional connections. Whether they’re companies looking for talent, job seekers looking for work, or an up-and-coming store in need of some temporary help, we know the right people to bridge the gap between the hiring and the hired.
But what’s more, we get to know people. From employers hiring to candidates looking, we take the time to listen and learn. We hear your likes, talents, and needs. We gain an understanding, and with it, we’re able to facilitate lasting relationships between businesses and people.