Successful onboarding tips for a hybrid working culture

Having a thorough, structured onboarding process for new employees gives them the best chance at future success. Yet, according to a survey by management consultancy Gallup only 12% of employees strongly agree their organisation does a great job of onboarding new employees. What’s more, our new hybrid working culture is making the onboarding process one of the biggest hiring challenges post pandemic. With most companies operating a hybrid model of 2/3 days at home or in the office, many are still adjusting and readjusting their process to fit this model.

In 2023, many businesses still don’t have a structured onboarding process in place and for those that do, poor onboarding is a major cause of employee turnover, costing anywhere between 100 and 300% of the employee’s salary.

There is no doubt that successful onboarding brings multiple benefits, from helping to build employee morale, higher levels of employee engagement, greater confidence among employees and creating trust within the organisation, therefore it’s imperative to get it right if you want to keep good talent.

We’ve put together our top tips for successful onboarding in a hybrid working culture in 2023.

Meet face-to-face

Where possible the first day in a new role should be face-to-face, so you can personally issue company assets and go through face-to-face onboarding, for example how to use certain systems etc. This also provides a chance to build further rapport and get to know the person, particularly if the interviewing/hiring process was conducted over virtual meetings.

Have a structured plan

Have a clearly structured plan and set expectations on how much time is expected in the office versus at home and what a typical working week might look like, or does look like for peers in the team. Agree on certain milestones that need to be met so that both employee and employer know that performance expectations are being met.

Check-in regularly

Have a formal one-to-one at least once a month  during probation so both parties can provide ongoing feedback. Offer regular check-ins and in-person face-to-face where you can. If someone is living alone and predominantly working remotely, then this can be a lonely existence and could affect their performance at work, their confidence, and their ability to ask for help. Ask the new employee for their ideas and expectations on how best the hybrid working can work for them, so all parties are agreed on what successful onboarding will look like.

Buddy-up schemes

Partner the new employee with one or two people who can help with integrating that person into the team and wider business. The sooner someone is fully integrated, the sooner they are fully productive.

Encourage daily interaction

If you operate a work culture which is predominantly remote-based, then always look for signs that the new employee is coping ok and ask how they are doing. Encourage daily interaction through a work-based chat platform such as Slack or Teams.

Celebrate success

Finally, don’t forget to celebrate successes in person as a team. There is nothing more morale boosting than rewarding and celebrating a great team achievement!