Onboarding a new teammate REMOTELY!

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We are all being forced to be creative and think outside the box to keep up with the rapid changes going on with the Covid-19 pandemic. This means completely altering some workflows, that are usually in-person, to function well remotely.

We were determined not to let the virus delay Herbie Holley, our newest teammate, from starting at IT Direct as planned on Monday. So, we had to come up with a remote on-boarding plan quickly in order to keep Herbie safe and healthy. Minus a few bumps in the road, Herbie’s plan has been a success! With our already successful on-boarding process in place and some conscious tweaking, we were able to come up with an effective plan that we are happy to share. Your company may be in the same boat soon:

Before Day 1

  • Reviewed our remote plan with Herbie in detail before he started – to get him excited, comfortable and ready to start – so important!
  • Dropped off all necessary equipment (laptop, phone, training documents, etc.) to Herbie’s house
  • Created a detailed schedule, hour by hour, and reviewing that schedule daily with Herbie

Onboarding

  • Utilizing our MS Teams video-conferencing platform for introductions, core values/culture training and other initial meetings
  • Using Teams and it’s shared desktop capabilities for shadowing/training with our experienced teammates
  • Got Herbie’s lunch delivered on his first day instead of our standard ‘lunch with your manager’
  • Had Herbie take a selfie of himself at his workstation at home so we could post a pic on social media of him on his first day! This is something we do with all new teammates, usually in-house
  • Video-conferencing with Herbie for an end of day review: what worked well, what didn’t, and what changes we can make for the next day

This is a time to share successes with one another as we create remote working environments that are working. Looking at the opportunities we can gain and share from this experience will keep us strong!

Look for more information on our remote culture initiatives, coming soon!