6 Ways To Build And Improve Virtual Onboarding

Virtual onboarding is an essential part of any company's growth strategy. It helps new hires get acclimated to the company culture, learn about their benefits, and understand what they need to do to succeed. Businesses that engage in virtual onboarding can increase retention rates, reduce hiring costs, and lower turnover.It is essential to keep employees engaged during this period, which can be done by adding gamification elements. This would make them feel rewarded even if they accomplish relatively small tasks.If you're looking for some tips on how to improve your virtual onboarding process, this post will provide six ways that can help you build a better one.

What exactly is virtual onboarding?

Virtual onboarding is a process and/or program that provides new team members with all of the knowledge they need to understand the organization they are joining. This covers the mission, purpose, values, and employee goals, as well as other HR and logistical data.Virtual onboarding, in its most basic form, is the practice of welcoming new, remote employees to a company. However, as any HR or onboarding specialist knows, virtual onboarding is a thorough, systematic hiring process. It is a comprehensive program that allows employees to become acquainted with the firm.The onboarding process is frequently the first introduction an employee has to the corporate culture. However, the onboarding process also provides the individual with everything they require to succeed.It might be difficult to identify strategies to introduce people to a corporation remotely in virtual environments. This is why developing a program and processes that involve employees from the beginning is critical. It benefits not just your employees' health and well-being, but also the health and well-being of your organization as a whole.

Design Your Onboarding Process With the User in Mind

Make onboarding fun and engaging by using gamification elements. Ensure that the process covers all platforms and websites so that employees won't feel overwhelmed with too much information in a short amount of time. You should also keep the goals of the company in mind during the onboarding processes, despite it being virtual. Ensure the new hires are familiar with the company's values and culture to get the most out of their experience.The user onboarding experience is the first user experience (FUX) a person has after downloading and using your product for the first time. It is typically in the form of a brief tour that teaches how to use the major features of the product in short, basic phases. The primary goal of a user onboarding sequence is to encourage user engagement and retention.Activation indicates that your user understands the purpose of your program and how to use its primary features. Retention implies that your consumers have a compelling reason to return to your software. Two aspects influence retention: the product's UX design and the efficiency of its user onboarding flow. Your product will never expand if your user onboarding experience fails to activate and retain enough users.As a result, user onboarding is a critical component of product development. Google Play has 2.8 million apps, whereas the App Store has 2.2 million. According to a Google Play Store research, most apps lose 77% of their customers within the first three days. Within 30 days, that figure had increased to 90%.

More Time for New Hires to Onboard

One of the most common mistakes when onboarding is not giving the new hires enough time during the process. For virtual onboarding to be successful, you need at least three weeks before they can start their actual jobs.Allotting more time for the onboarding processes can help integrate the new hires into the company culture. It will also help them learn more about their dream jobs and reduce the probability that they would make any mistakes.This way, you'll be able to build a process where employees can excel at their job quickly and feel satisfied in what they're doing.You've definitely come across another indicator in your onboarding study - time to productivity. It is not the same as onboarding time. An onboarded employee is making a significant contribution and has the potential to reach full productivity. Time to productivity is the amount of time it takes for employees to become operational and productive. It is the period of time between the employee's first day on the job and when he or she is fully contributing to the organization and reaching peak productivity.Time to productivity is an important indicator; the shorter the time to productivity, the less money your firm will lose. As a result, it is an HR statistic that you should monitor if you want to reduce the expenses of your recruitment and onboarding operations.

Create a Welcome Video for New Users

A welcome video is one of the best ways to give new employees a warm welcome. It's also an easy way for them to get familiar with your company culture while making sure they also feel appreciated.The message you’re going to convey should be simple yet straightforward towards what you want from your employees. You can even add some funny or cute elements to your message, since humor is known to reduce stress levels among working people.Another thing that makes welcome videos more effective than written documents is their ability to create emotional connections between employers and new hires. Welcome videos feel more personal compared to the usual written letters and documents. 

Provide Adequate Training Materials 

The first few weeks of a new employee’s job are the most important. During this period, they learn about their roles and how to do them correctly. You should train them on all necessary tasks so that they can develop their skills quickly. One example could be giving training materials on creating paystubs more efficiently if the individual were to join the HR department. That way, your business will be able to get more out of its investment. It will reduce turnover rates among new hires who feel like they're not good enough for the company's standards. This also means that you'll have lower hiring costs as well as lower training expenses.

Bring in the Culture

It's hard to make remote hires feel like they're part of the company culture since it's more abstract than being able to actually see your coworkers. That's why you should establish a strong connection with them by adding some custom elements into their virtual onboarding processes.You can also ensure that remote employees are involved in community service events or participate in contests held within the offices. This way, everyone will feel closer and have opportunities to socialize on different levels.

Stay Connected with Employees

Onboarding in a new company may be frightening to new hires. Therefore, you should provide them with the proper support they need until their new roles become more familiar.You can do this by assigning mentors to each new team member. Make it clear that you and the mentor are always available for questions on how things work, such as generating invoices for example. This way, your employees will feel confident and motivated about performing tasks which is an excellent start for any relationship in an office/work environment.While firms in highly competitive industries have long recognized the need of generating happy employee experiences, to the point that things like video games and lavish meals have become a running gag, creating a positive onboarding experience is more than just HR fluff. In contrast to employers who have experienced new hires ghosting after signing an agreement or within a few weeks of starting a new job, people who experienced an effective onboarding process were 18 times more likely to feel highly committed to their organization, according to a 2022 Glassdoor study.Consider asking your most recent hires about their onboarding experiences, keeping in mind that they may be biased toward underreporting any unpleasant aspects of the encounter. Set up a "burner" free email address and request that your new alternate identity go through the onboarding process if you're serious about enhancing your onboarding procedure. Check to see if the process generates excitement and connection, or if it generates radio silence and bewilderment.

Final Thoughts: Virtual Onboarding

Making virtual onboarding an easy process for the new hires can be quite challenging. It's not only about the tools you’ll need, but also how they're going to be used to ensure positive results for both parties involved.Ensuring that the new employees feel welcome and belong to the company's culture can help improve the onboarding process. It can even help them feel valued.In return, this can help increase productivity since knowing you care about them enough to provide specific tools for success makes them more eager to do well in their roles. That way, everyone wins when the employees are well-adjusted to their positions.