How Hiring Managers Can Onboard and Engage New Staff in 2023

In the past, much of the employee onboarding process used to happen face-to-face, getting new hires settled in at their workstation and welcoming them to the team over lunch at a nearby restaurant. But over the last three years, the systems and traditions that once worked to engage new staff have become almost completely obsolete. 

Due to the drastic shift to remote and hybrid work arrangements, hiring managers and leadership teams are less frequently welcoming new employees to a company in person. This means that businesses need to rethink and modernize their approaches to onboarding and employee engagement.

In this article, you’ll learn about new ways in which you can welcome and engage your employees in 2023 and beyond. 

Highlights include:

• Why the onboarding process is so important in 2023
• Nine ways to modernize your onboarding and engagement processes
• Benefits of an office space in remote work cultures

Why the Onboarding Process Is So Important in 2023

When all of your employees worked in one office location, new hires could easily approach their colleagues to ask questions or connect socially. 

For example, they could:

• Visit the head of HR to ask about a form they were filling out
• Drop by the IT department to troubleshoot issues with logging into their new computer 
• Knock on their boss’ door if they had a quick question about their first task or deliverable
• Small-talk or go for a coffee with colleagues to build interpersonal bonds

Remote work has drastically changed all that.

Despite the prevalence of digital communication tools, such as instant messaging and virtual meeting apps, it can still be quite difficult to connect with coworkers virtually. This can make starting a new remote role incredibly challenging, from both a technical and social perspective.

It also makes having a solid digital onboarding process in place more important than ever. Without one, you risk having new hires sitting at their desk, feeling disconnected from their team, with no idea where to begin.

9 Ways to Modernize Your Onboarding Process

Bringing your onboarding and employee engagement process into the 2020s doesn’t have to be complicated. 

Your new hires don’t need fancy applications or beautifully designed instruction manuals. They just need clear instructions on how to start working for you—and with your team.

Here are a few ways that you can transition your onboarding and employee engagement strategies from in-person systems to digital processes:

1. Move Your Drive to the Cloud: Traditionally, company documents were stored on internal drives to protect privacy and sensitive business material. With a remote workforce, however, internal drives present somewhat of an accessibility issue. With solutions like Google Workspace, your business can maintain security and increase accessibility.
   
2. Send Equipment Early: Before an employee’s start date, ensure that you have sent all of the hardware they will need to do their work. This includes a computer, monitor, keyboard and mouse. If you’re subsidizing other equipment like a desk or chair, make sure your new hires have the necessary discount codes or details to make the purchase before their first day.
   
3. Grant IT Access: You’ll also want to get your employee’s IT access up and running before they start to make sure they can hit the ground running. It’s recommended to schedule a virtual or telephone meeting between your new hire and your IT team ahead of their first day to avoid any issues.
   
4. Set Up Accounts: Ensure that your employee’s email, instant messaging, project management, and video call accounts are all up and running for their first day. You may want to send through details about their new email to their personal address, and then provide instructions for setting up the remaining accounts to their new company address.

5. Offer an Onboarding Checklist: Whether you provide your checklist through email, Google docs, a project management application or a branded PDF, it’s important to lay out the expected tasks for your new hires. This type of instruction can give them a better understanding of where to find things and what they should try to complete during their first week or two on the job.
   
6. Schedule Intro Calls: If your team is entirely or partially remote, make sure that you provide the opportunity for your new colleague to meet the other members of their team. This can be a quick 20-to-30-minute call where they simply introduce themselves and get to know each other on a more social level.
   
7. Plan a Team Lunch: For colleagues who are located in the same area, plan an in-person lunch to welcome your new team member. When this isn’t possible, you can also coordinate a virtual coffee or lunch meeting with your department to promote team bonding and engagement.

8. Provide Consistent Check-Ins: Ensure that you’re touching base with your new hires on a regular basis for the first three to six months. This can be a 15-minute chat where you make sure they don’t have any questions and ensure they are feeling valued. Whether HR or your management team takes the lead on this is entirely up to you and your business.
   
9. Organize an Annual In-Person Event: Without the daily interactions that take place between colleagues who work in the same office, it can be difficult to build the same level of engagement between coworkers. This makes having some form of annual off-site more important than ever. Your in-person event can be both a team building opportunity, as well as a time to workshop and plan your company’s year to come.

Benefits of an Office Space in Remote Work Cultures

Remote work has been permanently integrated into the modern workplace. However, even with teams who primarily work from home, having an office space to go to offers a variety of benefits. 

For example, a flexible shared space like And-Co provides you and your team with…

• A stimulating workplace environment. And-Co offers members a variety of desking options to meet the unique needs of each of your employees. From more casual couch seating to private boardrooms, your team can collaborate in-person in a vibrant, welcoming and incredibly functional office space.
  
• A place to network and socialize. Dynamic office spaces like And-Co give your team the opportunity to get together in-person and meet other like-minded professionals outside of your organization.
  
• A central hub to meet with colleagues. Even if your team members are dispersed across the region, province or country, having an office to gather at provides your company with a central meeting location and an unofficial headquarters.
  
• A desirable office space to travel to. Working from home is convenient. But it can also be a bit stifling. Dynamic workspaces like And-Co offer both a place to work and live. From an in-house restaurant to world-class amenities, you can entice your people to come into the office with a workplace that they actually want to travel to.

If you’re in search of a modern, full-service, and flexible workspace and community with sustainability at its core, book a tour of And-Co today.