How to set up new staff efficiently when working remotely

Posted by Hunter Dunning on 16th April 2020 -

Have you got new members of the team starting and wondering how you’re going to get your new employee on board while working from home? We’ve gathered some tips together to help you manage your induction process from home a little easier.

With the covid-19 outbreak we’ve all had to adapt and change the way we work accordingly. It’s disrupted everyone but we do still have to carry on and push through it. Whether it’s a new starter joining the business or interviewing potential candidates, we’re here to make the process a little easier for you.

A structured induction and start up plan for a new employee is really important and studies have suggested that this results in the employee staying with the company longer than those who did not have an ‘on-boarding programme’. So, what can you do to keep an efficient startup structure from home?

HAVE THEY GOT EVERYTHING THEY NEED?

Having the full equipment that is required to work from home is a key point not to be missed. If they don’t have what’s needed or they have an ancient and slow PC, provide them with what they need along with the support to set it all up. Screensharing is a good way to help them set up if they require support.

OVER-COMMUNICATE

Communication is key at all times anyway, but at this particular time it really is vital. Make sure they’re happy and comfortable as well as ensuring that they have a structure to go by. When a whole team is working from home things can easily get lost in translation. The last thing you want is a new member of the team sat panicking that they’ve made a mistake due to communication issues. Communicate as much as you can because you can’t just verbally talk across the office as you would usually. It’s also important to trust your staff and make sure they know that although you’re communicating more than usual, that they’re trusted and appreciated.

CONTRACT

Although you may not be in the office it doesn’t mean that things like a new employee contract is to be put on the back burner. Send over a digital copy of their new contract and use a software like DocuSign to get everything wrapped up nice and quickly. (The plus side – it’s better for the environment too!)

WHO SAID SOCIAL EVENTS HAD TO BE IN PERSON?

If you and the team regularly head to the pub on a Friday afternoon why not bring the pub to you? Get on a video call with the team, have a drink and catch up. The beauty of technology in this day and age is that it’s made to be easy and great for socialising from a distance, so let’s utilise it!

HAVE COMPANY INFORMARION READILY AVAILABLE

We use Office 365 SharePoint as a cloud-based storage system which our team can securely access from any device and work from any location. It’s important that within your chosen shared drive you include the company values, GDPR policy, company policies, expectations and rules and any additional information they may need.

TRAINING

Usually when a new employee starts there is training involved. We recommend with the current circumstances to make a video as this will be the easiest way to explain topics rather than a long written document. Saying this, a written document alongside the video would also be useful.

TEAM SUPPORT

Using Instant Messenger groups, email or video call is a good way to get the new started involved with their team and also keep up the team morale when working remotely. Sitting in the same four walls every day can be daunting, especially for a new staff member, so mimicking the office vibes as much as possible is really important. We currently use Microsoft Teams and have found it to be great for team communication that isn’t requiring a formal email.

Now is the prime time to get new staff on board and set up ready for when this all blows over and life returns to normal. Projects ARE still happening and work IS still being done, so don’t put the breaks on too hard.

NEED HELP WITH YOUR RECRUITMENT OR SEARCHING FOR A NEW JOB? WE’RE HERE TO MAKE IT EASY FOR YOU. 

Let Hunter Dunning do the hard work of finding a job or candidate for you so you can concentrate on making the best use of your time while working remotely. As an exclusive candidate or client, we can offer professional advice as experts in our field, a quality service or even just a friendly chat if you need someone to talk to confidentially. See more about us here

To search our current jobs visit the Hunter Dunning jobs section and use our search function to find the perfect jobs in property, jobs in Architecture or jobs in interior design.