How to succeed at digital onboarding?

With the Covid-19 health crisis, remote working has taken on unexpected proportions. According to a study by INSEE, on average, 22% of employees who worked at least one hour during the week resorted to remote working in 2021. Among them, 44% did so throughout the week. Many companies are now recruiting employees who work remotely. This new way of working has forced them to rethink and digitize their digital onboarding process. How can these new employees be welcomed remotely? How can effective digital onboarding be created? Follow the recommendations from quarksUp.

Digital onboarding: what is it?

Digital onboarding is a key process in human resources management that aims to effectively welcome and integrate new employees into a company in the digital age. It involves using technological tools and resources to facilitate the integration process. Here is a more detailed explanation:

• Personalized: Digital onboarding allows you to personalize the onboarding experience according to each employee's specific needs, providing information relevant to their position and department.
• Automated: It uses automated systems to manage administrative tasks, such as document collection, account creation, and online training registration.
• Monitoring and evaluation: Digital onboarding allows you to monitor and evaluate the employee's progress throughout the process, making it easier to identify areas that require special attention.

The use of digital onboarding helps reduce administrative errors, speed up the integration of new employees, and improve their experience within the company. It is an essential way for companies to remain competitive in the digital age, ensuring that their talent feels valued and productive from the very beginning of their journey with the company.

Why implement a digital onboarding process?

The onboarding process refers to the period during which a new employee is welcomed into their role. This integration process concludes the recruitment phase and marks the beginning of the employee's professional life in their new company.

Digital onboarding therefore ensures the success of recruitment. It has become a major challenge for companies and enables them to:

• Retain new hires by instilling company values in them.
• Facilitate the handover and thereby improve team productivity. Thanks to effective information sharing, the new recruit will be up and running more quickly.
• Work on your employer brand by projecting the image of a company that knows how to welcome its employees.
• Control recruitment costs. Successful recruitment will not incur additional costs. An employee leaving during their probationary period is costly for the company.
• Reassure the employee. During this period, they ensure that the position and the company meet their expectations.
• Introduce the new hire to the company, the team, key contacts, working methods, and procedures to be followed.

Finally, the onboarding process allows the recruitment of an employee to be validated over time.

What are the advantages of digital onboarding?

To adapt to employees working remotely, companies must redefine their onboarding process and switch to digital onboarding. This can be done entirely remotely and online. This new way of working saves a significant amount of time. New employees do not have to travel to the company's headquarters. This means they can get up and running more quickly.

Remote onboarding breaks down geographical barriers. 

Why not organize a virtual orientation session with all newcomers? 

It's a great way to build relationships with counterparts based in other areas. This type of integration allows new employees to get to know key contacts at different company sites.

Digital onboarding is an essential process for remote workers. It is a necessary step in their full integration into the company.

Steps to follow for successful remote digital onboarding

Remote digital onboarding follows the same steps as a traditional onboarding process. Only the methods used differ:

• Upstream: Even before the new employee arrives, the HR department must prepare for their integration. It is therefore essential to send them an onboarding email with all the important information. You can also set up a notification system (reminder of the arrival date, reminder of the access code, etc.). At this stage, send them a video giving a general presentation of the company. Use techniques such as storytelling or gamification (quizzes, etc.) to capture their attention. Finally, remember to have their equipment delivered (laptop, phone, supplies kit, etc.).
• Arrival day: The first day is crucial for the successful integration of remote workers. This is the time to organize a video call with the HR manager and their line manager. You can also set up quick phone calls with some of their colleagues. It may be a good idea to offer a more informal team activity, such as a virtual coffee break. Finally, send them a digital welcome booklet with all the necessary information (computer access codes, contact details for key people, working hours, etc.).

Good to know! Designate a sponsor

To better welcome the new remote worker, you can assign them a mentor. This will be someone they can contact who is able to answer all their questions.

• Long-term follow-up: The digital onboarding process spans several months. It generally covers the entire trial period, but may extend beyond that for certain strategic and high-level positions. Set up benchmarks: HR video meetings at the end of the first week, then at the end of the first month, weekly manager meetings, etc.

Digital onboarding: how to facilitate employee recruitment?

Digital onboarding is the culmination of the recruitment process. Certain digital solutions are designed to facilitate this process. This is the case withthe recruitment tooloffered by quarksUp. With this software, you can manage your entire recruitment process online. It provides a comprehensive overview of all open positions and the progress made on each one.

This tool facilitates the management of applications:

• Sending interview forms;
• Automatic responses;
• Appointments synchronized with calendars;
• Monitoring of the various sourcing phases, telephone prequalification, HR interview, manager interview, shortlist, etc.

Are you recruiting new talent? The quarksUp solution provides an automatic link to the hiring process, with all the information and documents collected.

This HR tool is already an onboarding experience for the candidate. They appreciate the follow-up, communication, and responsiveness.

Onboarding is a key moment within the company. Remember to ask new arrivals for feedback in order to continuously improve this integration process.

The 3 key points to remember:

1. Digital onboarding is becoming increasingly important with the democratization of remote working.
2. It helps create a sense of belonging for remote employees.
3. It must be implemented throughout the entire trial period of the new employee.

Discover quarksUp Boarding