Training new employees in the company is always a challenge. But it has never been as great as it is now: Many HR managers are wondering whether onboarding at a distance can even succeed. – Yes, it is possible! In the article, two colleagues from blink.it report on how their onboarding went in the home office.
The first phase in a new company is extremely important: The new employee should feel comfortable right away. Should get to know all colleagues. Should feel connected to the company. And above all, work efficiently as quickly as possible. These are typical goals that HR managers set for onboarding. But how does this work in times of social distancing and home office?
To answer this question, I would like to share some insights today and show how onboarding works at blink.it. Because it is clear: As a provider of a learning platform, we also work a lot digitally internally. And we are growing! For this article, I therefore interviewed two new colleagues and asked them openly how they felt their onboarding went during the pandemic.
Background: The Concept of Blended Onboarding
Blended learning is the best learning concept, we are convinced of that. Therefore, our onboarding is also a mix of live sessions and online courses: "Blended Onboarding" indeed. The live sessions function like small video conferences; otherwise, not much changes in the process itself due to home office.
Interview No. 1: Designer Merve
About the person:
Since February 2021, Merve has been working as a designer for blink.it. During her onboarding, she was mostly in the home office.
Hello Merve! You were primarily onboarded digitally. Please describe your thoughts and feelings during the first days of your onboarding.
I felt really good when I saw my onboarding plan. I thought to myself right away: Everything is under control! About 15 meetings with different colleagues were planned. I thought it was great to get information from various departments and also to meet everyone. However, I was also a bit panicked about the onboarding videos I was supposed to record. For colleagues I didn’t know at all! But after 2-3 videos, the panic was gone. And it was very nice to see how the colleagues left comments under my videos.
How was your onboarding structured?
On the first day, I was still in the office, and only [Managing Director] Michael was there. He gave me the laptop and all the equipment. I also had a meeting with [Recruiter] Roxy on the first day, which took place virtually. I thought it was good to be in the office at the beginning, but I was also ready for home office afterward. My laptop was already well set up, so I could work well right away.
What did you like about your onboarding?
I liked that everything was so structured and that I could meet many colleagues – even if only virtually. I had a daily appointment with my mentor, Michael, and I could ask all my questions. Without this meeting, I would probably have felt "lost" quickly. In the office, you can just ask a colleague; it’s harder in the home office. What I also liked:
A session on the topic "Values at blink.it." I saw that these values are also lived out, and I found that very nice.
I received a goal document for the first 6 months printed out. I thought that was cool because I always had a visual of what my focus is.
We have many great formats like coffee dates, the discussion marketplace, or weeklies. This way, I feel well connected even though I can’t meet the colleagues in the office.
What did you not like about your onboarding?
On the first day, I received a lot of information, which overwhelmed me a bit. However, the information was well structured, so I didn’t find it too bad in the end.
How did you find the onboarding specifically during the corona times?
Almost everything was virtual, but good organization helped. What was still missing was getting to know the colleagues personally: How old are they, what hobbies do they have, what do they like to eat for lunch… Such things cannot be discussed in video calls.
Interview No. 2: Product Manager David
About the person:
Since March 2021, David has been working as a product manager for blink.it. During his onboarding, he was mostly in the office, but there were only a few colleagues present.
Hello David! You were also primarily onboarded digitally. Please describe your thoughts and feelings during the first days of your onboarding.
My experience before the onboarding was that remote work can work well as long as the involved parties don’t make it difficult. So, I wasn’t deterred by the sight of the full calendar at the beginning. On the contrary – I thought it was pretty great because it showed a clear structure for onboarding. However, when I was then exposed to the flood of information in the (digital) meetings, it became a bit too much for me. Because the more differentiated the information is, the more tiring the meeting becomes. Especially when you don’t fully experience the teleconference but only virtually.
How was your onboarding structured?
I was in the office a lot because I couldn’t work well at home. Most of the time I was alone there and had most of my meetings digitally, so it was similar to the home office. The process was very structured. I had “encounters” with almost all colleagues from all departments. The structure helped me understand what to expect. Above all, it ensured that the onboarding actually succeeds.
What did you like about your onboarding?
Structure, helpfulness, work ethic, openness. I felt very welcome. Whether someone was present or remote – I always received support. Regular and time-limited Q&A [Question & Answer] sessions and dailies were very helpful. Slack and targeted communications also helped me.
What did you not like about your onboarding?
The only thing was the huge effort required to manage the large input. Despite the reasonable timeframe, this led to too high a workload right at the beginning. In retrospect, I wouldn’t know how to better dose this, as postponing entire sessions would have been excessive as well.
How did you find the onboarding specifically during the corona times?
It worked well. I even found it somewhat pleasant to spend a lot of time alone outside of the meetings. This way, I could calmly organize the input.
Conclusion: Tips for HR Managers for Onboarding in the Home Office
Take your time planning the onboarding. A good structure is extremely helpful.
Involve many colleagues in the onboarding so that they can get to know each other.
Offer a daily meeting where there’s room for questions.
Ensure that the information overload on the first days is not too great.
Work with mentors who can guide the new colleagues well from the start.
Make the goals of the onboarding transparent.
Be open to feedback and change if something isn’t going smoothly.
