If you’re reading this, you’ve probably heard of the Great Resignation. This unprecedented movement of professionals quitting their jobs to move to better positions, take time off to spend with family or pursue other personal endeavors hit employee experience professionals unexpectedly and without a plan. In November of 2021 alone, over 4.5 million people decided to go their way – an attrition rate that exceeded pre-pandemic rates with room to spare.

Employees are the heart and soul of every organization. They play a key role in defining the success path of an organization which is why it is important to consider your organizational goals and culture while hiring new employees.

Employee onboarding has clear objectives: help employees build relationships, understand work expectations, and accustom them to the company culture. However, achieving these goals can be challenging during remote onboarding since you can’t have in-person interactions with your employees. But the process is here to stay! With the surge in remote work during the pandemic, businesses are noting how strategic remote onboarding can increase employee engagement and retention.

Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, remote work has become an ever-more popular way of working. And as the next generation of remote workers joins the workforce, how they’re onboarded has become a focal point of discussion. How will they internalize the company’s values remotely? Will they feel like part of the team when working from home? Fortunately, a well-planned virtual onboarding program can address these questions and more.

The dynamic nature of the workplace has seen some incredible changes in the past couple of years with the rise of remote teams. Given that 83 percent of employers have reported a successful shift to remote work, it is highly likely that we will see a major shift towards remote teams in the future. As we see the growing trend of shifting to remote work, what will this mean for onboarding and training? Before we get into this, we need to look at the importance of employee onboarding.

Whether it's remote or back in the office, there's no reason why a company shouldn't have a proper employee onboarding checklist for its new hires in 2021. If you've ever experienced a poor onboarding experience, you understand why it's so critical to have your ducks in a row for every new employee. In fact, you're more likely to have experienced subpar onboarding than not. Research from Gallup found only 1 in 10 employees strongly believe they had a great onboarding experience at their organization.

There’s a night and day difference between onboarding a remote employee and onboarding an in-person employee. Since in-person new hires establish rapport with staff and coworkers face-to-face, the learning curve is shorter. When they have questions about paperwork or policies, they simply walk over and ask a coworker or manager. But remote new hires have to deal with time zone differences, communication barriers, and feeling disconnected from company culture.