Onboarding hybrid hires

When hiring employees who’ll be working remotely or with hybrid work schedules, we have to work a little harder to build that human connection that comes more naturally when employees are working together in an office.

Online is just fine for all the information, forms and training that each employee will need to complete as they join the company. But that’s not the stuff that engages an employee in feeling like part of the team, in resonating with the culture and in being part of something bigger.

For that, we need to develop new ways to celebrate and embrace employees in their first week or two on the job. Here are five ideas to consider:

Encourage an in-person team meeting

When geography permits, urge managers to get their team together for an in-person meeting shortly after a new hire begins work. There’s no substitute for being in the same room together and enjoying the small talk and nonverbal cues that come with physical proximity. After that, it’s much easier to continue building the relationship over video calls, email and work apps like Slack or Teams.

Celebrate them on social media

Encourage hiring managers or even the talent acquisition folks to post something on internal social media and external platforms like LinkedIn when new hires join the company. A quick post that expresses excitement about that specific individual joining the team will garner tons of likes, make the new hire feel valued, and spread the word that your company is landing really great people.

Post team member personality quizzes

Have each member of the team, including the new hire, answer a brief quiz with not-too-invasive questions. Try four or five like these examples: What sport were you awful at as a kid? What’s in your refrigerator? What’s your secret talent? And then include one question around culture, such as: Which of our values do you use most in your job? Then post them for the team or read them aloud in your next video call.

Send a welcome from the CEO

Prepare an email template, preferably in the CEO’s own words, welcoming a new hire to the company. Include something about the CEO’s vision for the company, or why he or she feels this is a particularly great time to join, or excitement about having talented new people on board. Leave blanks in the template for the new hire’s name and position and automate to send to all new hires each week or month.

Mail some company swag

Don’t forget the branded merch. You might send a package of goodies to the home of each new hire with logoed items they can show off to family and friends, in person and on social media. Think about things for their home work space, from coffee mugs or water bottles and blank notebooks or pens. Wearables can be tricky because of sizes, but you might try caps, backpacks or face masks.