More and more companies are realizing the benefits of hiring a remote team, but what are they doing to effectively bridge the long-distance gap? Without the traditional office setting, new hires can't just walk across the hall when they have a question.
Having a smooth, effective onboarding process is key, and making sure your new remote employee feels included is even more important. Seven entrepreneurs from FounderSociety (FS) share their best practices for onboarding remote workers.
Q. What is your top tip for bringing remote workers onto an existing team?
1. Meet in person first
The critical first step is to have an in-person meeting where the new remote employee meets the people he or she will be interacting with. This step is often overlooked, yet it makes a world of a difference. Every time that person will be on the phone or on a video chat, you will have the memory of that in-person interaction. Then have regular check-ins using various tools available. –Jacob Bacon, GradTrain
2. Hold plenty of Google Hangouts
Emails and chats are great, but there is something to be said for actually seeing someone's face when you talk to them. We make a point of having a Google Hangouts open for all our team meetings so that remote workers can call in. –Lisa Curtis, Kuli Kuli
3. Make them feel included
Working with remote workers is a reality of the new workforce. By making them feel a part of the team and giving them real challenges (as you would with a "normal" employee), you have a higher chance of success with your distributed team. Integrating them into meetings, touching base with them daily, and holding them accountable will make them feel like they are as much a part of the team as someone on site. –John Arroyo, Arroyo Labs, Inc.
4. Integrate them with company technology
The simplest way we've helped remote workers function seamlessly is to integrate them with our technology services. We assign them a virtual PBX extension, a company email account, and a user account with our customer relationship management (CRM), task management, and internal messaging systems. The ability to communicate with them in the same way you would with someone down the hallway makes all the difference. –Jason Keyz, Epic Alarm
5. Keep real-time chats open all day
My partner and I share an office, but we also have three employees who work from their own homes. We focus on building a workplace culture by having everyone use Slack to communicate for all of the just-between-us chats (and occasional ranting) that doesn't take place in our project management system. Since we only hire in-state, we also aim to meet up at least once a month in person for lunch. –Kathryn Hawkins, Eucalypt Media
6. Hold high security standards
Have your tech team stack in place a secure, encrypted connection along with document control, versioning, etc. In my industry, regulatory compliance is the law. I can’t afford to have confidential information compromised by a careless teleworker. While your business might not suffer legal ramifications with a data leak, other information (and possibly even trade secrets) could be compromised. –Steven Buchwald, Buchwald & Associates
7. Give them the right tools
Our team uses Slack, Trello, Everhour, and a few other tools for various purposes. These are great tools for creating a transparent environment where everyone can manage their time and communicate freely. However, it is also important to ensure that everyone has the tools they need to create--whether that means new software, better hardware and devices, or add-ons for existing software. –Coy Yonce, Mantis Digital Arts
