Virtual onboarding requires even more planning and strategy from organizations than classic onboarding processes. Beyond knowledge and to-dos, people, emotions, and work culture must be conveyed through a small screen. In addition to our guide for the perfect onboarding workflow, here are seven tips for virtual onboarding.

• 1. Allow enough time for virtual onboarding
• 2. Communication is everything
• 3. Technology is key
• 4. Make company culture come alive
• 5. Make onboarding interactive
• 6. Assign a buddy to new employees
• 7. Practice a positive feedback culture

1. Allow enough time for virtual onboarding
   

The first days in a new company are a challenge in themselves, but it is even more difficult remotely. Without the comprehensive visual impressions, the informal chat in the breakroom, and everything one picks up on the side, it is challenging to get a "feeling" for the employer and colleagues. However, that is exactly what is important for a good and sustainable arrival. Therefore, virtual onboarding should be spread over several days to give the head and mind time to process. How about an onboarding week?

2. Communication is everything
   

In virtual onboarding, every spoken word counts, because after all, other interaction possibilities are missing. Therefore, plan several short sessions in which new employees can meet new colleagues in a smaller circle, be introduced to software, or provide feedback on the onboarding phase so far. Through tools like the onboarding app, you can also offer new employees the opportunity to speak up if there are questions or difficulties. This allows you to remain flexible and provide space for communication outside the onboarding curriculum.

3. Technology is key
   

Clearly: A virtual, digital onboarding requires the technical equipment. However, it would be a shame if new employees spent their first days on the job ordering the necessary technology and wasting a lot of time getting it set up. Therefore, the connection should be ready from Day 1. The equipment can be sent to employees with the welcome package. Through an onboarding app, employers can provide short tutorials on getting to know programs. And one of the first appointments on the first day of work should be set aside for the final software setup with the help of the IT staff member.

4. Make company culture come alive

One of the biggest disadvantages of remote work is the lack of contact with employees. The short conversation during lunch, the intensive exchange before a joint meeting, or simply knocking because "you were just in the area." Those who are also new to the company have almost no opportunities to meet colleagues spontaneously and thus get to know the company culture. And that is exactly what forms the framework for a pleasant – or less pleasant – togetherness.

In order to retain employees in the company long-term, such touchpoints must also be created in virtual collaboration. These could be joint lunch appointments or the weekly jour fixe breakfast, to which new colleagues can join completely informally. Another possibility is informal exchange via the company app chat or quiz duels, in which colleagues compete against each other – shared victories weld people together, but so do defeats.

5. Make onboarding interactive
   

Tutorials, FAQs, online meetings, or information sheets: There are many ways to convey knowledge to new employees. A pro tip: The mix makes it. Anyone who receives a stack of papers to read thoroughly will quickly switch off. Conversely, anyone who is supposed to click blindly through a dozen videos to learn more about the organizational culture will also quickly get tired.

Therefore, make virtual onboarding as varied and interactive as possible. In addition to short introduction appointments via Zoom, videos can be used to convey how-to guides. Via quizzes on the onboarding app, important knowledge about the company's products and services can be queried in a playful way. And in a media library, all important documents and files can be managed centrally.

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6. Assign a buddy to new employees
   

In order to make virtual onboarding personal as well, you can assign an experienced employee to the new colleague. This buddy partnership allows new employees to integrate faster into an existing network and settle in. The assigned mentor can introduce the new colleague to other participants in online meetings, quickly name important contact persons, and give tips. For short follow-up questions or problems with understanding, there is often hesitation to approach the direct supervisor – with a buddy, this threshold disappears.

7. Practice a positive feedback culture
   

A sincere onboarding process is an attempt to make the entry into a new work environment as pleasant and efficient as possible for new employees. Therefore, it also always needs a feedback culture that is part of onboarding. Anyone who gives new employees everything they need for the start but does not ask: How are you doing with this? Do you have everything you need? Is something missing? – is not serious about it. An open feedback round can be the conclusion of the onboarding week, but via a tool like the onboarding app, there should always be the possibility to report in.

Would you like to receive more impulses for a holistic onboarding of new employees? Then get to know our onboarding app here.

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