Onboarding needs a virtual revamp. Here’s how to do it

As new hires flood the workforce, hybrid and remote work arrangements are leaving many of them in the dark about exactly what kind of company they’re joining.

Translating workplace culture to a virtual space has been a challenge for employers throughout the pandemic’s shift to online work. And while organizations are eager to bring on new hires and plan for the future, without a strong communication and onboarding strategy, employees new and old are less willing to stick it out and are heading for the door.

“Employees just feel totally disengaged,” says Nettie Nitzberg, a managing partner at talent and workplace consultancy Saterman Connect. “We have one particular client that’s lost a lot of people that had been there less than a year because they didn't feel connected. They didn't feel like the employer was doing anything to reach out and make them feel a part of the organization.”

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More than 80% of employers planned to make new hires in 2021, and that trend will continue into 2022 as employees rethink their priorities and look for better opportunities. Forty percent of employees plan to quit their jobs this year, according to a survey by Microsoft. Of those who plan to quit or have done so already, 36% said the pandemic allowed them to reevaluate their priorities, and 32% said the culture of their current organization pushed them to resign, data from Korn Ferry found.

But once they get there, these new employees feel out of place and have limited opportunities to network and communicate with their new colleagues. Add in the fatigue and burnout of the employees who have already been slogging through the past 18 months, and many new employees are left with a sense of foreboding about their future.

“That lack of people connection makes it hard to get that sixth sense of, is this the right place for me?” Nitzberg says. “Trying to meet the team on Zoom, trying to get to know the hiring manager and even understanding what the company culture is are some of the biggest challenges people are having in trying to acclimate and feel like you belong to a team that you've never physically met.”

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In order to combat a disengaged workplace and encourage communication among employees, hiring managers and other people involved in the interview process need to be transparent right off the bat about what their company culture was before COVID, and what it’s like today, Nitzberg says.

Many employers are also making changes to their onboarding process to ensure that new employees have a more thorough introduction to their team. Additional activities like virtual team lunches or happy hours can help new hires get to know each other in a more casual environment.

“Companies are not shoving onboarding into two days, they've now moved it over several weeks so that you're not so overwhelmed with information on day one,” she says. “Employers are looking at ways to get information to employees that are less structured than maybe it would have been if you're in the office.”

Nitzberg recommends partnering new hires with more established colleagues to show them the ropes and give them opportunities to ask questions and acclimate. Her company launched a program called Get Connected, a one-hour online networking event for employees to mingle and get to know each other on a more personal level.

“We’re creating those connections for new hires and with other members of their team and company. They’re meeting people as a friend and they have an opportunity to network,” Nitzberg says. “It’s gone from helping people network that didn't know each other to helping them find this connection and sense of engagement and belonging within an organization.”

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HR managers and new employees need to take a long view when it comes to getting acclimated to this new COVID normal. And when an organization puts in the effort, they also reap the rewards of employees who feel engaged and supported.

“Look at the growth and development of an employee throughout their entire employee life cycle and create an employee experience that starts from the time we talked to them as a prospective employee to the day they leave,” Nitzberg says. “Perhaps the company isn’t a good fit, but if an employee does leave, they can say your company really cared about them.”