Speaker 1: In recent years, virtual onboarding programs have become an increasingly popular solution for organizations looking to efficiently integrate new employees into their workforce. The COVID-19 pandemic has further accelerated this trend, with many companies shifting to remote work arrangements and, consequently, virtual onboarding programs. But while there are some similarities between virtual and traditional onboarding, there are some unique challenges and opportunities that come with the virtual format. Hello and welcome to the L&D Academy's channel. My name is Irina and I'm a passionate L&D consultant transforming the way people do learning and development. In this video, we'll explore five tips for creating an effective virtual employee onboarding program. So let's dive in. Tip number one. Set clear expectations. The first step in creating an effective virtual onboarding program is to set clear expectations for the new employees. It's important to make sure the new hire knows what they'll be doing, who they'll be working with, and what their goals and objectives are. This should help them feel more comfortable and confident as they start their new role. One way to do this is to provide them with a detailed onboarding plan that outlines their tasks and responsibilities, at the very least for the first few weeks or months of their onboarding. This plan should include specific goals, deadlines, and any training and development opportunities that they will have at their fingertips. So let's look at an example. Say Taylor just joined your learning and development team. This is their first L&D job. Here's a very simple virtual onboarding plan to help them start strong. In week one, Taylor will meet the L&D team through video calls and learn about the company values. You'll also take them on a virtual office tour. In week two, Taylor will start with some easy tasks like researching L&D trends. They'll get a virtual mentor from the team to guide them, and they'll chat daily via Slack. In week three, Taylor will assist in creating online training materials. They'll join a webinar to improve their presentation skills. In week four, Taylor will help organize a virtual training session. They'll have a video call with their manager to set some goals for the next month as well. It's also important to establish open and two-way communication channels from the beginning. This includes setting up regular check-ins with a new employee and providing them with contact information for their manager, HR representative, and really any other relevant stakeholder. This will help them feel supported and connected to the organization, even when working remotely. In a virtual onboarding program, it's inevitable to use technology to create engaging and interactive content. This can include video tutorials, virtual tours of the workplace, interactive quizzes, and other multimedia content. This will help the new employee feel more engaged and interested in the onboarding process. One very effective way to create engaging content is to utilize a learning management system, also known as LMS. An LMS can help you organize and deliver onboarding content in a more structured and organized way. It can also track the progress of the new employee and provide them with timely feedback and support. Another way to use technology is to incorporate social learning into the onboarding program. This can include virtual discussions, peer-to-peer learning, and collaborative projects. This will help the new employee feel more connected to their colleagues and the organization as a whole. Try leveraging your internal social media channels, like Yammer or Slack, as well as the intranet. Tip 3. Provide opportunities for feedback and support. When an onboarding program is virtual, it becomes that much more important to provide opportunities for personalized feedback and support. If possible, try to integrate mandatory regular check-ins for the whole duration of the program. This includes weekly, or daily if required, one-on-one meetings with the line manager. Consider introducing a buddy system where the new joiner is paired with a more experienced member of the team and this person acts as the new hire's buddy to help them integrate more quickly. Encourage new employees to ask questions and provide feedback on the onboarding process. This can really help identify areas for improvement and ensure that the new employee feels supported and engaged throughout the onboarding process. You can do this by including an online survey at the end of the onboarding program or meeting with the new joiner for an interview. Tip 4. Incorporate company culture and values. Incorporating company culture and values is an important building block of any effective onboarding. It's when things go virtual that this becomes a real challenge, but just because it's hard doesn't mean it's impossible. One effective way to incorporate company culture and values is to make it an integral part of the onboarding content. This can include videos or written materials that explain the organization's history, values, and mission, as well as any virtual events or activities that help the new employee feel more connected to the organization. It takes more than reading a brochure or watching a video to fully understand and embrace a company's culture, though. This is where the line manager's role becomes extremely important. They need to make sure they introduce real-life examples of what it means to embody each of the company's values. Work with your managers to make sure they set aside some time and opportunities to talk to their teams about the company culture and values. Tip 5. Continuously evaluate and improve. If you've spent any amount of time on our channel or website, you'll know that sooner or later one of our tips will be about continuous evaluation and improvement, and virtual onboarding is no exception. This can include soliciting feedback from new employees and their line managers, tracking their progress and success in their role, and identifying areas for improvement. One effective way to do this is to establish metrics for success, such as retention rates, employee engagement scores, or time to productivity. This can help you identify areas where the onboarding program is succeeding and where it may need improvement. We have a super cool blog post on the 5 metrics you need to track for an effective employee onboarding, and the link, as always, is in the description down below. Regularly reviewing and updating the program can also help you ensure that it remains effective and relevant, especially as the organization evolves over time. This can really help the organization stay competitive in terms of attracting and retaining top talent. And that's it. In summary, creating an effective virtual onboarding program is essential for organizations looking to efficiently integrate new employees into their workforce, especially in a remote work environment. By setting clear expectations, leveraging technology, providing opportunities for feedback and support, incorporating company culture and values, and continuously evaluating and improving the onboarding program, organizations can really create a successful virtual onboarding program that helps new employees feel connected, supported, and engaged from the start. Now, before we wrap things up, I'm curious, how do you ensure your virtual onboarding is successful? Let me know your tips and tricks in the comments down below. If you enjoyed this video and would like to see our channel grow in the future, please consider liking and subscribing to the L&D Academy, and let us know what other L&D topics would you like to learn more about. Thanks for watching till the end, good luck, and I'll see you in the next one. .