Here’s how to set up your new hires for success at a distance
As any HR manager knows, the onboarding experience is critical to a new hire’s success in your organization. It’s not only their first impression of you, but also yours of them. You want everything to go smoothly on Day 1 so new hires can start adding value right away.
At Halo, we’ve helped place hundreds of global employees in US-based companies. Our retention rate for employees is 96.6%, and a big part of this success is thanks to how we onboard. We’re stewards during the placement process and regularly receive and provide feedback to the hiring managers.
There are unique things to consider when onboarding new employees overseas. Here’s how you can prepare for your overseas new hires and best practices to give them a strong start to their new role.
Why Is Overseas Employee Onboarding Different?
When you hire on-site employees, you have the benefit of face-to-face communication. You’re there to guide them, get a read for how they’re feeling, and collaborate in real time.
With overseas workers, the game changes:
- This employee is 100% remote.
- They typically speak English as a second language.
- They work in a different time zone.
- You are not there to guide them.
Throughout the process, your job isn’t just to handle paperwork and make introductions. You also need to make your new hire feel like part of the team, even though they’ll likely never set foot inside your office. They need to feel as familiar with your company as your on-site team does, and just like your on-site employees, they’ll need to have everything required to do their best work.
Tips for Successfully Onboarding Overseas Employees
Onboarding should be an exciting time for you and your new employee. It marks the start of a new relationship that will (hopefully) prove mutually beneficial. Use these best practices to set up an effective onboarding process that will build momentum and ensure a smooth transition.
Create a strong foundation
Onboarding takes forethought and preparation. Send your new hires their training agenda in advance along with calendar invites, important access information, and other setup details so they can hit the ground running.
Gather essential information about your new hire
When hiring overseas workers, location isn’t the only difference you’ll have to navigate. Your new hires may have unique cultural differences too, including special holidays or other customs. They might only have a basic understanding of the English language as it relates to their job, or might not be in tune with American culture.
While you’ve probably learned a great deal about your new hire during the vetting and interviewing steps, it’s a good idea to dig deeper before onboarding day.
Schedule an information sharing session as part of their onboarding. Use this time to ask about language capabilities, the ways they prefer to work, or experiences with tools and software.
Also, take some time to get to know their background, where they work from, and who they are. This is essential to help integrate them into your team.
Help them set up their digital work environment
Your new hire will need their work setup to go through onboarding, so make sure they have everything they need. If you’re providing equipment, make sure you don’t schedule onboarding until they have received and unboxed it. If they’re providing their own equipment, give them enough time to secure what they need before moving forward.
You should also put together a document with all of their access links and credentials to your company systems. Include the names of who they report to and their preferred communication channels, along with other key people they may need to contact (e.g., IT in the event of an equipment or access issue).
If possible, invite key people to the onboarding for a quick ice-breaker session. This lets your new hire get to know others in the company and feel more included in the team.
Technology
Remote work is 100% dependent on the technology you use. This allows you to communicate remotely, receive deliverables, facilitate payments, and protect your company’s data. Give special attention to the following areas:
- Software Systems. At a minimum, you’ll need office productivity tools (like Google Workspace or Microsoft Office 365), planning and project management tools (such as Asana, Trello, or Jira), and CRM systems (like Salesforce, HubSpot, or Zoho).
- Cloud-Based Platforms. Remote work requires tools for file sharing and collaboration, like Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive.
- Cybersecurity. With all communications, files, and data being sent and received electronically, you must understand and defend against potential cybersecurity risks. Implement tools like VPNs and two-factor authentication to safeguard your data. Conduct regular security audits to see who’s accessing your data and identify potential threats.
Provide job function training
Your new hire already has skills you can use, but they still may need job-specific training to use those skills to your satisfaction. Go over the tools they will use, their responsibilities, and how they will be assigned and deliver work. They also need to know how to get help and their contacts for when issues arise.
It’s best to clearly document their responsibilities. Putting everything on paper gives you and your new hire accountability and ensures nothing goes unnoticed.
Follow a regimented schedule
Onboarding includes paperwork, policies, orientation, training, and more. With so much happening at the start, it’s easy for things to fall through the cracks, and your new hire will be none the wiser.
Have at least the first week of activities, training, and task work mapped out. This will give them an idea of how their first days on the job will go and what to expect.
Create milestones and checkpoints
Track your new hire’s progress by using clear benchmarks for the first 7, 30, 60, and 90 days. Establish what they should be doing during these times and how far along they should be at each of those milestones. This will help them hold themselves accountable and set realistic goals.
Get Help With Overseas Onboarding
More than anything, onboarding is about making a positive first impression. When you look organized, thorough, and planned, your new hire is more likely to feel excited about their role and integrate into your team seamlessly.
Following the above tips will help. You should also add other company-specific information to highlight aspects of your business and help your hires get to know your company. If your new hire feels energized and hopeful at the end of onboarding, you’ll know they’re in it with both feet.
