There is no doubt that hiring remote tech employees provides a wealth of benefits for U.S.-based tech companies. Finding and hiring remote employees provides an impressive list of advantages that include more diverse talent, a deeper talent pool, and lower employment costs that impact the bottom line for growing tech companies.
Finding, recruiting, and hiring talented remote developers is only a piece of the puzzle for tech companies. Tech companies need to create and employ an onboarding process that ensures new employees are ready to hit the ground running when they join your team. This is where Truss can help with our global hiring platform.
Truss provides tech companies with a global hiring platform that will help you find the right remote talent for your team from start to finish — including onboarding. We can help you with onboarding remote software developers with a checklist for success that will improve your ability to accomplish goals and meet deadlines for your projects.
Contact Truss today to learn more about how we can help you onboard your remote employees from Central Asia and other parts of the world!
READ MORE: Guide to English Proficiency in Central Asia Tech Talent
Best Practices for Onboarding Remote Employees
When you onboard new employees — especially remote employees with limited physical access to you and the rest of your team — it is important that you follow the right steps and implement a structured onboarding process. Within that process you need to have a to-do list that spans the length of the onboarding process, from Day 1 to Week 1 and is completed when remote employees become integrated members of your team.
Here is a short checklist of things to do for your onboarding process from start to finish:
1. Send a Welcome Package
Send a Welcome Package to remote employees that includes access to the employee handbook, a welcome to the company, and any company gifts or swag. This package sets the foundation for your relationship with remote employees and makes them feel like a welcome member of the team. Welcome packages can be sent prior to the employee’s start date.
2. Supply Employees with the Right Equipment and Login Information
Do you want your new employees to hit the ground running when they start? Provide the necessary equipment and hardware in addition to critical login information for company emails and other accounts prior to their start. Hardware may include a computer, a keyboard, cables, a laptop stand, necessary adapters, a second monitor, and more. It is also critical to make sure employees have the access they need to company communication tools in an onboarding package.
Create a list of onboarding materials that are provided to every employee on their first day that can include access to important company information, login information to a company email, access to a Slack channel or other communication platforms, a chart of company workflows, and valuable tips for working with the company.
3. Make Introductions to the Rest of Your Team
When you onboard remote employees, it is important to make them feel like a part of the team, rather than an outsider. This part of the process can be intimidating for remote employees who live half a world away. Provide remote introductions to the team that can include assigning new employees with a trainer or mentor and scheduling manager meetings that will help them put names to faces.
4. Provide Remote Employees with an HR Orientation
Remote employees need to have an understanding of how your company operates that includes a payroll schedule, a list of company holidays, a list of employee benefits, and how to request vacation time. It is important to provide remote employees with an orientation presentation focused on the Human Resources side of the company that introduces them to the company as a whole and outlines key aspects of the company.
5. Set Remote Employee Expectations
It is important that when a new employee joins your team, they have a clear understanding of what is expected of them, both when they first start with a company and in the future when they are an established member of the team. Set clear and concise expectations for remote employees that include a list of their day-to-day responsibilities, communication protocols, and employee performance expectations. This list of expectations should include simple daily tasks that help get remote employees up to speed on current projects before they get involved in the project itself.
6. Create a Schedule for Employee Check-Ins and Evaluations
When you onboard remote employees, it is important to establish a schedule of check-ins and evaluations that allow you to see how well remote employees understand their roles and how well they are acclimating to your company. This can be accomplished by creating a schedule for daily or weekly check-ins with remote employees that allows them to ask questions and get answers while mentors have the opportunity to further evaluate performance and provide additional feedback.
In addition to these short-term check-ins, it is important to set meetings for employee milestones and future performance evaluations. Typical timelines for these check-ins and milestones include — Day 1, Week 1, Month 1, Month 2, Month 3, and Year 1. Encourage regular feedback from new employees with these one-on-one meetings and milestone reviews that ask specific questions about the onboarding process, helping you improve.
7. Promote Engagement for Remote Employees
As we mentioned above, it is important to make remote employees feel like a part of the team and not an outsider. This includes providing your team with activities and goals that promote engagement. You can provide role-specific training for remote employees that will help them better accomplish daily tasks and create another avenue for engagement. You can also set up quick team-building activities that can help increase team camaraderie and engagement while helping remote employees integrate with your workforce.
READ MORE: Strategies to Build a Successful Remote Work Culture
Onboard Remote Employees with Truss
Hiring remote employees and onboarding remote developers for your U.S.-based tech company can be complicated — but it is simpler with the help of Truss and our onboarding checklist for success.
Truss has years of experience finding, recruiting, hiring, onboarding, and managing remote employees in Central Asia and other emerging markets around the world. We will put that knowledge and experience to work for you by implementing an onboarding process that helps ensure new employees hit the ground running. We will ensure remote employees receive the information and hardware they need and are set up for success. We will handle global payroll, paid time off, and more, allowing you to focus on your company goals.
Contact Team Truss today for more information on how we can help make onboarding easier for your remote team members!
