Three Tenets For Successful Post-Pandemic Onboarding
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Onboarding

  • Matt Hendershott
  • Culture, For Employers, Leadership
  • December 1, 2021

Three Tenets For Successful Post-Pandemic Onboarding

A strong onboarding process is crucial to getting your new hires up to speed and acclimated with the company, but the process is much more than that. A good onboarding sets your new employees up for success by showing them the resources available to them and the support network they will have, and it gives them valuable insight into your company culture.

Experts like management consulting firm Sia Partners point to a well-done onboarding process as a significant factor in a new employee’s success.

“Onboarding is normally seen as a “check the box” activity, but it’s the most important thing a company can do, especially when you’re onboarding in today’s remote environment.” -Sia Partners

Of course, onboarding becomes a more difficult hurdle to overcome in this post-pandemic world. The pandemic changed the hiring world in two principal ways: a shift towards emerging technology and a surplus of workers looking for employment in an uncertain world.

Per the Society for Human Resource Management (as reported at USA Today), unemployment jumped from 3.5% to 14.8% in the first three months of the pandemic. With the concept of ‘normalcy’ changing on a daily basis, organizations had to adapt and embrace new technology. Even workers that didn’t lose their jobs were looking for new work at ever-increasing rates.

As the country begins to heal, it’s clear that remote and hybrid work models are here to stay. This prevents a new obstacle for employers, who may only see their new employees on a screen. While this makes onboarding difficult, a well-prepared organization can still set its new hires up for success and welcome them into the company culture. We provide three major tenets to be aware of in this new age of onboarding, with help from the experts.

Embrace technology

It may seem obvious, but technology is the heart of remote work and the reason all of this is possible. How many people were overly familiar with Zoom prior to the pandemic? Now, it’s become a part of day-to-day life so familiar to use that even our children are savvy users. That means it’s crucial to stay up to date on current and emerging technological trends as they arise.

The Business Journal’s Niki Jorgensen suggests that everyone in the organization use the same platforms and be familiar with them. “For remote onboarding meetings and introductions, managers should design the process to use the same video conferencing platform used by the entire organization. Instant messaging platforms can help new hires build relationships with colleagues by encouraging the casual interactions typically reserved for the office. If employees are to use these tools in their daily duties, managers should ensure recruits have a solid understanding of how and when to use them.”

With everyone on the same page, and not just the hiring managers, it fosters a sense of community and continuity within your organization. This way, a new hire can ask anyone in their department for assistance.

The Alternative Board believes the missing ‘water cooler’ element can be recreated on Zoom by having a virtual “welcome party” for new employees. This allows them to see their new coworkers as people and provides opportunities to make workplace friends.

Prioritize culture

Using technology like this to create a human touch is one way to get your new hire to see your culture at work. If your employee is just completing their work behind a screen with no investment or correction to your organization, you’re doing both parties a disservice.

The University of Pittsburgh offers some suggestions. By providing a company handbook (and maybe some fun facts), your employees will get a chance to really know who you are. Beyond that, taking extra time to go over job responsibilities and expectations in a one-on-one setting provide a sense of clarity. By being specific with expectations and taking extra time to answer questions and be available, the new hire will feel valued.

Jorgensen adds that a company can provide activities that highlight cultural pillars and promote the corporate community.

“If collaboration is a pillar of the workplace, management should schedule time for hires to meet with new colleagues, either one-on-one or in a group setting.” – Niki Jorgensen

Ultimately, community, clarity, and plenty of time are the keys to emphasizing your culture.

Communication is key

The common theme in both of the above tenets is apparent. At its core, communication is the key to a good onboarding process, and without daily in-person interactions, it becomes even more essential. As employers, you should make sure extra time is allotted to check in with your new hires. The Alternative Board states that learning by osmosis and walking around the office aren’t viable learning options in a digital setting, so employers need to have regular meetings and open a back-and-forth dialogue.

Elearning Industry’s Eleni Zoe Papaioannou offers six challenges of onboarding remote employees, and most of them, including challenges such as feelings of isolation, personalizing the experience, and avoiding miscommunication, can be solved with constant and clear communication.

Talent Culture’s Jo Meunier believes an emphasis on soft skills is vital to interacting with younger workers, and skills like creativity, complex problem solving, and critical thinking can be fostered by a stable culture with good communication. Not only is excellent communication necessary for onboarding but for the employee growth afterward as well.

Wrap up

Onboarding in the digital age is an evolving and complex concept, and academic studies on the topic are increasingly popular. What’s clear is that the workplace changes brought about by the pandemic are here to stay. Employers need to adapt to this new world so that they can recruit and maintain the top-tier talents they deserve.

The Society for Human Resource Management offers a helpful how-to guide on setting up a virtual onboarding process linked here.

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  • Jake Pshock
  • Career Advice, Confidence, Data & Trends, Employee Performance, Negotiation
  • March 5, 2021

Five Steps To Winning Your Salary Negotiation

When you receive the elusive job offer and your onboarding process is set to begin, it can be an exciting time. While you are eager to start, there is still one crucial step remaining: negotiation. At this point, your soon-to-be employer has revealed their hand in believing you are the most qualified and integrable candidate. By trusting in your capabilities and taking these five steps in preparation, you can feel confident landing the salary you want while maintaining your professionalism.

Know Your Worth

Showcase the numbers to prove your value. Don’t counter your first salary offer simply because you planned to counter. Your employer will only take your counter legitimately if you have the research and work expertise to support it. Through resources such as GlassDoor, LinkedIn, or Indeed, you can find averages specific to your industry, location, and position. Use these statistics as leverage to get the figure you want. When you’ve completed extensive research into your market value, you make it difficult for your employer to refute your arguments. 

If possible, reveal your specific salary range first. While some studies show value in offering a precise number because it gives the impression that you’ve completed extensive research in the market, many will contest this theory. Offering a specific range will showcase your research while leaving more room for compromise and negotiation than the outdated approach of locking in one number.

“My salary situation wasn’t right. I made five attempts to fix it, then realized I’d made the same mistake every time: I apologized for asking.” – Mika Brzezinski

Know Your Interviewer

When you are completing contract negotiations with an HR representative, your manager, or the company CEO, it is essential to do your research into the individual. Learn about their work history and how their career path led them to be in front of you. Remember, your potential new employer is not out to get you. If you’ve made it this far, it means they like you. Use preliminary conversations to engage in their interests and ask for stories about their success. In addition to furthering your understanding, you will establish trust along the way.

Remember Your Employer Is Prepared To Negotiate

Similar to how you arrive with a minimum salary expectation, your interviewer likely has a maximum offer prepared. Don’t be afraid to ask for more than the original number given, and be sure to practice having this conversation. Reach out to a mentor or friend you trust who can provide feedback and provide a feel for addressing unexpected questions. Before you even have the opportunity to negotiate a new job offer, write down explicit examples of how your skill-set and background will support your and the company’s success. Are there any relevant certifications or licenses you’ve acquired that are worth emphasizing? Be sure to include them.

Familiarize yourself with the trends. A recent Robert Half study revealed that across all industries, 28% of managers admit to increasing the figure for starting salaries since the pandemic began last March. While you can anticipate some pushback on your demands, your employer is likely anticipating pushback as well. Just remember not to drag out your negotiation if you are not receiving the words you want. If they genuinely cannot match your number, there are other alternatives you can pursue, as I will reveal at a later point.

Don’t Fear The ‘No’

Your employer already offered you the job and now expects you to negotiate, so there is nothing to fear. If you know what you are worth, don’t settle in aligning your demands with the work performance you put out. Within your negotiation, there may be a series of counters until the ultimate final number is reached. At worst, you may hear something along the lines of “I’m sorry, but this is our best and final offer.”

If you do hear a ‘no,’ it is essential to remember it is not a product of inferior job performance. No matter what the outcome may be, you must carry yourself confidently while continuing to show gratitude for the opportunity. Being arrogant or haughty in your demands can generate a sour note for your conversation and future relationship.

Going Beyond The Numbers

In some cases, you may reach a stopping point in how high your employer can offer, but there are enticing alternatives to consider. Increasing your health benefits, 401k offerings, PTO days, equity in the company, or flexible work hours are common examples across negotiation. If money is too critical of a factor, consider requesting your annual performance review and salary restructuring to be made biannual. In leveraging these features, you can find common ground in factors outside of money. If you fall into the favorable circumstance of deliberating multiple job offers, here are 10 steps you can take to manage your decision-making process effectively.

Wrap Up

If you know your value, don’t settle in receiving your demands. When you’ve made it this far, it’s clear the company wants to keep you around. Therefore, offering a few extra thousand dollars or company perks is often nothing to mule over, especially when the alternative is reopening the job search. If you know your priorities, be intentional in disclosing them during negotiation. You may not receive all of your demands, but having them laid out allows your employer to come to terms with your top two or three. In any case, staying honest in conversation is imperative for starting your relationship right while maintaining your integrity.

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  • Jake Pshock
  • Career Advice, Culture, Data & Trends, For Employers, Remote Work
  • October 28, 2020

Using Technology To Keep Your Remote Teams Engaged

With the increase in employees operating remotely across the country, there is a substantial need for new technologies and innovations to upkeep productivity. The rise of Zoom was just one example of a platform that presented a quick solution to many organizations’ biggest fears.

Thanks to these technologies, companies are beginning to open new positions that start on a remote basis (some even permanently). Just this past week, I spoke with a prospective client who was forced to transition all their Sales Representative positions from the traditional ‘in-person’ model to a phone and web-based model. Despite this unfortunate circumstance, there is still an opportunity for his company and sales team to expand courtesy of decreased travel expenses and increased time at hand. 

Are you struggling to maintain team chemistry and attract top candidates to your job listings? Our friends at Nexxt recently dived into a few of the top tech-based tools leading the way. We review contributor Julie Shenkman’s top examples below:

Talent Recruitment

Are you extending your best effort when it comes to collecting visibility amidst the remote workforce? In developing an effective talent recruitment strategy, Julie strongly advises using a reliable recruitment marketing resource for your posting and promoting. Top examples include LinkedIn/LinkedIn Recruiter, CareerBuilder, Glassdoor, Hootsuite, Workforce, and more.

According to a recent U.S. technology research survey, the number of employees permanently working from home is set to double globally. Gone are the days of shying away from remote employees due to a fear of a lack of control. Julie believes using an online job site will help the right candidates discover your employer profile. “No matter their location, it lets them learn more about your company and its culture. That being said, it’s important to post as much valuable information about the open positions and your company within the job listing as possible, without it becoming information overloaded. You will want to make sure that the position clearly states it is open to remote employees applying.”

Employee Onboarding

Onboarding a new remote hire can be quite a challenge, but technological advances continue to ease the process. With an increased level of communication and resources, employees can stay much more connected throughout their transitions. Today, there are plenty of proven examples in various industries of how organizations are positively implementing new hires into their environment and culture from home. The Nexxt team details Oracle Human Capital Management as an excellent resource in providing agility, adaptability, and a ‘human touch’ through technology to businesses. The program is designed to make department training, performance management, and payroll more seamless.

Team Engagement

Was your company big on company-wide outings, team lunches, or happy hours to celebrate organizational ‘wins’ or to blow off some steam? It can be easy to feel disconnected when these luxuries fade away, but having a substitute is critical to maintaining team morale and cultivating passion. One solution Julie offers is implementing an online recognition software to strengthen workplace culture and values and enhance engagement. Everyone wants to be recognized, and through your intentionality, you can continue to celebrate strong performances, birthdays, and work anniversaries.

“Working remotely improves the health and wellness of employees by reducing stress—and limiting exposure to potentially sick coworkers.” -WeWork, 2020

Wrap Up

What technologies can best benefit your company and its unique needs? When you keep your remote employees top of mind and implement these strategies, you will better identify a model of success. “With a diverse set of remote employees actively searching for a job or already working from around the country, or even the globe, considering their unique needs is essential to the success of maintaining a well-engaged workforce.”

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