We’ve got AC3ers who work remotely all over the world permanently, yet we still have to do a bit of work to improve our own employee onboarding processes especially at this time when new AC3ers joining will be working remotely. Keep in mind that hiring great talent is only part of the process when building your team. The other half is about ensuring your new team member will stay with your organisation, that is why setting them up for success through remote onboarding is just as important. Here's just a few tips on how we are currently onboarding new employees:

Pre onboarding

We believe that employee engagement starts long before a new starter ‘walks through our door’. So we make sure that the days and weeks leading up to when a new AC3er accepts our offer and when they actually start at AC3, will be a great experience for them and help ensure they thrive in their new role. Here’s what we are currently doing:

  1. We make sure we’ve gathered all the ‘boring but necessary’ information – like bank details, their next of kin, and super/kiwi saver fund details – before they join us. Our HR tech syncs with our payroll system so all the information required are entered once by the new employees, which flows through to where they need to be.
  2. We provision basic IT equipment like laptop, keyboard and mouse ahead of time and are now done remotely, too. We’ve worked out a system to receive new equipment from suppliers directly to the homes of our Digital Workspace team. This way, devices and accessories are imaged and set up for use before our Office Admin team arranges for these equipment to be shipped to the new starter’s home.
  3. We continue to personalise the experience of starting at AC3. - Our P&C team reach out to each new AC3er before they start to guide them through a series of activities that ensure their first day, and the days that follow are a great experience. To add, we send them a little bit of a surprise just before they officially start. These small gestures can make our newcomers feel at ease and give them a sense of belonginess and pride working at AC3.
Day 1

We know we never get a second chance to make a good first impression and this has always been a key focus for us when welcoming new AC3ers. We have added a few extra steps to our induction process to cater for remote working:

  1. On Day 1, our P&C team greet every new AC3er in person. We now do this using video conferencing technology rather than at our physical offices. Sharing a link, which can be accessed from any device with internet connection, ahead of Day 1, ensures that we’re not dependent on timely courier delivery of our equipment.
  2. Normally, our Digital Workspace team would spend time ensuring a new starter’s laptop and system access were set up and working. Since remote working will not allow that now, logging on to our systems and equipment needs to be done via remote access. We’ve added a step where we spend the first few minutes of our “Welcome to AC3” video call to actually getting a new starter set up on their new device and logged into core systems with their user credentials, particularly those we’re relying heavily on when working remotely like email, Slack, Zoom and our intranet, Ask ACE.
  3. Facilitating introductions to the team via a group video call and sending electronic versions of our welcome pack, like our “Welcome” card which the new starter’s manager and team signs to welcome them to AC3; it was a physical card, but it’s now digital.
Post Day 1

We’re also doing a few new things to connect new starters with AC3 when they’re physically distanced, like:

  1. Ensuring 1:1s and team meetings are held weekly or fortnightly and use video, not just audio.
  2. Ensuring that regular catch ups via Zoom and Slack with their ‘buddy’ happen, particularly from a social point of view. Virtual coffee, lunch and drinks have greater importance when we’re all in isolation.
  3. Paying close attention to our probation review meetings at 4 weeks and again at 90 days to ensure that the engagement with AC3 is strong.

The silver lining of the current health crisis is that we’ve made improvements to our onboarding and induction processes at this very difficult time. As we’re all working remotely, it’s given us a better perspective and greater empathy for what the experience of joining AC3 needs to be like when we’re not physically connected. COVID-19 has forced us to think creatively and practically to ensure the employee experience of starting work at AC3 isn’t compromised. The changes we’ve made – and continue to make - will remain with us long after COVID-19 is gone, and we’re better for it.