V. Nancy’s early weeks in the corporate world are best described as close to disastrous. Onboarded online, her work-from-home colleagues often greeted her overtures of friendship with frosty silence. Worse still, the lack of in-person contact led her to see offence where none was intended.
“I was badgering a colleague with too many questions about my project through Slack (a communication platform) and as he tried explaining things to me over the phone, but I thought his tone was harsh. Lack of face-to-face contact did make some early interactions with colleagues feel more transactional,” says Ms. Nancy, who was hired three months ago by a multinational company in Bengaluru.
Ms. Nancy found out the hard way that online conference tools can be an ally in team bonding only when teams have bonded organically around the water cooler.
In the current scenario, it takes extra effort from the new hire to make that connection.
As Ms. Nancy says: “Apart from posting a common ‘Good morning team’ through Slack when I log in, for the first 10 days I would personally ping each team member as I knew I had to take the extra effort to network with them.”
Buddy partner
Realising the challenges in online onboarding, proactive organisations assign a buddy to help the new hire. They also keep the feedback loop open.
Vikas Arora (name changed), a campus hire after his internship with an investment bank, was assigned a buddy partner from the team but the latter was hard pressed for time. “Friday was when he would entertain questions from me. Thankfully, I had figured out many things during my internship in the same firm or navigating the early months would have been tough,” reveals Mr. Arora.
For Anu M., who joined a German multinational last year, the first few months were beset with anxiety despite the fact that she came with 10 years of experience. There was no clarity on her role and she did not know how to use the communication tools effectively.
It was only after some team members reassured her that “no question is silly and you can ask any number of questions” that Ms. Anu stopped being diffident about seeking clarifications. “Only after I got done with my first project release did I get the confidence,” reveals Ms. Anu.
Welcome kits and feedback
Even before Ms. Anu could formally join work, a welcome kit that included a letter, diary, pen, and candles was delivered home. Once she joined, a team member was assigned as buddy.
To improve the onboarding process, the HR sought feedback 15 days after she had joined and repeated the exercise two months later. “Questions ranged from ‘did the manager talk to you on the first day?’ and ‘did you feel welcomed by the team in the first week?’ to ‘did you get the right support?’” says Ms. Anu.
Ms. Nancy’s feedback form asked her to rate her manager and team and write an incident that made her feel good.
Mr. Arora says he was impressed with the “catch-up” calls that enable new employees to talk to the leadership team one-on-one.
“I valued those informal calls more than those technical calls and I would never miss the weekly virtual coffee breaks where we meet new colleagues,” says Ms. Anu.
Training managers
Satya Sharma, co-founder and CHRO, TO THE NEW, a digital technology company, says integrating new hires into the organisation’s culture is a challenge. “While we have certain processes and practices in place, we have to up the ante. Organisations will have a strategic advantage if they understand the dynamics of engaging people working from home,” he says, adding that his organisation has declared a permanent work from anywhere for all employees.
Engagement initiatives should help reinforce company culture — as the workforce is parked online, there should be more of these initiatives. Mr. Sharma cites the example of the virtual town hall conducted every quarter.
He adds, “I will not say we have cracked it completely but we are consciously working towards it. For instance, we train our line managers on how to develop a rapport with not just a joinee but also older employees.”