The hassle of managing a small business doesn’t start and stop with hiring, though. Tap or click for eight tips to manage employees remotely. Running a business during the pandemic is complex, so we went to the experts on all things hiring, our sponsor: LinkedIn. Read on to get all the facts about hiring virtually and leaving your new team member with a great first impression. Are you hiring? For a limited time, visit LinkedIn.com/Kim and get $50 off your first job post.
1. Before they start
The pros at LinkedIn split a successful onboarding into six phases. The first isn’t after your new hire has already come on board, but about two weeks before they start. Here’s what’s you should do before your new employee’s first day:
Build a schedule for the employee’s first day and share it with them.Explain everything your new employee will need to know about your business’s guidelines for virtual meetings, like whether video is required and how many to expect.Be sure your new employee has access to whatever hardware and software are required for their role.
2. First day
Two weeks later, the paperwork is signed and your new employee is ready to go. Here’s what you should do on their actual first day of work:
Don’t overload your new employee! Treat the first day as an overview of what’s to come.Your employee’s first day isn’t a workday. It’s a learning experience.By the end of the first day, your employee should be ready to get to work for the rest of the week.
3. Second day
Here’s what you should do on your new employee’s second day of work:
Let your employee get to know you, or their direct superior, as a manager and boss. Schedule some one-on-one time to get to know each other and outline key expectations.This is also an excellent time to check in and see if the new hire has questions about the onboarding or training processes.
CHECK YOUR TECH: Komando News Director Ben has quite the home office set-up. Here’s his guide to a fully outfitted office space at home. As of December 2019, more than half of Americans were employed by small businesses. There are more technology concerns than ever for small business owners following the pandemic. Tap or click here to see how you can get the expert tech help you need.
4. First week
Two days down. Now what? Here’s how the rest of the first week should play out:
Don’t start a new hire off with an easy or simple assignment.Give your new employee a challenging first assignment that’s a good representation of the average workload. This will help make the first week feel like actual work and not a prolonged introduction.
5. First month
After a week, your new hire will have a good feel for the job. Here’s what you should focus on during the first month:
Once the new hire understands what’s expected and how to achieve it, it’s important to provide regular feedback on their job performance.Make sure to establish concrete performance goals that will be later covered during employee reviews.Consider assigning your new employee a formal mentor, who is usually a more senior member of the team that can help guide and instruct them.
6. Month two and beyond
And what happens after that first month? Onboarding doesn’t have a firm end-point and different people will take different times to acclimate to a new environment. Here are a couple of things to keep in mind:
Experts generally agree getting up to speed at a new company can take anywhere from 6 months to a whole year.Talk to your new employee and get feedback on the onboarding process you can use to further improve it.
Onboarding even in the office can feel stressful, but we hope this quick guide helps you get started. Bringing on a new employee can be time-consuming and expensive, starting with hiring. It doesn’t have to be, though! We’re not talking about free job boards. You’ll just end up with an inbox full of resumes that don’t fit the role you’re hiring for. That’s why at Komando HQ, we use LinkedIn. Right now, visit LinkedIn.com/Kim and get $50 off your first job post.
