SaaS Management

  • 4 min read

Remote Onboarding Checklist for IT Teams

Sethu Meenakshisundaram

25th November, 2021

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With work-from-home becoming the new normal, remote onboarding for new employees is the need of the hour. One of the most complicated tasks at this stage is giving new employees access to all the necessary software and web-based applications required. 

The concept of remote onboarding is not new but has become popular recently. The process involves carrying out the traditional 'in-person onboarding' process online. For IT teams, remote onboarding involves providing employees access to the tools, required training, and support to do their job.

A basic necessity in every remote onboarding is to provide employees with communication and collaboration tools, such as Slack, Microsoft Teams, etc. 

The overall process delivers a high-quality experience and makes it easier for the new hires to reach out to the IT team in case of any difficulty. Remote onboarding also boosts engagement ensuring employee encouragement, better productivity, and longer stay in the company. 

According to a research report by Glassdoor, organizations with a strong onboarding process improve new hire retention by 82% and productivity by 71%.

Onboarding Checklist in the Work-from-Home Era

When it comes to traditional (in-person) onboarding, IT teams used to hand over a standard onboarding package to the new hires. This package used to include a checklist of instructions to set up the digital space according to the company policy.

However, IT teams need to go beyond this one-sit-fits-all approach in a remote setting. Here, being prepared with a list of activities to start the virtual interaction with the new hires is not only a time-saver but can save you from security and compliance issues down the road. 

1. Furnish the Necessary Equipment for Work Space Setup

First things first! To begin with, help the new hires create the proper digital setup; help them set up the hardware and necessary equipment. Also, provide them with the required support from the company. 

Being the representative of the employer, you must take the responsibility to deliver the required tools and equipment to your new employees. Delivering laptops or desktops when needed, providing system configuration, and any other specific tools needed for hassle-free communication are some of the parts. 

You can begin by gathering information on managing and debugging equipment issues before kickstarting your virtual onboarding process. Ensuring you are up-to-date with all the problems that a candidate might be facing will help you understand the extent of support they will need. Accordingly, you can make the arrangements. 

 2. Provide Access to Necessary Software Applications

You need to provide applications licenses and guide the new employees towards logging into all web-based applications.

Now, this can be tricky and time-consuming. An organization might use hundreds of applications at a time. Giving access to each of them separately and logging into all of them one by one can be counter-productive for both the employer and the employee.

This is where Zluri comes in. Zluri offers the best features to help IT teams do their part of the onboarding process and collaborate with the HR department.  

Zluri automates the onboarding task saving you precious time and money. Unlike generic templates that are difficult to use, Zluri does all the heavy lifting to give you a purpose-built workflow for onboarding—so that you get an easy-to-use, intuitive UI.

With Zluri, you can onboard new employees hassle-free on day 1. When new joiners need to wait for weeks to get access to the tools they need to do their job, it causes frustration and affects productivity. Instead, give them everything they need on day one.

The following features separate Zluri from other solutions in the market:

• Contextual Apps Recommendations: Zluri gives apps suggestions based on the joining employee's department and role. Since we have the app usage data, we know what apps your new joiners will require.

• Intelligent in-app Suggestions: Zluri goes beyond app-level suggestions. Since we have direct integration with apps, Zluri gives you in-app suggestions on which workspace, channels, groups, or projects you should add them to. It also allows you to control which level of permissions you want the user to have: admin, user, analysts, etc.

3. Let Your New Hires Know the Point of Contacts

Communication plays a prime role in the onboarding process, especially when the new hires are scattered throughout different global locations.

Remote work demands seamless interaction. Hence, make sure that your new hires know the point of contact in case of any technical problems or IT-related difficulties. They must be aware of all the communication channels to reach out when in need. 

Add the new employees to your company’s real-time messaging channel. Email them all the current happenings and updates. Ensure that you add the new hires on messaging groups and platforms like slack, email meetings, calendar invites, etc. This way, you can maintain the flow of communication from all aspects. 

4. Arrange for a Virtual Orientation and Technical Training Sessions

As the IT Team, your responsibility is to help the new hires with the virtual onboarding preparation. Make sure you make the new employees comfortable with using new and exclusive technology implemented by the organization. 

In the virtual onboarding process, remote learning is one of the most challenging aspects. So, help your new hires to learn, develop, and master technical skills. Provide basic training to the new employees regarding signing in to or using a specific platform or application when needed. Video presentations or webinars to explain the configuration process will further help. 

5. Schedule Frequent One-on-One Meetings

Your new hires must be comfortable working with you and adapt to the company work culture—and this is as much the IT team’s responsibility as the Human Resource. Frequent meetings with the IT team can be scheduled as a part of the onboarding process. You can arrange one-on-one meetings for the new hires with a member of the IT team, or sometimes, the IT head. This will help clear out any confusion or difficulty regarding the technology usage further. 

Lastly, these meetings can work great to provide employee feedback. Through these one-to-one interactions, you can quickly communicate how well the employee performed and what they need to improve. 

Ready to Kick-start the Remote Onboarding Process?

The success of a remote onboarding process depends on planning and the attitude of both parties. While the new employees should be eager to learn, adapt, and follow the instructions given by the IT team, as the representative of the organization, you should also play your part flawlessly.

Not all employees are equally competent or comfortable using all the technological features. It might take time for them to adjust, learn, or up-skill themselves. Like a good trainer, you should keep this in mind, and provide as much help as possible to make them comfortable, learn faster, and ultimately, help your organization soar through.

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About the author

Sethu Meenakshisundaram

Sethu is the Co-founder of Zluri. He believes SaaS and APIs will help everyone become a builder. He frequently writes on SaaS management and workplace automation. Before Zluri, he was part of the founding team at KNOLSKAPE, one of the leading corporate learning gamification startups that he helped scale across 30 countries. Other than technology, Sethu is passionate about quizzing, board games, and photography. His retirement plan is to operate a board game bistro in one of the touristy spots of Southeast Asia.