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How to Create an Effective Remote Onboarding Process in 2025

Written by Agnee Ghosh
Published at Sep 27, 2023
How to Create an Effective Remote Onboarding Process in 2025

A remote onboarding process is exactly the same as an offline onboarding process.

New hires, training, policies, practices, beliefs, and most importantly, the transitional process of newly hired employees all fall under this umbrella term of onboarding.

In the wake of the pandemic, every industry was compelled to take stock and face reality.

Eventually, people realized they could work remotely, which opened up the avenue for developing remote onboarding processes.

The numbers don’t lie.

But here’s the kicker: Only 12% of employees strongly feel that their company does an excellent job of onboarding new employees, according to a survey by Gallup.

Onboarding becomes even more crucial when it involves remote employees. Let's take a look at what the remote employee onboarding process includes and the best practices for initiating new employees to the workplace remotely.

 

Table of Contents

Quick Read

  • Remote employee onboarding is the practice of welcoming new remote hires by giving them all the tools necessary to succeed in their new role.
  • An effective onboarding process, whether remote or in-person, gives new hires clear guidance into the inner workings of the company and their role and leads to positive employee development.
  • To create an effective remote onboarding process, you need to first create a remote onboarding strategy and set yourself up for success in advance.
  • Aim to instill a sense of belonging in your new employee; prioritize building relationships between HR and the employee and between all employees—new hires and current ones.
  • Browse through all the types of templates in this article and Visme’s template library to create an onboarding content stack that welcomes new employees effectively every time.
  • Visme has a full suite of tools, an extensive library of templates and an intuitive editor that can help your team create effective onboarding content materials.

 

What Is Remote Employee Onboarding?

During the onboarding process, new recruits get to meet their coworkers and the culture of the firm, as well as learn about the policies and practices that govern their workdays. A remote employee's onboarding process is identical to a new employee's onboarding process at the office.

To help new employees get acclimated to their new workplace, an onboarding program is offered. For an employer, this is a fantastic time of year to outline all of the characteristics that will assist new employees to flourish as they learn more about their position in the company.

There are both formal and informal approaches to onboarding.

  • Formal onboarding sometimes involves a series of training sessions, video chats, and activities of this nature.
  • Informal onboarding is more flexible. As part of this process, the new hire's manager can observe and provide intuitive coaching to the new employee while they work under the tutelage of other team members, meet various stakeholders, and understand business norms.

 

Why Is It Important to Have an Onboarding Process for Remote Employees?

Onboarding is the formal process of integrating new employees into a company. This process ranges from filling new positions to succession planning for filling vacated positions.

Onboarding, as opposed to orientation, is a procedure that takes place during the course of a team member's first year on the job.

Investing in new hires' and the company's long-term prosperity is important for the onboarding process. According to Brandon Hall Group research, companies with a good onboarding process increase new hire retention by 82 percent and productivity by more than 70 percent.

As a remote company grows, so does the importance of a well-coordinated onboarding process for new workers, as they will need to learn how to work effectively without face-to-face interaction. Documentation, anticipating new team member's needs, and an ongoing commitment to process improvement in response to feedback are essential components of remote onboarding.

The quality of the onboarding process will also determine the employee’s development at the company. When onboarding is done well, employee development starts off on the right foot and progresses positively.

 

How to Create an Effective Remote Onboarding Process

At this point, you're probably curious about how to onboard remote employees right away. We've put together a list of recommendations and remote onboarding best practices to help you streamline your remote onboarding process.

Create a detailed remote onboarding strategy.

It's ideal to have a plan in place before beginning this procedure with your new hire. It will make the process easier for both you and the new employee you're onboarding.

A solid onboarding plan and checklist should outline how long the process will take and the goals you hope to accomplish during this time. A report from the Human Capital Institute (HCI) claims that onboarding doesn't begin until the first week of a new employee's employment in most companies. According to Gallup, it might take up to a year for an employee to realize their full potential in a new role.

It's essential to concentrate on the four Cs: compliance (basic rules and regulations training), clarity (role-specific responsibilities and expectations), culture (formal and informal organizational norms), and connection (relationships the new hires are expected to build).

Set yourself up for success in advance.

According to HCI, 83% of high-performing companies begin the process of onboarding new employees even before their first day on the job. Waiting until the last minute to do this will just make things more stressful and chaotic.

Make sure you begin talking with your new hire as soon as possible after you've found them. It's incredible how many organizations leave you hanging after you've taken a position, and tension mounts during the time it takes to begin working for the organization—waiting until their first day can be overwhelming.

New employees will feel less anxious if they get started early. They'll be more confident on their first day because they'll be prepared and know who to turn to for answers. As a bonus, you'll be able to maintain their enthusiasm over the contract-signing process.

You'll be able to focus on the nitty-gritty of welcoming your new hire into the family, introducing them to their responsibilities, and providing them with the required training once the paperwork and other technical issues are taken care of.

Instill a sense of belonging in your new employee.

Show how pleased you are to have them on the team by welcoming them to the team! Have them deliver their intro on a video call, Slack channel, or in person. Everyone they'll be working with and those from other departments should be introduced to them. Organize informal get-togethers or ask coworkers to offer them notes of welcome. They'll be more likely to accept your offer if they feel part of a team.

Ensure that your new hires are interested in your company and its values by providing them with an engaging onboarding experience. During the onboarding process, be sure to emphasize your company's culture and key principles. In a LinkedIn survey, new employees rated this as the most crucial part of their onboarding process.

Those who work for an organization that shares their beliefs are more likely to stay there. Another LinkedIn survey found that 71% of employees would be willing to forego a raise in order to work for a business with a goal that resonates with them. As a result, make sure to connect what you care about with what they care about, such as how your culture of ongoing growth will benefit them in the long run.

Create a wiki for your company.

An increasingly popular strategy is to create an online handbook or wiki that contains all the pertinent information on business culture, rules (such as those governing leave of absence), internal operations, departmental norms, and frequently asked questions (FAQs). Keep in mind that while some of the information above may be obvious to you, it may not be to someone who has recently joined the organization.

Screenshot of company Wiki page from Nuclino

The information should be presented in a way that is both educational and entertaining. The documentation should avoid large blocks of text in favor of short, concise bullet points on slides.

Incorporate visuals and video into your content. It is simpler to remember information that is learned in an interactive way. Make use of instructional tools that encourage participation! You can create a brief quiz for each section of the knowledge base and assign it to students as they finish each one.

Every time you onboard a new employee, you can add and change the information in the database. Your remote onboarding procedure becomes more scalable and develops self-sufficiency on the part of new employees by pointing them to the necessary areas of the wiki.

 

Prioritize building relationships.

Fostering ties between new hires and current employees is an important aspect of the employee onboarding process. Welcome your new employees and assign them duties that involve teamwork have already touched on this briefly.

Once your new remote employee has completed your excellent virtual onboarding training, it's time to schedule the meet and greets. Make introductions to your team and other stakeholders during the first week of the new hire's employment.

Keep in mind that back-to-back scheduling meetings might be taxing on a new recruit, so try to avoid scheduling them at the same time. Each session should begin with a solid 15 minutes of prep time, followed by a few hours for individuals to process the information.

Your remote workers may feel alone and lonely, so it's crucial to cultivate healthy relationships with them. Make them feel at ease so that they may come to you for assistance if they need it.

Maintain a line of communication with others.

Try to be as available as possible during the onboarding process to ensure that it goes as smoothly as feasible. Let your new hires know that you're always available via email or social media if they have any questions or concerns. It's better to 'over-communicate' than to say too little, so keep that in mind.

Let your new team members know you're available to address their questions or concerns by setting up regular check-ins. Regardless of how busy you are, you want to let people know you are available to help them. Set up a weekly catch-up to make sure they're getting the most out of their virtual orientation.

According to research, 72% of new workers consider one-on-one meetings with their direct managers to be the most significant part of the onboarding process! As a result, be certain to mark them on your calendar and give them your all.

Encourage two-way communication in the workplace.

According to the Live Career's 2021 study, remote workers are less likely to be given feedback than those who work in an office. Remember the milestones you set for yourself throughout the onboarding process? Be careful to let new hires know how well they're doing to meet those goals. Make a list of the things you think they did well and the things you think they could do better at.

But don't lose sight of the fact that communication goes both ways. Persuade them to provide their thoughts and opinions to you as well. Find out what they've learned by asking them: What difficulties they're dealing with? Is the support they require being provided? Are their objectives well defined? Is there anything more they'd like to add?

The manager can send follow-up emails or surveys to new hires to inquire about their onboarding experience. You can also engage with your new employees about this during your regular video check-ins. Thus, you can make sure that your current new hires have the greatest possible experience and obtain valuable insights into what is working in your onboarding and what still needs to be refined.

This practice will assist you in making necessary improvements and improving the process for future members. The answers to new hire questions, for example, can be compiled into a centralized repository for easy access in the future.

 

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Remote Onboarding Templates

In your remote onboarding software stack, you’ll need a set of templates and a content-authoring tool to customize them. We suggest Visme because the templates are professionally designed for businesses like yours and give you plenty of onboarding ideas for remote employees.

Here's what one of our users has to say about Visme templates:

“PowerPoint templates are plain and boring, and we want to create more fun and engaging content. Visme has multiple slide templates to choose from, which makes this so much easier.”

- Kendra Bradley, Graphic Content Developer at WOW! Read full case study

Here some remote onboarding templates from Visme to help you get started on the right track.

1. Employee Onboarding Presentation

Create an onboarding presentation that makes it simple for new workers to get to know their way around the company and find the resources they need.

This onboarding presentation template by Visme is designed to ensure that employees who may not have had face-to-face onboarding feel welcomed and equipped to get up to speed.

Customize this template and make it your own! Edit and Download

When creating your onboarding presentation, take advantage of Visme's AI writer to write, proofread, condense or summarize the text. Change the prompt every so slightly to get different results or ask it to get inspired by a piece of text or an author you admire.

2. Employee Onboarding Day Mind Map Template

Employee onboarding day mind map template will help your new hires thrive in their roles.

Using a brightly colored background contrasts with the dark content of your data, making it more noticeable. In order to give the template a polished appearance, the data is divided into sections that are clearly visible.

For new employees or HR staff, this Visme template can serve as a useful addition to an agenda or serve as a reminder of a step that has to be taken.

Employee Onboarding Day Mind Map
Customize this template and make it your own! Edit and Download

3. Employee Onboarding Process Template

This flow diagram template is a great way to show new hires what the onboarding process looks like.

Being a new employee at a large corporation may be a terrifying experience. This colorful flow diagram template can help to relieve stress by displaying the critical milestones that must be completed before the onboarding process can be completed.

Depending on your onboarding procedures, you can modify this template for shorter or longer periods of time, or rework it to indicate steps in a promotion process.

Employee Onboarding Process Flow Diagram
Customize this template and make it your own! Edit and Download

With Visme's collaboration features, you can join forces with your team to brainstorm and optimize this workflow from start to finish. Team members can leave feedback, make changes, reply to comments and more. Decide who has permission to edit, view, or comment, helping not only to include your team but also to design a workflow that's effective.

4. Employee Onboarding Checklist Template

The onboarding and training of new employees can be easily interrupted, especially when they are learning remotely.

Use checklists of onboarding activities and don't be afraid to give employees a little nudge to keep them on track.

Setting up onboarding reminders or using your preferred project management software can do this. When it comes to learning, there is nothing more motivating than seeing how far you've come and how much progress you've made.

Employee Onboarding Checklist Consulting
Customize this template and make it your own! Edit and Download

5. Employee Performance Chart Template

By now, you've undoubtedly given your remote workers some objectives and goals, but now is the time to delve into more detail and offer them an opportunity to ask questions.

When working remotely, it's easy for employees to have the impression that they're working alone. Even if they don't receive the informal feedback (smiles, high fives, and "good jobs" in passing) that we take for granted in office contexts, clear expectations give them meaningful benchmarks for their performance.

Blank Performance Review
Customize this template and make it your own! Edit and Download

6. Employee Handbook Template

An employee handbook is a document that explains your company's goals, procedures, and expectations to your employees. Employees are given this document by their employers in order to better understand their rights and duties while working for the company.

The Visme Employee Handbook Builder simplifies the process of generating and maintaining an employee reference manual by providing both digital and print-friendly access to the output.

HRHive Employee Handbook
HRHive Employee Handbook
HRHive Employee Handbook
HRHive Employee Handbook
HRHive Employee Handbook
Customize this template and make it your own! Edit and Download

7. Instructional Guide Template

Typically, training manuals are provided to help in the achievement of goals for a completed activity. Manuals can be useful to experienced workers as well as those who are just learning a new process. Basically, a manual is a collection of instructions intended to improve the performance of a certain task.

Consistency in the presentation of its content, such as skills, processes, and other information, is ensured by using manuals of this type. The handbook guarantees that duties are executed consistently and in the same way each time.

Instructional Guide
Instructional Guide
Instructional Guide
Instructional Guide
Instructional Guide
Customize this template and make it your own! Edit and Download

8. Corporate ID Card

Using this business ID card template, you can create a card that everyone in your company will want to wear.

You can build an ID card for your staff that is sure to draw notice with the help of our Visme ID card template. Visme's drag and drop template editor makes it easy to change this design in any way you choose.

To begin, simply alter the template's text, color scheme, or add new design components from our extensive library of high-resolution pictures, high-quality icons, and contemporary fonts. This will help you create the perfect ID card for your business.

Corporate ID card

Customize this template and make it your own!Edit and Download

9. Employee Training Worksheet Template

Employees must be properly trained for an organization to run successfully. The goal of the training worksheet is to provide accurate information on the employees being trained.

In addition to appropriate skills and job responsibilities, as well as job competencies and job scope, a focus is made on a specific job position, primary duties, and obligations. To create a training worksheet, Visme’s worksheet templates are the best option because they can be easily customized.

Employee Training Worksheet
Customize this template and make it your own! Edit and Download

10. Employee Benefits Booklet Template

Corporate employee compensation and benefits plans are incentives that companies offer to employees who perform exceptionally well, either as a business incentive or as a perk of doing business with the company in general.

Recognizing the worth of a productive person through compensation can help firms run more efficiently and successfully. Gaining a deeper understanding of employee salary and benefits will help your department provide more appropriate staff incentives.

Employee Benefits Booklet
Employee Benefits Booklet
Employee Benefits Booklet
Employee Benefits Booklet
Employee Benefits Booklet
Customize this template and make it your own! Edit and Download

 

Remote Employee Onboarding FAQs

Do you still have questions regarding onboarding for remote employees? Here are the answers.

Q. What Are the Challenges of Remote Onboarding?

Remote onboarding does have its challenges, especially if you’re new to a remote working environment. But overcoming these challenges are definitely worth it when it comes to building a company culture all employees thrive in; new or current.

Here are the most common challenges of remote onboarding:

  • Engaging new hires in a virtual setting.
  • Transmitting company culture in a remote environment.
  • Fostering social connections and a sense of belonging.
  • Addressing technical issues and ensuring access to tools.

When a company operates remotely or hybrid, integration is easier as all systems are online.

Q.How Long is Remote Onboarding

The average time for traditional onboarding is 90 days.

However, it's important to note that there is no “one size fits all” timeframe for onboarding of any kind. Onboarding remotely can mirror that amount or be as long or as short as your employee needs.

Some companies have onboarding processes as short as two weeks while others have year long onboarding experiences. The length you choose will depend on your company culture, the complexity of your systems and the new employee’s role.

To ensure that your new hire has gone through all the steps in the onboarding process, regardless of its length, use a checklist to keep track of the entire process.

Q. What is an Example of Remote Onboarding?

Here’s one remote onboarding example from Apple; the iBuddy System. The buddy system has long been a great way to integrate a new person into a group. It’s been used in academic and professional environments with great success.

What Steve Jobs did at Apple was create a virtual version of the buddy system with an app called iBuddy. New employees were paired up with someone in a department unrelated to theirs in order to foster linear integration with the company culture.

Q. How is Remote Onboarding Different?

The online onboarding process for remote employees differs from traditional onboarding, mostly in the tech aspect.

In traditional onboarding, meetings are typically conducted in person and training is done on site.

When it comes to remote onboarding, all the activities are virtual. Virtual onboarding isn’t just about digitizing the traditional content, it’s also about creating an engaging experience for the employee.

Because after all, what stays the same for both onboarding styles is that the employee always comes first.

 

Start Onboarding Your Remote Employees

One good thing the pandemic left us with is the art of remote working and the knowledge that it works. And now, a lot of companies are remote first or fully remote.

If you wish to join them, you must modify their onboarding process by generating compelling, personalized material in order to integrate new employees regardless of where they work from.

Remember that it's not actually about you or your company. The goal of the remote onboarding process is to make new employees feel welcome and included in the company. It is thus vital to customize the remote employee experience and ensure that everyone in the company is openly and freely embodying the fundamental values you advocate.

Visme makes it easier to create human resources materials that are informative and engaging. Create successful HR materials with our easy-to-use content creation platform.

Written by Agnee Ghosh

Agnee Ghosh is a content writer who works with B2B SaaS companies to develop content which increases conversion rates.

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