If you’re one of the thousands of businesses that have adopted remote work in the wake of the pandemic, you’ve probably met some challenges along the way. Not everyone is accustomed to combining the comforts of home and work, and not every business had the right tools at their disposal to make the transition comfortable without losing any productivity.
In this guide, we’re going to cover four tips that will help you with new remote employees. Hiring remote employees can give your business a competitive edge, introduce you to new work methods, and expand the diversity in your workplace. Training them doesn’t have to be a challenge as long as you follow these four tips.
1. Use The Right Tools
The right tools can make all the difference in any process. How are you currently training remote employees? Via email? Good training sessions often require in-person visits, or, at the very least, a video conference. With video conferencing tools you can get a training session that’s as close as possible to in-person visits, and with screen sharing software for meetings, you can share exactly what’s on your screen.
Businesses use HD-quality video conferencing software and screen sharing capabilities for training sessions, webinars, and even conference calls. There are plenty of free to use services, but the best conference tools offer premium packages so you can get all of the great features they have to offer.
Most conferencing services include:
- HD video and audio
- Cloud storage/call recording
- Custom conference calls, invoice links, and dial-in numbers
- 24/7 customer support
- Screen sharing software
2. Stay In Communication
It’s important to stay in communication with all of your employees, but especially with remote employees who are new to the company. This is how you encourage participation and make new employees feel like they’re part of the organization. If you’re hosting a meeting, be sure to invite the new employee (especially if they have something important to contribute to the conversation). This will help them integrate into your work culture, which can make a huge difference in their comfort level and productivity.
Most businesses that rely on remote workers use some kind of productivity or project management software, like Asana or Monday.com. This helps keep projects organized, expectations relayed effectively, and every one up to date on the deadlines and requirements for every assignment.
You can assign and track a project or multiple projects, assign participants, and communicate via the interface, so you can forget about needless email chains once and for all!
Expectations are a huge part of effective remote work. If you don’t relay your expectations effectively, you can’t expect anyone to know what you want! Be sure to include your remote workers in briefings, meetings about upcoming projects, and other pertinent information.
3. Make Them Feel Welcome
Integration can be a challenge with remote workers. It’s much harder to assimilate into a new work culture when you’re not actually at the physical workplace. Using video conferencing software, you can include new remote employees in discussions and introduce them to everyone. If you have special company-specific activities or things that you do (like afternoon stretching, mental health days, etc.), you can introduce them to these things as well.
Your workplace has a unique culture of its own, and the great thing about remote workers is that they can come from any background anywhere in the world. Perhaps you’ve hired a web designer from France, a Virtual Assistant from Vietnam, and a Software Developer from South Africa. This will help diversify the workplace and add some extra vibrancy to your workplace culture.
Don’t be afraid to step outside the box here when you’re hiring. Someone from another country or culture entirely can have mountains of experience, wisdom, and bring certain cultural nuances to the workplace.
4. Allow Them To Learn At Their Pace
It’s important to understand that not everyone learns at the same pace, or in the same way. What works for one person may not necessarily work for another, and even your universal practices may be confusing to someone from another country or culture. Your business may need to tailor certain parts of its training regimen to better serve different people and address things like language and cultural barriers.
If your remote worker is having trouble with training, slow it down a bit and work at their pace. It’s difficult enough to assimilate into a new work environment without the added barrier of being a remote worker. Be patient, and in time, you’ll see that you made the right choice in investing in your remote team.
The Bottom Line
Remote employees can offer a competitive edge to businesses, and if you’re hiring outside your country or culture, you’re doing something great for the community and your business culture. Be patient, use the right tools, and remember that not everyone learns at the same pace.