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Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.

Guest post written by

Chris Byers

CEO of Formstack

It's 10:30 a.m. on a Monday when Bryan Boscia joins his first customer support team meeting. It's day one on the job, which means it's time to start getting acquainted with fellow support specialists. Next, he'll connect with the sales team, after already meeting with the company's developers.

Here's the catch:

These aren't in-person discussions. They are not taking place in a conference room or at a coffee shop. In fact, none of the meeting participants live in the same city, let alone work in the same office.

Instead, they're communicating through videoconferencing. It's part of the onboarding process we use at Formstack to help new remote team members connect with colleagues.

"Having different people reach out to the new hire helps remote employees feel like they are a part of something large, just as you would at an organization that is 100% in the office," Boscia once told me. Bryan has been at our company for nearly a year and now plays a key role in helping other "remoties" make the transition from traditional office settings.

By now, you've likely heard the stats: Employees are more alert, perform better and save companies money when they work remotely. But as organizations continue to embrace this new model, there is one critical component that has the potential to ruin a good thing when it's rushed or overlooked: How to successfully onboard a remote team member.

The pace at which a new out-of-office employee is assimilated into day-to-day workflows can make or break the remote relationship. Looking at some startups that are succeeding at remote work, a few key elements surface.

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Share to email Share to facebook Share to twitter Share to linkedin Share to google Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. Guest post written by Chris Byers CEO of Formstack It's 10:30 a.m. on a Monday when Bryan Boscia joins his first customer support team meeting.

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New Remote Workers: 6 Tips for a Smooth Onboarding Process - Remote.co

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New Remote Workers: 6 Tips for a Smooth Onboarding Process - Remote.co

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How do you successfully onboard new remote workers after they accept the job offer? This is a concern many companies face when considering remote work models, and rightfully so. While traditional office settings empower new employees to successfully navigate the onboarding process through face-to-face peer interaction and guidance on projects and paperwork (often literally "watching over a mentor's shoulder"), a successful virtual orientation requires a unique set of tools and processes.

The following tips will ensure your remote workers' first days are smooth sailing.

Set clear first-day expectations.

With an in-office job, you show up at the office on the first day and expect to be told where to go and what to do. But, where and how do you "show up" for your first day at a remote job?

Whether the new employee has worked in a remote setting before or is new to the concept, the virtual onboarding process can still be confusing and unclear. To ensure he or she confidently hits the ground running on day one, clearly communicate expectations and directions a few days before the start date. Verifying that new hires have a solid understanding of what tasks they will tackle when they first show up to work (by logging in!)-whether it be filling out paperwork or attending a team meeting-helps orientation move along efficiently and reduces anxiety.

Start with a phone call explaining the systems and tools they'll use for orientation projects, engagement with managers, and accessing company information. Providing credentials for all platforms in advance saves time and avoids confusion during the onboarding process. To make certain that the new hire's weekly goals and time are met, establish and confirm a suitable schedule in addition to their expected availability for team meetings and communication based on their time zone.

Lastly, follow up with a clearly written email summarizing key topics that were discussed in the meeting. Send the email to both their personal and new company email accounts to make sure they receive and review the information.

Make them feel welcome.

Working for a remote company can be a big adjustment from the in-person culture of the traditional shared workplace. When you're a physical office of one, it can get pretty lonely. It's important to make employees feel like a part of the team early on. Announcements of new hires through outlets such as company internal blogs, intranets, and/or team email helps to break the ice and establish camaraderie amongst the group. Be sure introductions include a healthy mix of professional accolades and fun facts so that other employees understand who their new colleague is outside of work.

Consider an "orientation buddy" program to connect new hires with tenured employees during their first few weeks. Pairing new workers with someone other than their direct manager or human resources encourages employee interaction and, of course, there are times when it is less intimidating to ask a peer for help.

Have a thorough, self-guided orientation project tailored to the role.

Distributed teams enable remote employees to work independently from day one: starting with orientation. While an HR director isn't going to personally walk new hires through the paperwork, there are ways to use popular and intuitive tools like Basecamp to create a self-guided, asynchronous orientation project. With Basecamp, HR and management can set up an orientation "project" prior to the start date, combining tasks and references for boilerplate HR paperwork, role-specific reading and exercises, and tasks tailored to a new hire. Task lists often include benefits and employment paperwork, scheduling introductory meetings with team members, researching information related to their position, and setting up and trying out company tools. As each task is finished, the new hire simply checks it off the to-do list, and moves on to the next task.

If the new hire gets stuck, he or she can simply go into a specific task and add a question or comment to the appropriate team member for further clarification (who is automatically notified).

Provide detailed instructions for all systems.

Even if you've hired the most tech-savvy employee, never assume they already know how to use your company's systems or tools. Many off-the-shelf tools offer instructions in the form of tutorials and videos readily available on their websites. Be sure to provide any additional company-specific instructions so they can get set up quickly. Also consider creating videos to explain complex processes.

Communicate often.

Frequent communication is essential in setting remote employees up for success. They need to be able to escalate problems, ask questions, or request feedback in a quick, timely manner. Even before their first day, new workers should have a manager's phone number in case they get stuck. Tools such as , for video conferencing, offer many of the compelling benefits of in-person meetings, with a high-quality, virtual face-to-face experience. Encourage new remote workers to initiate these visual introductions and meetings with company leaders and team members they will work with to build rapport early on. Private group chat tools such as facilitate conversations between individuals and groups in a virtual chat room style setting.

Establish a transition path.

Now that all of the paperwork has been filled out and the new employee is up to speed on the company's culture and policies, it's time to ensure that your new remote workers clearly understand the process for transitioning out of orientation and into role-related work.

Before new workers dive into specific projects, be sure to clearly communicate expectations during the post-onboarding period. Depending on seniority, it's highly unlikely for new employees to operate at full speed during their first month at a new company. That said, it's important they understand that asking a lot of questions and showing an eagerness to learn and adapt quickly will be expected.

To ensure they know how to get started on their first project, schedule a meeting to discuss the ramping up process, introduce new colleagues and managers, and review clearly defined tasks using project management tools. Make it a priority to have periodic check-ins to manage their delivery pressure from orientation to bigger projects.

Jake Goldman is the owner & President of 10up ( Remote.co profile) , a full service web agency focused on outstanding content management experiences, with full time designers, engineers, strategists, and systems experts. Between leading the charge at 10up, Jake has been a writer and expert reviewer for Smashing Magazine and taught WordPress development at Boston University. Jake has spoken at conferences around the country, including WordCamp San Francisco and New York, CMSExpo, and Pressnomics. He helped organize the first WordCamp Boston in 2010 and founded Providence and Sacramento Meetups. Follow him at @jakemgold .

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New Remote Workers: 6 Tips for a Smooth Onboarding Process - Remote.co

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How do you successfully onboard new remote workers after they accept the job offer? This is a concern many companies face when considering remote work models, and rightfully so. While traditional office settings empower new employees to successfully navigate the onboarding process through face-to-face peer interaction and guidance on projects and paperwork (often literally "watching over a mentor's shoulder"), a successful virtual orientation requires a unique set of tools and processes.

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onboarding a remote colleague - Google Search

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onboarding a remote colleague - Google Search

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onboarding a remote colleague - Google Search

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Apr 14, 2016 ... It's part of the onboarding process we use at Formstack to help new remote team members connect with colleagues. "Having different people reach out to the new hire helps remote employees feel like they are a part of something large, just as you would at an organization that is 100% in the office," Boscia ...

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The Digital Careers Series is supported by Elance, the world's leading site for online work. Check out Startup Cloud for tips on how to build a remote team.
There might be an assumption that recruiting is easier when unemployment is high, but that's simply not true. According to Manpower Group, 52% of employers reported having a difficult time finding qualified employees to fill jobs. Employers cast a wide net when it comes to finding candidates, and remote workers can be attractive to companies because they can fill an opening that's difficult to place with a local.

It's more important than ever to ensure that new hires become engaged immediately upon entering their new place of employment through a well-designed onboarding process. Successful onboarding programs aren't just a paperwork-filled orientation: They create a connection between employees, their work and the goals of the organization. Here are a few best practices from companies that effectively onboard remote workers.

1. Bring the Office to Them

In a traditional office environment, it's easy to forget what it's like for a remote employee. Sometimes we take for granted the ability to walk around the corner and ask a quick question. David Lewis, president and CEO of OperationsInc, a human resources outsourcing and consulting firm, has several employees who work virtually. He says the key to a successful workplace is creating a way for new hires to experience the office regardless of where they're located.

"We get them connected with the team, make sure they know who does what and bring the office to them," Lewis says. "Slides with pictures. Organizational charts. All geared to paint a picture."

2. Connect Face-to-Face

The ability to connect a face with a voice is an essential part of building relationships. For Cheezburger, the online humor publisher behind the wildly popular I Can Has Cheezburger?, the key to success is in building a team culture despite having employees all over the country.

Cheezeburger's CTO Scott Porad says they typically bring remote employees to headquarters for the first week, but sometimes that isn't possible. "We have onboarded several employees remotely," Porad adds. "We use pair-programming through voice and video conferencing and screen-sharing tools to make this happen."

Video conferencing also eliminates the stress associated with travel, especially if you're working for a new company. Alison Sheehan, senior vice president of human resources at virtual meetings developer PGi, says it was a no-brainer to embrace remote onboarding: "As a collaboration company that provides virtual meeting tools to business, we took what we know to be effective in face-to-face meetings and applied it to remote onboarding and other HR processes."

PGi uses a combination of email, video meetings and learning management system (LMS) tools to connect with and onboard remote workers. The cornerstone of its program is a proprietary video conferencing tool, iMeet. "Using iMeet's group video capabilities is a great way for us to meet face-to-face in a virtual setting to connect with new hires," Sheehan explains. "You can make eye contact (or note when others are not), you can observe body language, and you can even use the social media tools within iMeet to learn more about the people with whom you are meeting. This personal interaction strengthens their bond and enhances the synergy of the group - all without ever leaving their home offices."

3. Teach the Job in Steps

Companies also have to figure out how to show remote workers the technical aspects of the work they will be doing. In a traditional office environment, employees might attend a class or be a part of on-the-job training, but neither are practical choices with remote workers.

Tracy Brisson, founder and CEO of The Opportunities Project encourages "scaffolding" as an effective learning process. In short, you break up the content into building blocks that are taught in chunks. "When students demonstrate they've learned the material and can do it independently, you teach the next step and build upon prior skills and knowledge," she says.

In an office, a manager can see a new team member performing and provide immediate feedback. Brisson shares the process for virtual workers, too. "You have to know that they can do it on their own without that instant feedback loop," Brisson explains. "It helps to create a learning plan before the person starts, where job responsibilities are introduced at a slower pace, but the result is faster overall mastery and a great work product."

4. Evaluate the Process

Any time you create and actively use a process, it's necessary to evaluate its effectiveness. Brendon Schrader, founder and CEO of strategic marketing consultancy Antenna, says his company's onboarding assessment "is based on one metric: employee satisfaction."

Antenna worked with enterprise social network Yammer to create a new onboarding process, largely due to that fact that the platform provides tools to measure each stage of hiring. When asked how employees respond to the remote onboarding experience, Schrader indicated the feedback has been one of their best sources of information. "Our consultants have time and time again expressed their happiness with our process and how the platform helps them stay connected with their colleagues," Schrader explains. "We may not be sitting across a desk from our employees, but the Yammer platform allows us to redefine how we work together."

5. Constantly Refine the Process

For many of us, working remotely isn't a new concept, but the responsibility of onboarding a remote team is. That was the situation for Sara Sutton Fell, CEO and founder of telework job service FlexJobs. Fell figured out what worked best for her company through a combination of instinct, trial and error, and feedback from colleagues who already had experience hiring remote workers.

Fell says the most important step when adding a new technology to the onboarding process is test first, then implement. "The more we test a particular technology to see if it meets our needs, the better chance we'll have of selecting the most appropriate and useful technology," Fell explains. "And we're sure to avoid headaches down the road!"

As more organizations recognize the value in telework arrangements, we'll see more remote workers move from the status of occasional freelancer to full-time employee. Creating an effective, efficient onboarding process will benefit both the new hire and the company.
Series Supported by Elance
What advice do you have for companies looking to onboard remote employees? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.
The Digital Careers Series is supported by Elance, where businesses hire and manage in the cloud for immediate access to the talent they need, when they need it. Elance offers the flexibility to staff up or down, and it's faster and less expensive than traditional staffing and outsourcing. Check out Startup Cloud to learn more.

Sharlyn Lauby

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The Digital Careers Series is supported by Elance, the world's leading site for online work. Check out Startup Cloud for tips on how to build a remote team. There might be an assumption that recruiting is easier when unemployment is high, but that's simply not true.