The recruitment and onboarding procedures are the first impressions of your company. Employees who don’t get a good first impression will not work for your organization for a long time. According to a report, 69% of employees will retain employment if they get a positive onboarding experience.
In a hybrid environment, hiring and onboarding have become even more challenging. Recruiters do get the flexibility to hire global talent. But, location restrictions also limit their endeavours to provide a better onboarding experience.
A Gallup report has already stated that one bad hire is equivalent to two employees per year’s salary. Thus, you must follow the proper strategy to define your hybrid hiring and onboarding process.
This guide will help you create a dynamic hybrid hiring and onboarding structure with the best eight practices. So, let’s get started.
Hybrid Recruitment vs. Remote Recruitment
Before moving further, let’s understand how hybrid recruitment differs from remote recruitment.
Hybrid recruitment is the combination of virtual and in-person recruitment processes. It is a complete recruitment process in which some steps are taken online and some offline.
For example, recruiters posting job ads online and receiving applications via email are doing virtual recruitment. But recruiters calling in shortlisted candidates for interviews and training to the office is in-person recruitment.
On the contrary, remote recruitment is fully virtual. There is no personal contact during job posting, candidate screening, or onboarding. Instead, everything is done online using digital tools.
Remote and Hybrid Recruitment and Onboarding Challenges
Today, 47% of employees look for companies that allow them to work remotely. In addition, the great resignation has made it harder for companies to retain top performers.
Thus, it is not easy to run a remote business or a hybrid one right now. On top of that, hiring and onboarding challenges are making it tough for companies to recruit the best talent.
Here are some common challenges that remote and hybrid recruiters face:
Mammoth Screening Task
When recruiters advertise job posts online, they receive unlimited applications. Therefore, it is a challenge to screen all the applications and shortlist competent candidates. Moreover, job applications are submitted using different channels. So, it is challenging for recruiters to screen and organize all the applicants for the next step.
Talent Restrictions
Companies still have more leverage in remote environments to hire global talent. In hybrid recruitment, some processes are in person. So, it will not be possible for a person living in India to participate in the onboarding process held in your California office.
Testing Hassle
Both hybrid and remote recruiters often struggle to conduct pre-employment testing. It is difficult to virtually test candidates’ job-specific and general soft skills. In addition, it requires proper tools and technologies to conduct virtual testing, which small companies don’t have.
8 Best Practices for Hybrid Hiring and Onboarding
Hybrid hiring and onboarding are challenging. But, it is something that you cannot avoid today.
According to a report, 53% of workers today want to work in a hybrid culture. And 24% want a completely remote workflow.
So, you must follow proper strategies to define your hybrid hiring and onboarding process. Here are the top eight practices that can help you build a strong hybrid hiring and onboarding program:
1. Cultural fit for a hybrid work model
Foremost, you should hire only those employees who can fit into a hybrid work model. In short, you should look for comfortable working on-site and off-site employees.
Besides this, hybrid employees need flexibility and adaptability in their approach. They have to adjust to different work situations. Thus, you need employees who can work under minimal guidance.
So, here are some basic questions that you should ask candidates before hiring them:
- Are they available to attend the office for a few days in a month?
- Do they need regular guidance to work?
- Can they work according to different work models? Etc.
2. Appoint a manager for onboard training
In the remote work age, employees already have limited personal interaction with their managers. Thus, it is essential to provide proper onboarding training to prepare employees to work under minimal guidance.
For this purpose, companies can train their recruitment managers to handle hybrid onboarding processes. Hybrid onboarding is a lot different than traditional or remote onboarding. Thus, it is important to train your recruiters to manage hybrid onboarding challenges.
For this, companies can hire a recruiter with hybrid work experience who can train and help other team members. Having a dedicated person for onboarding training can clear your employees’ confusion. In addition, they will know whom to report to and contact when they need assistance.
3. Leverage technology
Whether hybrid or remote hiring; you need to adapt to different technologies to streamline your recruitment process. Without technology, it is impossible to hire, train, and track your hybrid employees’ performance.
You need a series of software and technologies to support your hybrid hiring and onboarding system. For instance, hiring, training, and tracking your hybrid employees’ performance is impossible.
- Project management software to assign tasks and track individual employees’ performance
- Centralized communication tools to create a consistent communication flow between new employees and managers
- Pre-employment testing software to test job-specific skills
- Virtual time tracking software for analyzing the productivity and efficiency of hybrid employees
4. Uniform communication flow
Communication is the cornerstone of building a productive hybrid team. Therefore, your hybrid employees need a centralized communication portal to contact managers and their subordinates in real-time.
Usually, companies use multiple communication channels to interact with their employees. For example, they use WhatsApp for text-based communication and Zoom for video conferencing.
But, different communication channels can create confusion among your new employees. They will not find consistent support from their subordinates when they move from one channel to another.
Therefore, you should invest in a uniform communication channel that can allow you to communicate with your employees via different modes. Your communication channel must allow you to interact with your employees via messaging, calling, or video conferencing.
5. Document your hybrid policies and procedures
The best strategy to streamline hybrid workflow is to document all your policies and procedures. First, you should create a proper hybrid workplace policy, including work culture, probation, leaves, and other employment details.
This way, whenever you onboard a new employee, you can share your hybrid work policy and procedure documents. As a result, they can better understand your hybrid culture after going through documents.
Employees can understand what to expect and deliver when working in your hybrid workplace. Moreover, it helps to clear up all the confusion and miscommunication.
However, try to create comprehensive hybrid documentation. You should cover all the possible policies in detail so that all your employees can stay on the same page.
6. Employee assistance program
Another best practice to onboard hybrid employees is creating an employee assistance program in your organization. This is a well-structured employee training and hybrid onboarding program can help new employees understand your work culture and processes.
You can appoint your existing employees as program runners. These employees can develop training tutorials and documentation to onboard new employees.
7. Receive consistent feedback
You cannot rest after creating a hybrid onboarding program or document. You have to constantly consult your employees and ask them if they find any flaws in your hybrid program.
After collecting feedback from your team members, you should frequently make changes to your hybrid training program. Moreover, you can use survey forms or 360-degree anonymous feedback tools to receive honest feedback on your training program.
8. Work with EOR / PEO partners
Do you want to hire global talent for your organization? In that case, you need to partner with the right EOR and PEO companies to run your hybrid business without any legal troubles.
Employer of Record (EOR) solution acts as an employer for your global employees on your behalf. They follow all the local laws to maintain payroll, taxes, and other employment compliance. You can hire talented people worldwide without dealing with local legal procedures.
Professional employer organization (PEO) solutions provide you with all the HR responsibilities. These partners can take over all your employee hiring and onboarding workload so you can better focus on your main business functions.
There are many great EOR and PEO partners available to help hybrid workplaces. But, you should do proper due diligence before collaborating with a third-party company.
Conclusion
A hybrid workplace is not an option anymore. It is a necessity for companies to retain their top-performing employees and attract talented people.
Therefore, if you don’t have proper hybrid hiring and onboarding processes in order, do it now. You cannot prolong it for much longer.
We have already shared some of the best strategies to create a smooth hybrid hiring and onboarding process. So, let’s not wait anymore and reevaluate your hybrid recruitment policy today.
