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Onboarding remote employees is a new challenge for many charitable organizations these days. You may be used to having your HR department walk the new hires around the building for face to face meetings. Then, you gather together in the conference room to fill out the required paperwork. Now, you may be recruiting and orienting staff who live in a different time zone or on the other side of the country. One thing is the same. You still need to welcome them on board, start their training, and encourage their engagement. Indeed, an experienced HR team can help you do the job right. Here are a few thoughts to keep in mind.

HR for Charitable Organizations: Onboarding Remote Employees

Group of people working from home.

Start Onboarding Remote Employees Early

New hires are often enthusiastic and a little unsure about what’s ahead. Sending them an orientation package even before their first day will help to maintain their interest and answer their questions.

Set Priorities

Filling out forms can get tedious. That’s especially true for remote employees who won’t get to interact with other team members in person. Figure out what has to be done the first day and what can wait. Then, include some interesting activities that will give them a sense of what their days will be like.

Leverage Technology

Use a task management tool like Asana or Trello to make it easy to communicate and collaborate. Slack channels and Zoom meetings also help people to chat and connect.

Schedule One on One Time

Private sessions with supervisors may be even more important for remote employees. You want to enable strong working relationships and give people a chance to discuss any concerns.

Buddy Up

Many charitable organizations assign a buddy to new hires. Indeed, it’s one of the best HR practices you can adopt, and it can be adapted for remote workers.

Learn More About Onboarding Remote Employees for Charitable Organizations

Contact us at Mainstream Nonprofit Solutions to learn more about remote onboarding and other developments affecting nonprofits. Speak with our experienced leadership team about cost-effective outsourcing for your HR and other business support needs.