Growing the team and hiring new faces often accompanies an organization’s expansion, but doing so online adds another intricacy to an already overwhelming endeavor. New hires are bombarded with wave after wave of information during the hiring process and then need to acclimate to new team members. There’s stress, uncertainty, new faces to familiarize with, and an unfamiliar project to begin work on. Making that transition as smooth, and personable, as possible benefits from having teammates invested in making the new environment feel welcoming.
Streamlining the transition period
An expanding team means fresh faces are brought in and brought up to speed. An office setting enables learning via osmosis. Just by observing veterans of the organization, arriving team members can quickly adjust to their new home. However, in a remote working environment such an option doesn’t exist. This added twist brings new complexity. However, if teammates and those involved in the onboarding process are properly prepared, procedures can be put in place to streamline the assimilation of incoming talent. Team calls, sharing applicable articles and graphics, and video chats are all small ways of offering comfort in an informative way that facilitates an easy transition.
“You have to be proactive with communication. I try to get a little bit casual so they open up and aren’t scared of us. When you become a leader, if there is a mistake, (other team members) may be reluctant to ask questions. That’s an important barrier to break. In terms of responsibility, say a person makes a mistake and they aren’t equipped to fix it so other teammates are fixing it, you can make sure they’re in that call so they understand what’s going on.” Raunak Potnis, Senior Lead
The importance of communication
When a new hire joins a team there are bound to be a few bumps in the road. The isolation of a remote work environment means that maneuvering around any obstacles takes clarity and candor. Properly utilizing open lines of communication will help facilitate solutioning. That effort will then lead to higher levels of productivity. If a new teammate were to hit a wall while working on a project, the ability to properly diagnose the problem becomes ever more dependent on communication when working remotely.
“To be honest it was difficult initially because people used to be around us and it was small team. We knew exactly what they were working on, and if they were stuck we would solve it then and there. Now we have to take that extra effort to communicate with them and find out what they’re working on, where they’re stuck.” Raunak Potnis, Senior Lead
Check out our careers page and learn how this philosophy influences all aspects of our organization, and see if there are positions that provide a perfect fit for you.
