A guide to successfully onboarding remote workers

Making sure remote workers feel as welcomed and integrated into your organisation as those who are office-based is essential to maintaining a sense of community and company culture – as well as empowering new starters to hit the ground running in their new role.

New remote employees will usually be onboarded remotely and digitally. This means calls, video conferences and email become the core communication channels that are used to help integrate them into the company, without face-to-face meetings.

In this article, we examine the steps involved in creating a successful onboarding process that allows new remote hires to understand how your organisation functions, access the right tools and resources, and build relationships with their new colleagues.

Importance of a good remote onboarding experience

There’s a lot riding on making sure new employees feel comfortable in their new work home, with data showing that as many as 33% of new employees hand in their notice within the first six months.

This risk is even higher for remote workers, who may feel disconnected or unsupported if not properly onboarded. A strong remote onboarding plan sets the tone for an employee’s long-term future with an organisation, making it a critical part of your talent management strategy which, done well, can result in:

• High levels of engagement and productivity
• Improved employee retention rates
• Cohesive and successful remote teams

Onboarding checklist for remote workers

The process of onboarding a new hire doesn’t start on their official start date, especially when it comes to remote workers. With this in mind, let’s take a look at the steps you can take to help employees hit the ground running on their first day and beyond.

1. Send the required equipment

For employees starting a new job, a key part of their employee onboarding is to get their laptop and any other equipment they need sent to their house, along with clear set-up instructions, ahead of their first day on the job. This means there’s time to resolve any technical problems that might come with a home set-up before their start date.

2. Share a welcome pack

Working remotely could mean that a new starter might not get a sense of the company culture in the same way they would in an office environment. Consider sharing a personalised welcome pack with them, with useful items like branded notebooks, pens and other items that can help make new employees feel part of the team.

3. Encourage team building

Book in time for introductory meetings for your new starter’s first few days at work, so they have something in their diaries and can build a better picture of their future team members.

It doesn’t have to be all about work – building rapport can be more difficult when working remotely, so consciously putting aside time for informal chats to help them feel comfortable is also key. With this, hiring managers can highlight to other team members the importance of reaching out to the new starter once they’re at work, via email, instant messaging, or other digital channels.

4. Assign a buddy or mentor

Consider asking a member of your team, or a colleague in another department, to act as the new starter’s buddy or mentor. This person can be the go-to for a quick question about how something works or can be there for a virtual coffee break and catch up.

For new starters, having someone to confide in who isn’t their manager can help them feel at ease and free to ask any questions – even if they might shy away from this in a team setting. Be sure to book in time in diaries, so when your new starter does begin work, they can be introduced to their buddy early on and get the most out of their remote onboarding experience.

5. Structure their first day

A new starter’s first day should be about getting to know colleagues and learning more about the organisation and their role. Schedule a welcome call at their start time and get to know your new starter and start building a trusting working relationship and learning more about them as a person.

You can adapt the below to help structure your new starter’s first day.

09:30-10:30 – Welcome call with manager

10:30-11:00 – Team call

11:00-12:00 – Task set by manager

12:00-13:00 – Lunch

13:00-15:00 – 20 minutes calls with each team member

15:00-16:00 – Task set by manager

16:30-17:00 – Debrief call with manager

6. Organise virtual check-ins

Supporting your new starter in the first days of their employment doesn’t mean your business-as-usual goes away, unfortunately. Even with the effort to make yourself available for questions or discussions, your diary might be packed full of other meetings, and your new starter might want to avoid bombarding you with queries.

To make sure you’re still getting (virtual) face time so they can raise anything with you, book in a daily or twice daily catch-up over video call to see how they’re getting on.

You can also book an end-of-week chat with new starters to get a sense of:

• How they found it
• Answer questions they have about the organisation
• Collect any feedback they might have

7. Dedicate time for digital coffee breaks

As well as inviting your new starter to your team meetings, make sure there’s time for everyone to have regular chats together. Organise one-on-one catch-ups with team members, as well as group catch-ups, to boost team morale, build personal connections and integrate your new starter into the team. When you can’t pop into the office kitchen for a tea or coffee break, make it virtual. You could even create a Slack channel dedicated to small talk and coffee chats.

Other ideas for effectively onboarding remote workers

On top of the ideas above for before, during, and just after the start date of a new remote employee, here are some other ideas that could help to ensure they feel comfortable at work.

Create a digital employee handbook

Having a digital employee handbook that all employees can easily refer to is a must-have for organisations with remote workers. To put an effective one together:

• Make it easy to access and navigate, with all essential information new starters would need
• Include sections on company history, values, and culture
• Make sure practical details like IT support, communication tools, and HR policies are prominent
• Keep it up-to-date and use a user-friendly format that works well on different devices
• Consider adding short welcome videos from team leaders or a virtual office tour to help new remote workers feel more connected to the physical workspace

Set expectations clearly

A big part of feeling settled in at a new workplace is knowing what is expected of you as an employee. For remote employees working from home, there’s nothing worse than feeling like you don’t know what to do next, and it might lead you to worry that you’ll get in trouble for lack of productivity.

To help with this, you could:

• Schedule a dedicated video call to go through the role in detail, discussing key responsibilities, performance metrics, and how success will be measured
• Be specific about working hours, availability, and response times, especially if your team works across different time zones
• Clarify how often you’ll have check-ins and what format they’ll take

Don’t forget to explain your company’s approach to remote work, including any flexibility around working hours or locations

Set up longer-term integration plans

Onboarding isn’t just about day one or the first week; at many organisations onboarding is a months long process. To help remote workers truly settle in, you need longer-term integration plans.

This might include things like:

• Giving them a mentor for the first few months
• Setting up regular social events like virtual team lunches or quiz nights
• Creating opportunities for cross-team collaboration

One of the best ways to implement a longer-term onboarding is to use a 30-60-90-day plan, with clear goals and check-in points along the way. This gives new starters a roadmap for their first few months and helps them understand how they’re progressing.

Collect feedback

A lot of work goes into creating an effective remote onboarding experience, but this work can go to waste if you’re not checking that it’s working and developing it as you learn. That’s why getting feedback from new remote workers is vital for improving your onboarding process.

This can be an important part of your strategy for listening to employees’ voices. Set up a survey or feedback session at the end of their first week, month, and quarter to gather their thoughts on the experience. Ask specific questions about what worked well, what could be improved, and if there was any information they felt was missing. Once you have this feedback, act on it to improve the process for future hires.

Maximising the impact of remote onboarding

Remote onboarding is about more than getting new hires through their first week—it’s about setting them up for long-term success. By providing the right tools, fostering connections, and creating a structured, supportive environment, you ensure that remote employees feel engaged, valued, and aligned with your company’s goals. Continuous feedback and long-term integration plans are essential to maintaining this momentum.

When done right, remote onboarding becomes a powerful driver of employee retention, productivity, and overall team cohesion, making a lasting impact on your organisation’s success.