The connection between onboarding during COVID-19 and water skiing

I like to look at onboarding of new employees through the metaphor of water skiing. Anyone who has experienced it can attest that getting out of the water is challenging, as the skier generates strong water resistance. Transitioning from sitting to standing on the water requires a combination of physical effort and skill.

Similarly, entering an organization requires a significant adjustment of our attention and thinking, as we need to learn and internalize a large amount of information related to technology, product, processes, and people's personalities in a short time. After rising above the water, it becomes much easier to glide until attempting more complex maneuvers, meaning stepping out of the comfort zone again.

Remote onboarding is even more challenging: it's difficult to integrate socially into a new group without meeting people face-to-face, and avoiding a sense of alienation. This is a significant emotional and social difficulty that can definitely impact professional learning, as a large part of learning occurs in hallway conversations and informal discussions.

There's almost no company today that isn't grappling with the challenge of how to maintain employee connection or engagement without physical meetings or with fewer of them. With a new employee, we're in an even more sensitive situation, of course, because there's no prior relationship serving as a kind of immune system. In many cases, new employees haven't seen the offices or met their team members face-to-face.

I don't have supporting data, but I'm hearing about increasingly more cases of new employees leaving after a short time - they struggle to enter the role and often feel alienated. This is, of course, a tough blow to the manager who recruited you and to the organization, but without physical presence in the office, it's easier (or less difficult) to quit.

The lack of boundaries between work and home, long hours, and "Zoom Fatigue" cause managers to focus on urgent matters and less on important but less pressing issues such as infrastructure building, long-term planning, or learning 

In many cases, onboarding a new employee is not sufficiently on the manager's radar, it may be neglected, and thus could later become an urgent problem that may no longer be possible to address. These are complex times, and focusing on urgent matters is natural and survival-driven, but the manager must define a small number of "High Touch" areas that are not urgent but critical. A weekly conversation with each of their team members, with new employees at the forefront, must be one of them.

A manager I work with uses the term FOMO (Fear of missing out) in a different sense - to suggest that in a remote work world, the manager must be a bit "paranoid" and be concerned about what they don't see, what they're missing in terms of potential frustration or difficulty of their team members.

Like many areas accelerated by COVID-19, the digital onboarding field is also enjoying momentum - companies are acquiring (or refining) dedicated information systems, new videos are being produced. Detailed checklists for employees and managers are being introduced and activated through the system. Organizations are "tightening" the process: less improvisation, less spontaneity, and instead a detailed plan, including components like what happens on the first day, in the first week, what the first team meeting with the new employee looks like, and exactly what the "buddy's" tasks are. 

It's important to carefully take recommendations from companies specializing in remote work (like GitLab or WordPress) with a grain of salt. They have excellent materials, but it's crucial to remember that they were built from the start for this type of work with a matching culture that is typically more introverted and asynchronous, with a clear preference for writing (instead of conversation) or watching a conversation (instead of participating in it).

Many companies actually need physical meetings or at least synchronous virtual dialogue. It's also important to provide a solution for social integration - some companies ask the manager and buddy to come to the office, at least on the new employee's first day, to physically onboard them. Taboola gives the new employee several coffee vouchers so they can physically meet with some of their new coworkers. It's not about the money, of course, but the message. At CyberArk they prepared a clip for new employees describing past events and parties, so they could feel the vibe even if not in-person.

A good onboarding of a new employee is the result of a combined organizational effort, but ultimately the responsibility sits on the manager's shoulders 

The COVID crisis highlighted the need for several managerial skills, including empathy, creating meaning, and personalization. For new employees, these skills are especially important. The manager has fewer behavioral cues, making it difficult to know if the employee is doing well or experiencing difficulties. Without prior familiarity, the challenge is naturally greater. Therefore, it's important to maximize virtual dialogue: turn on the camera, choose an option where the conversation partner "takes up the entire screen" and I look at them throughout the conversation. I ask how they are, and even tease a bit, explaining that I want to know how they're doing, sharing what's happening in my home to create reciprocity.

There are differences among employees in coping with the crisis (loneliness, burnout), so it's good for managerial attention to be personalized. The same applies to new employees - some will quickly get into the groove while others will need more managerial support.

One of the brilliant ways to onboard a new employee, in my view, is through joint volunteering. For many people, the COVID crisis creates distress from things lost like health or job security, leisure, family. When I give something to someone else, I directly experience "what I have," and this is a source of joy. Instead of spending tens of thousands of shekels on a live singer on Facebook, offer your people volunteering opportunities. It makes people feel good and connects new employees in the best possible way.

Good luck!