[Real Beat] Adapting to a New Job Without Seeing Faces? Essential Remote Work Course 'Onboarding' [Office Shift] (27)

'Onboarding' to Help New Members Adapt... Frequent Resignations if Done Wrong
Many Apply 'One-on-One Secretary' Programs in Remote Environments

Editor's Note[JjinBeat] is a corner of "Hyun Jin Jung’s Business Trends" and is also an abbreviation for “Real Business Trends,” providing insights into the changing trends of work. The "Office Shift" segment within JjinBeat thoroughly examines the evolution of the office environment in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, laying the groundwork to find answers to new forms of work through our shared experiments. This column will reach you every Saturday and Sunday morning. After 40 installments, it will also be available as a book.

Microsoft (MS) hired approximately 50,000 people during the pandemic. Although the company laid off more than 10,000 employees earlier this year amid the wave of layoffs at big tech firms, during the height of COVID-19, MS accumulated valuable experience in onboarding new members into a remote work environment. Both new hires and seasoned professionals joined the organization during this period.

"In a hybrid work environment — combining remote and in-office work — your manager now becomes a 'full-service concierge'.

Satya Nadella, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Microsoft (MS) Photo by Yonhap News

Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, discussed this in an episode of Professor Adam Grant’s podcast at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School last year, explaining what to consider when integrating new members in a hybrid work setting. A concierge, typically someone in a hotel lobby who caters to guests’ needs, is used here to illustrate that a new hire’s immediate supervisor should assume this role. The manager must act as a "personal assistant," guiding the new hire through every aspect of meetings from A to Z, sharing the company culture, and teaching communication styles.

CEO Nadella commented that "this is very different from when we relied on onboarding systems that involved a large number of employees present in person." He shared an example of a manager who would open an MS Teams video call to connect the new employee with other colleagues, introduce themselves, and then step out — a method that, while potentially cumbersome for some managers, can foster connections between people even within a remote work setting.

◆ Failed Onboarding Can Trigger a Wave of Resignations... New Approaches Needed

For companies implementing remote work, onboarding experienced employees is a primary concern, just as much as training newcomers. Onboarding, meaning "to get on board" in English, refers to helping employees become skilled team members as they join the organizational "ship." Ensuring that new members adapt smoothly to the existing organization allows for efficient work and increased productivity, so companies cannot help but pay attention to onboarding.

Reference article: May 20, 2023 '[JjinBeat]"Junior Employees Need to Come to the Office"... Remote Work 'New Employee Training' [Office Shift] (26)'

Before the pandemic, the entire adaptation process—from learning how to use messengers, building relationships, and negotiating work boundaries, to understanding company culture and communication styles—was conducted offline. However, for organizations working remotely, the approach needs to change. In-person work naturally exposes employees to new environments, where they physically meet colleagues, communicate in various ways, and pick up on office culture through direct experience. In a remote work setting, however, everything must be learned and experienced through the laptop screen.

If a new member fails at onboarding, the organization suffers significant consequences. Poor onboarding is a key factor driving new hires to resign. Companies may face the unfortunate situation where, after investing resources in the hiring process and recruiting talented individuals, those employees end up leaving on their own accord.

According to Forbes, in a survey of 1,000 office workers conducted last year by Paychex, a NASDAQ-listed human resources solutions provider, 80% of respondents who felt they had lacked a proper onboarding process said they would "likely leave the company soon."

Imagine joining a new company after leaving your previous job, only to feel unwelcome. You might not know how things work or even who to ask basic questions. This makes adapting to the company much more time-consuming, leaving both the individual and the company frustrated. It could even drive someone to quit abruptly.

This tendency is more pronounced in remote work environments. One in three respondents to the Paychex survey said they felt confused by inadequate training during onboarding. For those onboarded remotely, this figure rose to 36%, which is comparatively higher than for their in-office or hybrid counterparts. Paychex also found that remote workers were 117% more likely to express the intention to resign compared to those working in the office, highlighting this issue specifically.

In remote work settings, it's more common to strengthen existing relationships rather than build new ones. It is challenging to reach out with a message or make small talk with colleagues you've never met. Naturally, people focus first on bonds with coworkers they already know.

According to a survey last year by global consulting firm McKinsey of more than 5,500 male and female office workers in the U.S., only 14% said their networks had expanded — meaning they’d built broader social connections at work after COVID-19. Only 28% said they had actively tried to make new connections, while 31% focused on strengthening pre-existing relationships, indicating that in challenging environments for forming new bonds, people are more likely to invest in relationships they already have.

Under these circumstances, a proper onboarding process for new remote employees becomes a "must" for successful integration into the organization.

◆ How Are Companies with Remote Work Conducting Onboarding?

As CEO Nadella mentioned, what is called the "concierge strategy" is now a common element of onboarding programs in companies offering remote work. Whether called a mentor or buddy, the crux is to assign a team member as a dedicated contact to provide personalized support to newcomers one-on-one.

NAVER adopts a face-to-face onboarding strategy even while working remotely. Under its "Connected Work" policy, which allows employees to freely choose where to work, new hires are required to come into the office at least once a week for their first three months. New employees can choose between "Type R," which allows full-remote work, and "Type O," which requires three or more days in the office each week. However, for at least the first three months, everyone must comply with the office attendance rule — to help ensure smooth adaptation to the company.

Of course, simply showing up at the office doesn’t mean new hires can instantly grasp how the company works. That’s why NAVER recommends that the "buddy" assigned within the new hire's team also comes into the office at least once a week during those first three months. The company encourages eating together or going to cafés, and even those assigned to "Type R," who aren't typically given a fixed desk, will receive one during this period — both the new hire and the buddy. According to a NAVER spokesperson, "This policy is to help new employees adapt by spending time together in the office during the first three months."

From early this year, Woowa Brothers, the operator of the food delivery application Baemin, has implemented a "workplace autonomy system." They use various technological tools such as Slack for online communication. When a new member joins, an existing team member acts as a "caregiver" for one month to help them adapt to the team and their job; coming to the office is not mandatory. When asked whether learning the job remotely poses difficulties, a Woowa Brothers representative said, "Since there are various tools for sharing work and communicating, I don’t think it is absolutely necessary to meet offline."

However, Woowa Brothers does organize "Baemin Culture Camp" — held offline twice a month — to help new hires quickly absorb the company culture, bond with their peers, and gain a better understanding of both the organization's culture and its services.

Some companies are exceptionally dedicated to compiling thorough onboarding materials. GitLab, a NASDAQ-listed U.S. software company which has operated fully remotely since its founding in 2011, is one such case. Darren Murph, its former Head of Remote (now a Vice President at global talent-matching firm Andela), told Business Insider in April 2020 — shortly after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic — that he devoted substantial effort to documenting every step of the onboarding process. Even when GitLab had only 10 employees, he recognized the importance of documentation and started early, ultimately producing an incredibly detailed guide that serves as a kind of encyclopedia for new employees.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.