7 must-do’s to onboard your new offshore team member

Great news! you've made an offshore hire. What next? You need to think about creating an awesome pre-employment and new starter experience.

How you decide to stage this is up to you, so I've put together this short guide to my 7 top tips for a stellar new starter experience.

1. Before they start, send your new hire a ‘get to know you’ questionnaire and ask them to send some pictures to share on the website and in your new employee intro email. Make sure you Cc your new starter in the email so they can see your welcome - it’ll hopefully make them feel good!
   

2. If you’re providing equipment, get it to your new hire the week before they start so they can set up their home office and do any relevant onboarding in advance. There’s nothing worse than an employee receiving their equipment the night before they start. Allow time for people to get ready. If you have budget you might also consider giving them a stipend so they can set up their home office in the best way for them.
   

3. Send over a swag bag as part of their onboarding. This is a great way to get your new starter feeling connected to your business. If you know they have children or a partner then also include something for them too. Some items you could include are a branded t-shirt, mug, hand sanitiser, herbal teas, mini desktop fan (great for the Philippines!), or laptop case.
   

4. Day 1 - Consider starting mid-week to ease your new starter in. Organise a virtual coffee meet with their line manager on the morning of their first day. This is an opportunity for the manager to set expectations for the first few weeks and answer any questions they have. Ask your offshoring provider to order their favourite coffee on the morning of their first day. It's also a great opportunity for the manager to give a virtual tour of the local office so the new starter can get a feel for the company environment and where their colleagues sit.
   

5. Guide their diaries for the first 2 weeks so they can become immersed in how the business runs, try not to overwhelm them, but introduce them to the most important connections and encourage others in the team to reach out over their first month. Allow for some downtime to complete onboarding docs and relevant reading/research.
   

6. Align them to a ‘Buddy’ and get them to reach out before their first day’. Choose someone who is also offshore (if this isn’t your first hire) and encourage the buddy to support your new team member with the ins and outs of working at your company over the first few months. A local buddy works best as your new team member is more likely to feel comfortable asking them questions than you.
   

7. Schedule regular check-ins. I’d definitely suggest at the end of the first week and then monthly until the end of their probation. Ask for suggestions from them in these meetings and get their feedback on the induction process and their experience in the role.

Onboarding with remote staff requires slightly different thinking to your local hires, especially because of the cultural nuances. The good news is, we're in an incredibly virtual world now so this is made so much easier with the help of tech.