Employers should understand that flexible hours for employees withsmall children may allow them to be more productive at varioustimes of the day or night. (Photo: EvgenyAtamanenko/Shutterstock)

Right now, companies around the world are doing their best tooperate remotely whenever possible. The insurance industry is noexception. Yet how prepared is the industry for transitioning theirentire operations? The answer could mean the difference betweenbusiness as usual and business in turmoil.

Particularly when it comes to onboarding new employees,operating virtually takes planning. Employee retention for thosecompanies that emphasize their onboarding is significant — aGlassDoor research brief reveals that organizations with a strongonboarding process improve their new hire retention rates by82%.

Related: What are the most desirable attributes in a remoteworkforce?

That's a big deal, especially considering the widening talentcrisis currently plaguing the insurance industry. Given that in allindustries, nearly 20% of employee turnover happens within thefirst 45 days, insurers, in particular, shouldbe focusing on building stronger onboarding processes.

The cost can be substantial. Companies lose 20% of new employees within a year,according to statistics provided by UrbanBound.

According to the Center for American Progress, replacing oneexecutive can cost a business up to 213% of his or her salary.

Yet the benefits of a strong onboarding process are myriad.Companies with an onboarding process realize 54% greaterproductivity from their new hires, and companies with onboardingprocesses of the longest duration report 34% faster proficiencyrates, according to UrbanBound statistics.

The remote onboarding difference

Yet even if your organization's current onboarding process is agood one, there is little chance of it translating well in a remoteworkforce environment. Without the traditional face-to-facemeetings, mentoring and office environment, remote employees canfeel isolated rather quickly.

Likewise, traditional training methods are not going to workwhen it comes to training. Whereas your new hires could be observedeasily and given a course correction where necessary, workerstraining remotely can miss the opportunity to be given immediatefeedback before habits become ingrained. Also, communicationbetween you and your new hires may not be adequate in a remotesetting, and you may not realize your employee needs to hear fromyou more often.

Another challenge brought on by remote work: distractions andlimitations of your employee's work environment. Many peopleworking from home, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, aresharing their space with other family members, or they simply don'thave a place in their homes that is quiet and distraction-free.

All of these factors that are unique to remote work environmentsmean that your existing onboarding process may fall short in makingsure your new employee becomes productive within a reasonableamount of time. That shortcoming can translate into increasedfailure rates, which could impact your organization's retentionrates for new hires.

Logistics to consider

Then there are the logistics. To make your remote workforce'sonboarding and ongoing work performance successful, yourorganization should be adopting the equipment, software andpolicies necessary to allow your employees to train and onboardremotely.

What equipment will your remote worker need? How will they logon, and what internet connection and antivirus requirements mustthey have to keep them productive and your company's informationsafe? What tools will they need to collaborate with colleagues andmanagement?

From where will they be working? Talk with your new hire toassess their work environment. Now is the time for yourorganization to adopt flexible work hours, as employees with smallchildren may be more productive at various times of day or night.By focusing on outcomes instead of the traditional nine-to-fiveshift, your company can help each new hire define their ideal workhours, which can result in higher productivity.

Also, remote access adds a heightened level of cybersecurityrisk that can be alleviated with a few simple steps. What files orsystems does that employee have to access? Make sure only thoseemployees needing to be accessing sensitive information can do so.Restrict it for all other employees. Also, institute a process forchanging passwords frequently. Moreover, make sure your newemployee understands your policies on internet use, particularlythat personal devices may not be used to conduct business nordownload, store, or send company files and information.

Another consideration: how you will train your new employee. Themost critical factor in the success and productivity of your newemployee is how effectively they are trained and how easily theycan interact with other employees. Are your current trainingmethods easily deployed in a remote environment? In what ways dothey need to be modified so that your employee can be moreself-guided? Are your training processes online? Now is the time torestructure or replace your training materials and methods tobetter accommodate online learning.

Also, who will run the virtual training sessions? How will yournew hire be evaluated, and by whom? Have you set specific trainingoutcomes? Make sure training includes a way to see your employee'sresults, such as exercises that you can access easily online. Andbe sure to help your new hire set career goals that includetraining needs to reach those goals.

Successful onboarding

With the groundwork in place, your remote onboarding process canbe established. To get the most out of your remote onboardingprocess, you should have a few key elements in place.

Onboarding contact person

From the moment your remote employee is hired, your organizationshould designate one contact to oversee the success of yourworker's onboarding. The designated contact — typically a hiringmanager — will be in charge of introducing the employee to his orher colleagues. The contact also serves as the main point ofcontact during the new employee's transition period.

Designated mentor

For more in-depth oversight, assign a mentor to your newemployee. The mentor can help with answering questions, offeringguidance on work processes, and teaching the soft skills thattraining will not cover — time management, collaboration,networking, conflict resolution — as well as pass on the knowledgethe mentor has gained over his or her career. Ideally, mentorsshould meet virtually with new employees regularly, checking inwith them each day.

Another aspect involves the implementation of shadowing as partof the onboarding process. New hires should shadow employees intheir department, but also employees in other departments to get anunderstanding of how the company operates and how their roleaugments the overall operations.

Virtual team-building process

Shadowing helps build teams, though shadowing alone is nosubstitute for a sound team-building process. Your organizationshould conduct regular team meetings to build and maintain acohesive team feeling. Weekly team meetings keep everyone connectedand abreast of current and upcoming projects, and allows managersthe opportunity to recognize good project outcomes and completionsand make the entire team aware of milestones.

Those milestones should include the same perks your employeesare used to in traditional office settings. Virtual birthdaycelebrations, retirement gatherings and celebrations of personalachievements are just as necessary to your team feeling connectedvirtually as in an in-house setting. Managers can use weeklymeetings to welcome new hires and help them get to know theircolleagues.

Employee nurturing process

In fact, for the first 90 days at minimum, your organizationshould make a concerted effort to help your new hire feel supportedand embraced as part of the team and the company culture. That canbe achieved by shadowing different team members, setting up weeklytouch-base meetings with human resources and managers throughouttheir probationary period. Weekly meetings are a great time to makesure employees are adjusting well. They also allow your managers toaddress any issues that may arise.

Ongoing remote success

Creating successful remote employees is more than manageable.Virtual operations require a shift in how you approach every aspectof your business, including how you onboard new hires. Knowing howeach process translates to a remote setting, your organization canrestructure the details to make sure remote workers are getting thetraining and support they need to succeed.

By paying attention to where the gaps are in your existingpolicies, you can avoid costly employee attrition, and reap thebenefits of a stronger, more cohesive workforce. In an atmosphereof steep competition and a shortage of qualified candidates, astrong onboarding process can be the game-changer your organizationneeds to remain competitive.

Sharon Emek, Ph.D., CIC, is the founder andCEO of Work At HomeVintage Experts (WAHVE), an innovative contract talent solutionthat matches retiring, experienced insurance, accounting and humanresource career professionals with a company's talentneeds.

Read more: 

• Your remote workforce: Tools and processes for asmoother transition
• Successfully shifting hiring and managementstrategies for the remote workforce
• Work-from-home apps are on the rise; can you guesswhich is on top?