5 Ways to Welcome Your Remote International Employees and Make Them Feel at Home
Making your new hires feel at home sets them up for success. They are highly likely to be engaged in their jobs when they feel like they belong in the culture. When done right, making new hires feel welcome not only drives productivity but can also be the key to positive working relationships and higher retention rates. However, welcoming employees is easier said than done. It becomes even more daunting when the new hires are working remotely in different countries and probably from different cultures. You need a foolproof strategy to do it successfully. But, don’t fret. Here we have 5 tips for welcoming remote international employees
1. Introduce them to the team
One of the easiest ways to make new employees feel like part of the team is to introduce them when they start working with you. Plan for a virtual meeting for the whole team and use the opportunity to share an introduction for each new hire. Include their name, the position they are holding, and a brief history of their professional background. It goes to show the new hires that you took your time to get to know them a little deeper. In addition, let the rest of the team introduce themselves and give a word of welcome to the new employees.
When planning for the video meeting, consider using video remote interpretation if there are employees who speak a different language. Besides ensuring effective communication, international employees will feel valued for letting them engage in the meeting in a language that they understand.
In cases of video meetings with internationals, interpreters can help you set clear communications, making sure to keep the cultural differences in the language translation processes by avoiding any secondary meanings of contexts, as a result ensuring a high-quality interaction through simultaneous translation equipment to make your international employees feel like they already have a place in your team.
2. Customize your onboarding programs
Most companies generalize their international onboarding programs, developing them with the headquarters in mind. However, it is important to remember that international employees are different in so many aspects including their work habits and cultures. Customizing your onboarding program to be culturally relevant and taking into account their work habits, communication preferences and more can go a long way in making them feel counted. Find ways to ask your remote international employees what they prefer. Use your findings to tailor your onboarding program accordingly.
3. Make time for regular check-ins
Introducing new hires to the rest of the team is critical, but don’t stop there. Ensure that you are checking in with them regularly during the onboarding period. In addition, encourage the rest of the team to do the same. This gives you the opportunity to understand how they are coping and provide support where they need it. It also fosters positive relationships with the rest of the team, which is important for new hires to feel connected. However, keep in mind the different time zones when communicating with remote international workers. You can leave a message on the team’s social platform for them to reply to when they get online.
4. Include them in the company’s decisions
Including your remote international employees to give their opinions and inputs in certain decisions shows that you trust them and value their presence in the team. This goes a long way in making them feel at home. ensure that you are inviting them to virtual meetings where you are planning or discussing important issues. You can also assign them tasks on the same. For instance, if you are planning a team-building event, allow them to suggest activities for that day. In addition, assign them tasks for the preparation of the day. They might not be able to participate physically, but knowing that they were instrumental in making the day a success is enough to make them feel like a part of it.
5. Pair new workers with a buddy/mentor
The first few days can be daunting for most people. Moreover, having to ask the managers everything can be intimidating. It is even worse for remote international workers who have probably not had a chance to interact with them physically. Assigning them a peer that they can go to whenever they need assistance makes it easier for the new remote international workers. They are likely to settle in their role quicker and feel at home when they have someone who doesn’t intimidate them on call.
Conclusion
International workers bring a number of benefits to any team. However, it can take longer to realize these benefits if you don’t take the time to make them feel welcome from day one. It can be challenging considering that they are working remotely. However, implementing well-thought strategies such as those listed above makes it easy and sets them up for success from the onset.