Following the Government’s introduction of strict measures to fight the coronavirus outbreak, anyone who is not considered a key worker is now working from home in social isolation. But what about new starters who are due to start the next step in their career over the coming weeks? How are businesses adapting their onboarding plans to ensure that nothing gets put on hold?
We spoke to AM Fresh, a world leader in fresh, natural and healthy food about how they are managing onboarding for new starters joining the team in April.
For them, as with the vast majority of businesses, this is an unprecedented situation and virtual onboarding is not something that they’ve had to consider before. As such there is limited help and guidance out there on how to go about it, especially as every business is so unique.
At AM Fresh the team worked together to come up with a range of processes that would help ensure that new employees could still start their roles and feel both engaged and prepared. Some of the measures they have introduced or planned include:
A welcome letter to update all new starters about virtual onboarding and provide reassurance
Use of a video link to provide a virtual site induction
E-learning courses that cover Health & Safety and food safety issues
Paperwork that can be signed electronically
Delivery of a laptop and any other equipment required
Twice daily video calls scheduled with line managers for catch-ups, setting tasks and talking through learning materials.
Jemma Mastrocristino, Talent Acquisition Manager for AM Fresh, explained:
“These times are unprecedented and have been extremely challenging for all our teams, as a HR Team we are working hard to ensure we adapt as needed to ensure our people are supported wherever necessary.”
It’s great to see the creativity that businesses in our sector are using to keep everything running as close to normal as possible during these challenging times. If you have any success stories around virtual onboarding that you would like to share, we would love to hear from you. In this period of uncertainty, collaboration is more important than ever.
