7 Essential Areas for Automate the Remote Onboarding Process

Onboarding is like a new hire's first day at the pool, you need to give them the right instructions and arm floaties, or they might suffocate and, eventually, leave the pool. Remote onboarding is, however, a sea, not a pool.

Therefore, a well-executed remote onboarding process can have a profound impact on employee engagement, retention, and productivity. Poorly managed onboarding, on the other hand, can leave new hires feeling disconnected and underprepared, ultimately harming organizational success.

To free up your HR from manual tasks and focus more on the onboarding experience, the best way is to automate these 7 aspects of remote onboarding:

Automated Offer Letters and Contracts

Generating offer letters and employment contracts manually can be time-consuming and prone to errors. Automation simplifies this process by using document generation tools that automatically pull in relevant employee details, ensuring consistency and accuracy.

These tools allow HR teams to quickly generate and send offer letters, reducing delays and providing a seamless experience for new hires. Templates ensure all legal and contractual information is correct, minimizing the risk of errors.

Benefits of automating offer letter and contract generation:

• Speed: Generate and send contracts instantly.
• Consistency: Standardized documents reduce compliance risks.
• Efficiency: Free up HR resources from repetitive tasks.

Automated Employee Information Collection

Gathering employee information during onboarding can be a tedious and time-consuming task, especially when done manually. From personal details to tax forms and emergency contacts, the paperwork can seem endless. Automation helps simplify this process by using automated forms and digital workflows that collect and organize information efficiently.

Automated platforms can send new hires a secure link to complete their information digitally, allowing data to be entered once and automatically stored in the appropriate systems. This not only improves accuracy but also reduces the administrative burden on HR teams.

Benefits of automating employee information collection:

• Efficiency: Collect and organize data with minimal manual input.
• Accuracy: Reduce the chance of human errors by automating data entry.
• Streamlined experience: Simplify the process for new employees, enhancing their onboarding experience.

Digital Onboarding Documents and Agreements

Handling onboarding documents and agreements manually—especially in a remote environment—can lead to delays and inefficiencies. Automation offers a seamless solution by digitizing the entire process, from sending out documents to collecting signatures. Platforms like DocuSign and Adobe Sign allow companies to distribute, track, and manage onboarding documents electronically, ensuring timely completion and compliance.

New hires can easily review and sign documents such as NDAs, company policies, and agreements online, with the ability to access them anytime from any device. Automated reminders ensure nothing slips through the cracks, keeping the onboarding process moving smoothly.

Benefits of automating digital onboarding documents:

• Accessibility: Employees can sign documents from anywhere, at any time.
• Compliance: Track document status and ensure legal and policy adherence.
• Efficiency: Save time and reduce errors by eliminating manual paperwork.

Automated Training and Learning Management

Training is an essential part of onboarding, especially for remote teams. Automating the training process ensures that every new hire receives the same high-quality onboarding experience, regardless of their location. With Learning Management Systems (LMS) like TalentLMS or Lessonly, you can create automated training programs that guide employees through the necessary onboarding materials at their own pace.

These systems allow companies to organize training modules, quizzes, and assessments automatically, tracking employee progress in real-time.

Benefits of automating training and learning management:

• Consistency: Deliver the same training experience to every employee, regardless of location.
• Scalability: Easily onboard multiple employees at once with automated training modules.
• Time-saving: Reduce the manual effort required to track training progress and completion.

IT and Equipment Setup Automation

Setting up IT infrastructure and delivering equipment to remote employees can be one of the most complex aspects of onboarding. Automating this process helps ensure that new hires receive the necessary tools and software on time, without manual intervention.

There are international IT solutions that help with remote IT provisioning and discharge, making cross-border IT onboarding and offboarding seamless and safe.

Benefits of automating IT setup:

• Productivity: Employees start with all necessary tools and equipment, reducing downtime.
• Security: Automatically enforce security measures, such as software updates and firewalls.
• Efficiency: Reduce the manual burden on IT teams by automating software installation and device provisioning.

Access control and security automation

When onboarding remote employees, ensuring proper access to company systems and maintaining security are critical. Automating access control and security processes can greatly enhance both security and efficiency.

Tools like Okta and OneLogin allow you to automatically provision user accounts and assign the right permissions based on roles.

Automated access management also helps reduce the risk of human error and ensures that employees who leave the company no longer have access to sensitive data. Furthermore, automating these processes ensures compliance with data protection regulations and strengthens the overall security framework.

Benefits of automating access control and security:

• Security: Automatically grant and revoke access, minimizing security risks.
• Compliance: Ensure adherence to data protection laws by managing permissions and access levels efficiently.
• Time-saving: Streamline account setup and reduce the administrative burden on IT and security teams.

Automated Welcome and Orientation Emails

The first few days of a new hire’s journey set the tone for their overall experience at a company. Automated welcome emails and orientation messages ensure that remote employees feel welcomed and informed from day one.

Email automation tools like Mailchimp and HubSpot can be set up to send timely, personalized messages that guide new hires through the early stages of onboarding.

These automated emails can include everything from a warm welcome, links to important resources, company policies, and introductions to team members.

Benefits of automating welcome and orientation emails:

• Engagement: Foster a strong connection with new employees through personalized, timely communication.
• Consistency: Ensure every new hire receives the same orientation information, regardless of location.
• Efficiency: Save time by automating repetitive communication tasks, allowing HR teams to focus on more strategic activities.

Streamline Your Remote Onboarding with Automation

Remote onboarding doesn’t have to be overwhelming to you and your new hires. From automated offer letters and contracts to IT setup and training, each aspect of the onboarding process can be optimized for speed, accuracy, and consistency.

By automating these 7 key processes, you can spend your first day, and first week getting to know each other, rest assured that everything else is taken care of.