Since Boris Johnson outlined his plans in early May to kick start the economy and get people back to work, there have been anecdotal stories and examples of how organisations have made a decision to return to work and then had to back-track.

Dyson, for example, faced a staff revolt when they sent an email to all staff, including those who could work from home, announcing that all employees should return to its work sites.

Hafton did a survey amongst several of its clients in the first month of lockdown to find out how staff were coping at home, what additional support they needed and what aspects of their roles were more difficult to carry out from home.  Surprising the majority of junior staff members said they were most productive and were happiest to continue in this vein.  Should you just leave them to it if they are hitting their objectives?   Unfortunately, it isn’t a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer.

Firstly, risk assessments will be an essential aspect of the return to work as well as considering the mental welfare of staff with any return to the workplace.   Businesses will need to make sure the return is mutually agreed with staff and this points to the need for an honest, face-to-face (over camera) discussion.

Businesses will need to decide:

1. What are the circumstances of people working remotely and coming in occasionally?
2. Are staff and customers safe to come in?
3. When staff work from home, do they have the right resources?
4. Have they had a DSE (Display Equipment) assessment?  Do they need to adjust their equipment?

What should you do, as an employer, if an employee refuses to return to work?  Each situation needs to be addressed on a case by case basis.  The refusal could be for reason of shielding, or underlying health conditions or maybe issues of childcare because school and nursery facilities are remaining closed.  However, if an employee doesn’t wish to return just because they prefer working at home, it could ultimately end in disciplinary action.

In larger organisations and businesses, HR must be the lead on these matters making sure that the organisation has fair criteria and is not discriminating against a certain group of employees.  Getting people back to work after lockdown is an enormous task and having a company stance on what is acceptable will be important because what some employees might think is safe, will not be seen as safe by others.

So, here are our five top tips to help you create the perfect virtual welcome for your new joiners and strengthen your staff engagement from day one!

That’s why it’s important for the new joiner to feel at home, whilst working from home. The virtual onboarding really kicks in on the new recruit’s first day, and it is key that you have a clear plan for not only day one, but also the first week.

This plan should involve the whole team at various points so your new joiner has a chance to get to know everyone they’re going to be working with.

The whole process of onboarding has been thrown a curve ball by COVID-19. Where remote onboarding used to be rare, many companies now have to do it. In a post-COVID environment virtual onboarding will become a permanent fixture in the employee lifecycle.

But is it possible to deliver the same level of welcome remotely as you would in a physical environment?

There’s no doubt that getting the onboarding of new joiners ‘right’ is incredibly important. It plays a key role not only in welcoming, but also retaining them.

According to data from the Human Capital Institute, 20% of new hires leave a job within the first 45 days after a bad onboarding experience. So, here are our five top tips to help you create the perfect virtual welcome for your new joiners.

Get to know them before they arrive:  A thorough pre-boarding process will not only help you find out more about the new joiner, enabling you to prepare more effectively for their arrival, but will also act as a good icebreaker.

By the time they begin working they will be familiar with at least one or two of their new colleagues and also have had some insight into how the organisation operates.

Have a welcome pack delivered to their door:  Starting a new job is often daunting and even more so when done remotely.  The sense of detachment and remoteness can seem odd at first. That’s why it’s important for the new joiner to feel at home, whilst working from home.

A great way to do that is to provide a welcome pack that is delivered to their door, either before their first day or on the day itself.

Create a first day agenda :  The virtual onboarding really kicks in on the new recruit’s first day.  It is key that you have a clear plan for not only day one, but also the first week. This plan should involve the whole team at various points so your new joiner has a chance to get to know everyone they’re going to be working with.

In a physical setting these interactions would happen naturally, however, when working remotely these need to be consciously planned.

Make their first week a collaborative experience:  There’s always a lot to take in when starting a new job, and when doing this remotely it’s even more crucial that the new recruit doesn’t feel overwhelmed or suffer from information overload.

Whilst it’s important that they get up to speed on critical projects and learn about systems and processes, it is also key to leave space in the first week agenda for them to absorb the content and formulate some questions themselves.

This works even better if you can make it a collaborative process, enabling them to input when they are ready for more content.

Make it an ongoing welcome: The perfect welcome shouldn’t just be limited to the first day or week. During their first quarter, you should start to see relationships and collaborations develop with team members.

To ensure this happens and things are continually moving in the right direction, their line manager will need to take an active role. This includes conducting regular virtual check-ins to gain insight into how your new joiner is feeling and offering support where required.