IT Onboarding Checklist : Cutting Edge Process To Hire A New Remote Employee

Remote work has a lot of advantages for both employers and employees, such as increased productivity and a better work-life balance. 

However, there still exist challenges for an effective IT onboarding process that provides company devices, software access, user accounts and other security policies and permissions in a timely manner.

There's no better way to overcome this than having an effective, IT onboarding process and checklist.

A good IT onboarding experience is important in a remote workplace where it is common to leave new hires waiting, unable to start because they can't pick up office equipment, in person, and all information has to be sent digitally.

Companies must set up their new top hires properly for success by providing all the necessary equipment, hardware, and software needed to enhance productivity with realistic time-frames and quality regardless of location.

GroWrk can help you accelerate start dates and make your remote IT onboarding process simple and interactive.

What is Remote IT Onboarding?

The 9-5 job slavery is long gone. Employees now have the flexibility to choose how they work. But organizations need to help them ease into their roles through clear company systems.

Remote onboarding or virtual onboarding is the process of integrating a new employee into a company and introducing them to the company culture and policies without ever meeting in-person.

Onboarding happens in multiple phases and can last up to 3 months depending on the complexity of the new employee's role.

There's a saying that if interviewing is courtship, IT onboarding is the first date. Hiring managers should strive to impress their hire and make them feel confident in their new job.

Companies can achieve this by giving them all the necessary access codes to their productivity tools, helping them set up their necessary accounts and devices, and making sure they experience no technical hiccups.

Basically everything they need to actually start working

Virtual onboarding for a new hire must be done right as it is important for employee retention. A study has shown that an effective onboarding process can result in higher retention and productivity in a new employee's first day.

Companies can improve on their onboarding process by actively seeking feedback and through remote team management software.

There's a huge room for improvement as only 1 in 10 employees think their employer does a great job of employee onboarding. According to a Bamboo HR report, 33.37% of new hires leave their new companies within the first 6 months. 

An IT onboarding checklist will make sure you don't forget an important permission and your employee ends up waiting around hours before they start an important task.

What to prepare before your new hire starts

According to Aberdeen, businesses that use pre-onboarding retain 81% of first-year new hires as employees. Providing a wholesome onboarding experience doesn't only depend on the onboarding process itself.

It also depends on how accessible and easy the whole orientation process is for your new employee. Here is an IT pre-onboarding checklist to prepare your new hire for an exciting company culture

1. Organize and collect all the onboarding paperwork

HR paperwork can be sent along with a welcome email from the hiring manager that includes the offer letter, new hire checklist, contract, and company policy documents. This can then be followed by a call with the hiring manager to review the forms, set expectations, and acquaint the employee with the process.

2. Enter your new hire information into your company records

The IT manager can upload it to the company database or to the GroWrk dashboard to help the IT team set up everything the new employee would need. Some of the information that should be collected include: 

• Full name 
• Contact Address 
• Starting Date
• Role
• Department
• Hardware preferences 

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3. Send them pre-onboarding material such as:

• Team videos
• Employee handbook
• Welcome kit that includes balloons, flowers, company swag, and a welcome cards to help them get excited for their first day.

4. Decide on the hardware they will need:

Shop for all their equipment or device needs by using a third-party company like GroWrk that can deliver new devices or your current inventory to 150+ countries.

By maintaining a detailed catalog, you not only facilitate a smooth shopping experience for employees but also enhance overall visibility into your company's asset landscape, aiding in inventory management, maintenance, and strategic decision-making for future equipment investments.

5. Decide what company information and tools your remote worker would need access to and begin preparing them.

Examples of this are:

• Company email
• Project Management systems such as Asana, Trello, Monday, etc
• Messaging software such as Slack, office chat, Brosix
• Content Management systems such as Shopify, WordPress, Wix, etc
• Company's Social Media accounts such as Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter 
• External communication tools such as Zoom, Google Hangouts, etc
• SEO software such as Ahrefs, Marketmuse, Frase etc
• Remote access software
• Developer apps like Github or Gitlab
• Payroll software like Gusto or Deel

6. Get approval from the management team to set up new accounts for your new hire.

7. Send Invitations to the new hires to join corporate accounts and provide them with setup guidelines such as two-factor authorization.

8. Send a copy of the companies' IT policy, laptop management agreement, and general equipment use agreement.

9. Provide resources around basic IT systems training, cybersecurity, and data privacy.

12 things your remote employee needs on their first day

• Laptop or computer
• Monitor
• USB sticks
• Phone
• Docking station
• Mouse
• Keyboard
• Charging cables
• Cybersecurity training
• A Mentor or onboarding buddy to help them get started and introduce them to the rest of the team as this can increase employee retention
• Ergonomic desk and chairs
• Virtual introduction to other members of the teams to meet who they will be working with!

IT onboarding checklist for your new employee's first week

Remote onboarding takes months and routine security training exercises shouldn't be carried out in a few days. With a quality onboarding program to plan routine security training exercises and onboarding material, companies can achieve effective onboarding.

During your new hire's first week, managers should ensure that the following security guidelines have been put in place:

• Bought and installed all hardware and software needed for a WFH space.
• Sent a welcome kit
• Created all accounts for the necessary tools and software
• Conducted onboarding meetings with HR and have held a virtual meeting to introduce the new team member.
• The new employee has signed a data privacy and employment equipment agreement. 
• The new hire has completed cybersecurity and privacy training. 
• Include the laptop and accessories in your laptop inventory and device management software. With GroWrk, you can order, deliver and monitor the inventory for all your employees regardless of location. 
• Arrange an introduction session with IT
• Arrange an interactive team orientation 
• Received feedback about the whole process. 
• Ensure new hires are provided with ways to contact technical support, GroWrk also offers a 24hr help desk!
• Provide access for cloud storage sites such as Dropbox, Google Drive, etc

IT Offboarding Checklist

Apart from having an IT Onboarding Checklist, a checklist should exist for workers leaving the organization.

An IT offboarding checklist would make company equipment recovery easy no matter if employees leave the organization on good or bad terms.

Although these tasks are usually completed by the HR department, the IT department also plays a role in the collection and management of physical and digital files on their devices.

Companies can outsource their whole IT onboarding process and offboarding responsibilities and necessary hardware to GroWrk. GroWrk can collect, store equipment, and provide inventory software for companies in 150+ countries.

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The offboarding tasks list might include the following:

• One-on-one meeting for feedback.
• Disabling Active Directory user ID.
• Reset corporate email password as you wouldn't want a disgruntled employee to email colleagues and clients invectives.
• Revoke access from cloud storage sites.
• Removal as database user.
• If applicable, set up of mail forwarding.
• Removal from Global Address List or other contact lists.
• Removal of the local user profile.
• Removal from the phone system.
• Remove access to the intranet, websites, company website, social media sites, if applicable.
• Revoke security system access code.
• Communicate staff change to colleagues and clients.
• Retrieve pieces of equipment assigned by the company.
• Store the pieces of equipment retrieved from the ex-employee.
• Revoke access to project management software such as Asana, Trello, Monday, etc. if applicable.
• Remove ex-employees from communication tools such as Slack, office chat, Brosix if applicable.
• Revoke access to Content Management systems such as Shopify, WordPress, Wix, etc. if applicable.
• Remove access to the company's social media accounts such as Instagram, LinkedIn, or Twitter if applicable.
• Change passwords of the company's SEO software such as Ahrefs, Marketmuse, Frase, etc. if applicable.

Conclusion

An IT onboarding checklist is a must for companies who want to provide a successful onboarding experience for their remote workers. An IT onboarding checklist helps make onboarding important and assure new hires that they have made the right choice.

A good way to improve your IT onboarding experience is by partnering with an award-winning startup such as GroWrk to provide IT solutions in onboarding, retrieving, and storage. 

Grow remote with GroWrk. We provide and manage laptops, devices, other equipment and services to remote teams in over 150 countries.

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