As the pandemic upended the world of work as we know it, people in every sector struggled to adapt. It was a challenge for everyone, of course — seasoned workers who have reported to the office throughout their careers had to learn how to use new technologies, leaders had to create plans to accommodate diverse teams, and IT specialists worked around the clock to devise solutions.
That allowed companies to embrace technologies that let them work in distributed teams and keep their businesses going. However, that doesn’t mean that the challenges around that are over. While companies and their workforces are growing accustomed to working remotely by the minute, there’s one group of workers that are dealing with a unique set of obstacles: entry-level workers.
These individuals have little to no experience in a more traditional landscape and have immediately been thrust into largely remote jobs, often with no preparation. How do leaders help their new employees thrive in this demanding world? Here are some ways you can set workers up for success.
Understand the Inherent Challenges
First things first: you must recognize that while this situation is difficult for everyone, entry-level workers are arguably dealing with additional challenges because of the fact that they’re adjusting to their jobs in general, along with the COVID-19 crisis. There’s always a learning curve for new professionals — you’ve probably observed this in your junior staff before and hopefully, remember what it was like when you started your first entry-level job.
Couple that with the also inherently c level contact list challenging remote work landscape, and you have some very confused, possibly unprepared workers. You very likely have observed even extremely competent, seasoned employees struggling to adapt to the pandemic landscape, so it should come as no surprise that junior employees are struggling even more.
Consider, for example, that these workers are lacking in-person interaction and supervision. Face-to-face training has been a staple of entry-level work in the past, and now these new employees must grapple with many challenges without being able to ask questions in real-time. They also lack the adjustment to the company culture that most of your longer-term employees have enjoyed.
Additionally, many younger workers may be living with their parents or roommates and are having to learn their new jobs while dealing with these distractions. These are just some of the reasons why it’s essential to consider what your employees are facing before passing judgment on their work.
Adjust Your Onboarding Process to Account for Remote Work
You may well have a well-honed onboarding 6 ultimate seo steps to promote your small business in new york process and thoroughly detailed employee handbook. But in these tumultuous times, you need to go a step further to account for the changes in the way most people work in a pandemic world.
For example, in addition to laying out procedures that have been in place for years, you’ll also need to include sections about using specific technologies like your videoconferencing and chat platforms, as well as expectations for the frequency of remote meetings. You should also establish ground rules for installing privacy and cybersecurity protections and note the IT assistance that is available to employees.
Define Expectations
Clearly laying out concrete expectations mobile lead from the beginning is an essential part of bringing new employees into your organization at any time. However, it’s absolutely pivotal now, when you can’t assist team members in person and there’s far more room for miscommunication.
Make sure you give new employees clearly defined expectations in writing and give them plenty of opportunities to ask questions on the phone or via a videoconferencing platform. Often, the inflection of a person’s voice and their body language can convey uncertainty that you may not be able to pick up over email, so confirming that they understand by having a conversation is an important step.
