Virtual onboarding has become an integral part of the recruitment journey ever since the pandemic hit, and HashedIn by Deloitte is no exception. HashedIn’s onboarding team came up with a personalized, engaging, and simple 60-day program. It was indeed a challenge in the early stages, as the principal hurdle we faced was for the tasks that required physical presence, like onboarding gifts, setting up the laptops and bank accounts. But with efficient workforce and resources, the remote recruitment process was carried out seamlessly by us. To deliver a positive virtual onboarding experience, here are the steps that were undertaken by the recruitment team.

At HashedIn, onboarding begins as soon as a candidate accepts the offer. Hashers, as they’re fondly called, have to attend an orientation session conducted by our CEO, Himanshu Varshney. This gives them an idea about our organization, the ongoing projects, and culture. Further, two days before their joining date, a welcome email is shared to notify them about the detailed onboarding plan.

Building a relationship with the new joinees might be a hurdle virtually, but we ensure scheduling various interactive sessions to bridge the gap between employee and employer. It begins with a welcome session conducted by the recruitment manager to introduce them to the recruitment process briefly. The HR Team also discusses the documentation process with a small induction program. This is essential to let the new employees get a glimpse of our organization’s policies and procedures. Likewise, similar sessions are conducted on the first day of onboarding with the new joinees and the IT Team, Finance Team, and more.

Well-designed and well-facilitated ice breaker sessions constitute an essential part of our onboarding program. We conduct fun, cordial sessions over Google Hangouts or Zoom to help the new Hashers build a good rapport with their fellow teammates. Moreover, senior employees are assigned to the new ones as their buddies to make them acquainted with the ins and outs of the organization.

Since face-to-face interactions with the new Hashers is currently not possible, leadership talks and formal inductions between the leadership team and/or BU heads are organized. These help the employees to stay motivated, engaged, and proactive. Through these formal induction sessions, we encourage employees to share their feedback, with radical honesty, so that a channel of open communication is built

A training program by the Talent Development Group (TDG) is conducted that involves various bootcamps and other training programs for the tech employees. This goes on for two weeks, and on the 15th day, a Recruitment Team member goes back to the employees to know about their experience on TDG. During virtual onboarding, a well-planned and executed training program like this improves the overall performance of the new joinees.

Since we are virtually connected right now, taking feedback from the new joinees becomes a matter of paramount importance. At regular intervals of the onboarding program, we either call them directly, or forms are sent to get feedback related to their projects and their thoughts on HashedIn’s policies. Also, an Net Promoter Score tool is used to collect ratings for their onboarding experience. This is known as the ‘onboarding pulse check’ and ‘HR check-ins’. If they face any query or concern, it’s immediately escalated to the project managers or BU heads or to the Leadership Team. After this, the HR Team sends detailed reports to the Leadership Team about the entire onboarding process.
We talked to a few employees to get some honest feedback about their virtual onboarding experience. Ashima Saxena, a Partnerships and Alliances Specialist, shares her experience, “Virtual onboarding at HashedIn was extremely smooth and hassle-free. I had joined right when the country-wide lockdown was announced and the HR team was constantly approachable for any issues faced. Such gestures make a difference. The online onboarding was very well streamlined and the hiring team made the process very seamless”. Talking about the warmth she received while joining remotely, Anushka N Sharma, a Software Engineer, who joined recently says, “The virtual onboarding was wonderful. We were sent a welcome kit and team members were introduced through a video call. I was assigned a buddy who helped me understand things. All the members were very helpful and the whole process was smooth.”

Our virtual onboarding has paved the way for proper time management, minimizing the stress of candidates appearing for interviews physically and allowing every individual to fulfil their career dreams from the comfort and safety of their homes. As we advance, our recruitment and HR teams are constantly looking for innovative measures to make this process more flawless in the future.