After speaking with many clients over the past few weeks, one question in particular keeps cropping up related to the challenges presented by Covid19. "How do we onboard and manage interim contractors remotely?"
I've put together some tips which will hopefully help.
If you'd like any advice on this please get in touch to pick our brains. It's what we specialise in!
The nature of interim work means that there can be slightly different onboarding considerations compared with permanent employees.
Good interim contractors are well versed in joining new organisations and hitting the ground running from day one, but will still require support systems in place in order to be effective whilst working remotely.
Culture and one-to-ones etc, whilst still important, are perhaps less important to an interim worker given their remit will generally be defined / project based and short term.
1. Get the tech in place as soon as early as possible!
There’s nothing worse than paying to have someone sat around on their first day waiting for IT equipment to be delivered, and then spending the next day ironing out the predictable tech snags.
2. Compliance and Legal
Utilise the post office document check service to certify and check ID / and other 'right to work' documents, if it’s not possible for the contractor to meet with HR in person. It costs around £12 and is fully guaranteed. www.postoffice.co.uk/identity/document-certification
Consider switching to paperless contracts. Services such as Adobe Sign are great, cheap, and legally binding.
A good agency should handle all of this for you!
3. Over-communicate!
Have a phone call or Skype before the start date with the team for a virtual welcome brew (or something stronger!) Establish clear lines of communication and regular check-ins from day one.
4. Virtual Buddy
Assign a virtual buddy who can be on hand to answer the inevitable early questions such as ‘where on the system to I find this?’ and ‘who is the best person to answer this?’ etc. This will save a lot of time and also help with team bonding!
5. Define and Agree Objectives
Set and agree clear objectives and expectations upfront with the contractor.
This is always crucial in order to get the most out of your interim contractors, however, when working remotely this should be formalised from the outset to avoid any confusion or lack of clarity and to ensure a successful outcome for all parties.
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