If you are planning to join a company amidst the corona crisis, then you have a considerable challenge ahead. You will be working from home and there is a good chance that your employer’s onboarding procedure hasn’t been designed to handle the situation. The company may not be planning to adapt to that process anytime soon. Given such a scenario, it is advisable that you proactively involve yourself with the company and transition into your new job comfortably.
1. Prepare Yourself for Remote Joining
For remote joining, you will need to ensure a good, uninterrupted internet connection. You will need to have a setting where you can have your laptop, a few pens, and a diary ready to note down points when in a meeting. You may also need to download a few apps, depending on what your organization uses for group meetings.
2. Introduce Yourself at Your New Workplace
In today’s situation, you can’t have a formal induction. So, you’ll have to introduce yourself at the new workplace. Be proactive and politely begin introducing yourself to the people in your department. If you have a mentor, either from your department or the HR personnel, he/she can also introduce you to other people in the organization that you must meet and interact with. Thus, when you start working for a company remotely, make an effort to identify these mentors. This will help you to speed up your work and become more productive quickly.
3. Learn How Your Team Communicates
One of the first steps to adapting yourself to the new company culture is to learn how your team communicates. Remember, every company has its own unique culture, goals, norms, and language in which they interact. Employees of an organization use multiple terms frequently and you learn them gradually while interacting with them. Therefore, you must interact with your colleagues and ask them questions related to your project and workplace.
4. Communicate Frequently With Your Seniors
Communication is the key to building official relations with your seniors and making your presence felt. Display enthusiasm in learning about the organization, asking questions, and do not hesitate to give your input and insights when needed.
5. Maintain a Diary daily
It would be a good idea to maintain a diary and update it daily. As your day comes to an end, go back to your diary and make a note of all the important tasks that you need to finish the next day. You can also make a note of how your day was and what goals you accomplished each day. Don’t forget to make a note of the issues and obstacles you faced while getting your work done. This will help you to plan your day better and you will also be able to achieve your daily targets easily.
Tips on How to Setup Your Remote Workspace
- Reserve a quiet corner of your home as your office desk. While occasional video bombing by pets and kids is welcome in some countries, it isn’t a great idea if you are new to an organization.
- You don’t dress up when working online, but you can’t dress down too. Clean, decent pairs of clothes are a must.
- Don’t ignore basic hygiene when working online, since you never know when you’d have a video call or a zoom meeting.
- It is good to have a backup internet connection, just in case, your prime connection isn’t working.
- Submit regular updates to your seniors about your work, status, hiccups, and more.
Don’t hesitate to ask for help. You are new to the organization. People are generally more helpful than we presume them to be. Also remember, communication is the key. Keep that going and you’ll soon fit in in your new job.