How Can Organizations Improve Virtual Onboarding? Key Learnings from the Pandemic

Onboarding, the process through which newcomers become organization’s insiders, has gained increasing attention in recent years. Such attention is justified by the considerable costs that companies have to face when onboarding is not properly managed. The challenges to manage this process effectively have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic that forced many organizations to onboard newcomers remotely, while fully working from home. The purpose of this chapter is (1) to explore the main goals associated with the onboarding process, (2) analyse the challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic has generated on the onboarding of employees fully working remotely and (3) present some viable solutions to address these challenges. To do this, we developed a conceptual analysis that builds on literature resources and provides empirical illustrations. The chapter is structured as follows. We first summarize the general objectives of the onboarding process for newcomers and organizations. We then discuss the challenges and sustainable solutions for managing the onboarding remotely and help newcomers and organizations get attain their respective objectives. We conclude by reflecting on the post-pandemic scenario, highlighting opportunities for future research focused on the interplay between remote and in presence working domains.