Regardless of your industry, profession, level of education, or years of tenure, there is nothing quite like starting a new job. First day jitters are a real thing for everyone, including the experienced educators you typically recruit for your Higher Ed Institution. Of course, the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic has flipped almost every industry on its head, including higher education. This has forced both universities and teachers to adapt to our new normal of social distancing while continuing to teach. That is why virtual E-Onboarding is a practical alternative solution today than it was just three months ago.
What is Virtual E-Onboarding?
In person onboarding typically involves introducing your new hire to their new supervisor, having them fill out lots of paperwork, giving them their office computer, and walking them through the employee handbook. Depending on your organization, this can take anywhere from a day or two up to a few weeks or months after employment.
Virtual E-Onboarding does all of this remotely. Our society has gradually added more telecommute position over the past several years, and as a higher education employee, it is practically all you have known since mid-March. It remains to be seen if we will ever return to a pre-COVID19 work environment or if telecommuting or conducting classes online will become the new norm.
Virtual E-Onboarding fits into this societal shift, allowing your teaching faculty and staff to work from home in one region while working for your institution in another region.
Working from home
While online classes have existed for quite some time, our new norm means that your new hires may or never meet their direct supervisor face to face during one more semester.
You have likely heard a few war stories from your staff having to shift quickly to an online education environment because of COVID19. Across the United States, many state governments shut down the local schools and community colleges before any other industry. Unless they were planning, they most likely had little advance notice. Likewise, those like yourself in higher education had to adjust the next summer or fall semester to a virtual environment quickly.
Employees from around the globe
It is likely that the current crisis is going to affect hiring for this Fall semester. Now is the time for universities to think ahead: how will they recruit, how will they interview applicants, and how will they provide orientation for those new hires.
As we continue to decentralize our workforce, virtual E-Onboarding will become more and more common for Higher Education. Our Hirezon system makes it easier for higher education HR administrators to create customized “Welcome aboard” packets for new hires. In addition, because this system is 100% online and paperless, employees can access the system at any time from the internet connected devices.
Interested in learning more? Sign up to attend a webinar or request a personal demo of our E-Onboarding software.
