How to Onboard in a Hybrid Work Environment

For many workplaces, hybrid work is here to stay. As a result, organizations have had to reconsider how to onboard new employees. While there is no one-size-fits-all approach, this article in Harvard Business Review offers keen insights to help businesses manage the complexities of onboarding in a hybrid work environment.

Harvard Business Review points out that new hires who are satisfied with their onboarding at 90 days are twice as likely to be with the company in 1.5 years. Recognizing that successful onboarding is critical to retention, we take a holistic approach to developing onboarding plans at LP, considering the new hire’s role, practice group/department, and personal preferences.  

In most cases, we build onboarding timelines and activities around a hybrid schedule, prioritizing activities more suitable to be done in person, such as team interactions, internal relationship building, and specific training for in-person workdays. Activities like technology training, benefits orientation, or other routine tasks can be effectively conducted virtually so those activities are scheduled for remote days. Realizing the full upside of critical in-person time requires intentionality and forethought in the planning phase.

The goal of onboarding is to set up a new hire for success in the specific work environment. Transparency is key, so organizations and managers should be clear about expectations regarding hybrid work. For example, at LP, associates early in their careers benefit more from being in person, so we strongly recommend they plan to be in person more often, even if it is not required. 

Feedback is also critical to onboarding success. As LP’s Chief Talent Officer Melissa Nelson explained in this article, real-time feedback often yields the best results. Accordingly, we informally check in with managers about how things are going regularly and adjust the plan if needed. We then ask for feedback from our new hires around the 60-day mark to ensure they feel supported and close any gaps in their integration sooner rather than later. We also encourage ongoing feedback and communication.

Read the full Harvard Business Review article for additional insights regarding hybrid onboarding.