3 Key Tips to Surviving Your First Week at a New Job Working Remote

Covid-19 has created a paradigm shift in how (and where) people work. When the reality of the pandemic hit, 88% of organizations encouraged employees to work from home.  And of employers who did not have work-from-home protocols in place, 67% took steps to make that happen.

But it is one thing to transition from the office to your home, and an entirely different experience to start a brand-new job working remote.

Here are three key tips to surviving your first week at a new job working remote, along with some helpful suggestions for managers overseeing the onboarding process.

1.     Master your company’s technology and tools

 Once you’ve set up your at-home work station and decided that the bonsai tree works better than the Dracaena, you must familiarize yourself with the technology and tools your job requires. Taking the time now to carefully review training documents and onboarding materials will save you future headaches. And do not forget, YouTube has many tutorials if you need extra help.

Manager Tip. If your company does not have training and onboarding materials in place, that is something you should seriously consider in this remote-work age. Also, make sure your new worker has the necessary info for tech support, or else you will be fielding those questions for the first few weeks.

2.     Get to know your team

Chances are your new job does not require you to work in a vacuum. You will coordinate and collaborate with many new people – without first even knowing what they look like. In an ideal world, the team will know you have joined, and you will be introduced to everyone else and know exactly how their roles work with your own. But if these past few months have taught us anything, we do not live in an ideal world. So take some initiative. Send out messages introducing yourself and explaining your role. Take advantage of video calls when you can. If there is a Slack channel, use it. The quicker you integrate yourself with your new co-workers, the more grounded you will be.

Manager Tip. Be sure to introduce any new hires to your team. Consider holding a video call introducing everyone. Go the extra step by explaining roles so your new hire understands everyone’s responsibilities.

3.     Check in with your boss

Ok, we all know it is easy to look busy in the office, even though we have a game of solitaire running in the background. But in all seriousness, it is difficult for your boss to know what you are working on in a remote setting. You will need to be a little proactive and check in frequently to build trust with your boss. Or better yet, get a feel for your superior’s preferences. Perhaps he or she prefers daily check-ins. Perhaps once a week is enough. Whatever the cadence is, learn it and stick to it. That way your boss knows you are diligently working and not watching Netflix all day long.

Manager Tip: Consider daily check-ins for the first week until your new hire gets adjusted. This will help you manage their onboarding, productivity, and workload. Once you both reach a point where you are a little more comfortable, you can ease back and create a more regular check-in schedule.

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