Onboarding in a 100% remote company

In this episode of the podcast The New Office, Thomas, aka Panda, People Partner at Boond Manager, shares the practices and challenges of successful onboarding in a fully remote company. Founded in 2009, Boond Manager is an ERP company that has evolved in fashion Full remote long before remote work became a norm. Today, with more than 85 employees, Boond Manager makes a point of integrating new employees with well-structured and immersive onboarding processes. Here are the keys to their success.

Onboarding structured in several phases

Thomas insists on the importance of dividing onboarding into three distinct phases: preboarding, onboarding and postboarding. This approach makes it possible to support new employees progressively, ensuring that they have all the information they need from day one and throughout their integration.

1. Preboarding

The preboarding phase is essential for Boond Manager. As soon as a contract is signed, a pre-integration process begins. This includes a comprehensive welcome booklet that introduces the company's culture, internal rituals, benefits, and initial contacts with the team via an audio presentation broadcast on Boond Radio, a weekly internal podcast. This podcast helps future employees get familiar with their colleagues and encourages them to make connections even before they arrive.

2. Technical and cultural onboarding

Boond Manager is not content with technical onboarding. Each new employee is supported both technically (training in internal tools, immersion in the use of the software via the Boond Game) and on a human level, with a sponsor assigned from the start. This sponsor does not belong to the same department as the recruit, thus promoting transversal integration into the company.

The Boond Game, for example, is a role-playing game that allows you to immerse yourself in the problems encountered by customers and to better understand the tool developed by Boond Manager. This gamified process makes it easy to get started with the ERP in a fun and engaging way.

3. Postboarding and personalized follow-up

Once the initial integration phase is complete, Boond Manager does not let up on its follow-up. A surprise report is requested from the newcomer to gather his impressions and identify possible difficulties. In addition, regular follow-up is carried out with the manager to ensure that the objectives set during the trial period are respected.

Creating a strong remote corporate culture

One of the biggest challenges for a 100% remote business is maintaining a strong corporate culture despite the absence of a physical office. At Boond Manager, this aspect is essential. The link between employees is maintained by several regular rituals: online sports sessions, virtual snacks, meditation, and of course, face-to-face seminars organized three times a year. These seminars are an opportunity to strengthen relationships between employees and to further anchor the company's culture.

Optimized IT management with Rzilient

Recently, Bond Manager automated its IT onboarding process using the rilient platform. This solution makes it possible to configure and deliver ready-to-use computers for each new employee, wherever they are, while guaranteeing optimal computer security. This partnership allowed Boond Manager to save time and optimize the management of its remote equipment, while meeting the requirements of the ISO 27001 standard.

Best practices to remember for successful onboarding

1. Anticipation and preparation : Inform the future employee before arrival via tools such as welcome booklets and internal podcasts.
2. Sponsorship and human support : Associate a sponsor with each new employee to help them better integrate into the corporate culture.
3. IT process automation : Ensure that each employee receives their equipment on time and ready for use through optimized IT management.
4. Corporate culture and moments of exchange : Set up rituals that strengthen team cohesion despite the distance.
5. Post-integration follow-up : Request regular feedback to adjust processes and improve the employee experience.

Onboarding is much more than a simple formality at Boond Manager. By combining gamification, internal rituals and the automation of IT processes, the company shows that Full remote can coexist with a strong corporate culture. For any company that is 100% remote, drawing inspiration from these best practices can not only improve the employee experience, but also reduce turnover and optimize long-term performance.

Do you want to know more about automated IT management and rzilient solutions? Request a demo here.