Tips for Starting at a New Company Remotely

Guest Commentator: Basil Jackson, Senior Associate, Marketing, Baker Tilly, and YPC Advisory Board Member

So let’s start with the obvious: COVID-19 and the ensuing global pandemic has shifted the way many people live and work. Front and center amongst these shifts is the now infamous work from home (WFH) arrangement. Given how the past year-and-a-half has gone, I think it’s safe to say that workplace flexibility is here to stay. It’s not hard to imagine all-virtual teams being the norm rather than the exception. In fact, I have experienced firsthand how onboarding can operate effectively and efficiently in a mostly virtual (or soon-to-be-hybrid) workplace.

If you’re like me and have recently switched roles, or find yourself about to embark on the journey of joining a new team, I have a few tips for you – these are mostly observations during my time at Baker Tilly (shameless plug: we’re hiring, so let me know if you’re interested in joining an amazing company).

1. Have regular check-ins with your manager.

It’s simple but it works. Did you know that 86% of “highly engaged” companies hold one-on-one meetings regularly, compared to 50% of “disengaged” firms? This is according to data from Quantum Workplace and Gallup.

Regular one-on-one’s with your boss are crucial as these meetings serve several important purposes: it’s your time to align on scope with your work, it’s your time to ensure your needs are being met as an employee, and it’s your time to address any concerns you have about specific situations. Especially in a new virtual setting, these meetings can also serve as a sneak peek on important news/updates that may affect your role, team, or even department.

2. (Virtual) Happy Hour is your best friend.

Granted, at the time of publication, Philadelphia is set to relieve most COVID-related restrictions on June 11 so you may have an easier time socializing with your coworkers than when I first started; but virtual happy hours are a very useful tool in your WFH toolkit.

The main thing here isn’t just about getting together with the team for a game of “guess that Zoom background” (though I do love to switch up my Zoom background every week just to keep things interesting), but rather making time to socialize with your coworkers. While I haven’t had the chance to meet my coworkers in-person yet, I’ve learned so much about them during our happy hours that I feel like I have a great rapport with them, which goes a long way when getting work done.

3. Don’t be afraid to reach out.

So onboarding passed and you’re trying to find the holiday schedule but you can’t remember where exactly the document is. Sure, you might want to CTRL+F the day away in a sense of pride, or here’s a better idea, reach out to someone who can help! While we might not have the luxury of “popping over” to someone’s desk to ask them a question, Slack and Teams can easily replace the near-instantaneous communication that we’re used to from being in the office.

Now as the saying goes, “with great power comes great responsibility…” which means just like you’re mindful of when your colleague has his/her/their headphones on you should be mindful of people’s online status (i.e. online, busy, in a meeting, etc.). This is also a good reminder that you can and should use the ‘Do Not Disturb’ feature on your messaging platform to avoid distracting pings and allow for deep work.

4. *Most Important* Find balance.

No matter what type of work you engage in, whether its custodial services to full-time influencers, it’s extremely important to strive for a work/life balance that works for you. Whether it’s taking a walk in the morning and/or afternoon to separate from ‘home mode’ and ‘work mode’ or taking midday breaks for reading or exercise, find activities that allow you to rest and recharge from work.

I can only speak for myself, but it’s been quite a journey starting a company fully virtual. I am grateful for my manager and team welcoming me in during a time of uncertainty and doing their best to help me feel a part of the team and contribute. I hope whatever challenges or surprises COVID-19 has brought for you, you’re able to overcome them with support of an amazing team like mine.