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Robert Walters Japan conducted a survey among professionals who changed jobs during Covid-19 regarding their remote onboarding experience

82% of new hires during Covid-19 satisfied with onboarding experience. More than 50% of foreign and Japanese global companies implement remote onboarding

On March 11, specialist professional recruitment firm Robert Walters Japan announced the results of a survey conducted among professionals who changed jobs during Covid-19 regarding their remote onboarding experience.

More than 50% of new hires undergo onboarding remotely. 82% of job changers satisfied with the overall onboarding experience during Covid-19

Among professionals who changed jobs after March 2020, 53% responded that their employers had digitised their onboarding procedures such as submitting paperwork. While many employees who moved to a different organisation during the pandemic experienced a combination of remote and on-site onboarding, 78% of respondents felt that they were able to clearly understand their own job responsibilities and expectations from the company. 72% of respondents also said that they were able to deepen their understanding of their company's culture through the onboarding process. Overall, the onboarding experience during Covid-19 has been a positive one, with 82% of respondents expressing satisfaction with the general onboarding process and 76% expressing satisfaction with the quality of communication with superiors and colleagues.

Top remote onboarding challenges: “fewer chances to learn by observing on the job” and “finding and accessing company files/data”

While the level of satisfaction for the overall onboarding experience was high, 1 out of 3 respondents were dissatisfied with the initial job-related training, which normally includes an introduction to the company's strategy and guide to using internal systems. 32% of respondents also felt that they were not sufficiently equipped with all the tools and resources to perform their job successfully when they joined. In addition, “fewer chances to learn by observing on the job” (35%) and “finding and accessing internal files/data” (34%) were the top challenges encountered during the onboarding period.

Many employees found it difficult to learn by observing how their colleagues complete daily tasks or struggled to access company data during remote onboarding and sought solutions in the form of training provided by the company. In fact, 87% of company employees felt the need for personal development during the onboarding period, and 69% spared time outside working hours to do so. In terms of relationships with co-workers immediately after joining the company, only 9% reported having trouble seeking support from their supervisor or co-workers, indicating that most respondents had successfully built relationships where they could approach their teams for support. On the other hand, 30% found it challenging that they had fewer opportunities to connect with colleagues, suggesting that this may have led to feelings of loneliness and lack of inspiration during onboarding.

Speaking on the results of the survey, Managing Director at Robert Walters Japan Jeremy Sampson commented: “Onboarding is an essential process for ensuring that employees are equipped with the necessary knowledge and tools to perform at high levels early on in their careers. The survey results suggest that onboarding combined with online training conducted during Covid-19 has not been less effective in achieving this aim. However, new working styles brought on by the pandemic have presented challenges such as fewer chances to learn by observing at the workplace.  For an enhanced remote onboarding experience, there is an urgent need for companies to provide new joiners with more digitised training materials and opportunities to interact with their teams online.”

(Survey period: February 19 to February 26, 2021, Target: Bilingual professionals who moved to a foreign-affiliated or Japanese global company after March 2020  n=161)