How to onboard to a new job remotely

Acclimating to a new job is never easy, but it can be particularly difficult when you aren’t in the office. If you’re onboarding remotely, you’ll need to be proactive. Try to schedule a lot of brief check-ins with colleagues to mimic the short, informal interactions you’d have in person. Share what you’re working on, but also make sure to ask them about what they do. It’s hard to understand your new office’s culture from home, so pay close attention to their words in order to pick up on workplace style and jargon. Try to identify people who can help you grow in your role and who could even serve as mentors. Ask for help when you need it: in person, people might pick up on a quizzical expression, but that’s harder to see in video or phone meetings. Finally don’t hesitate to introduce yourself as new when you join meetings or digital forums, like Slack. It might feel uncomfortable, but most people want to welcome and help you – they just need a more explicit reminder. Taking these early steps will set you up for success down the road.

(This tip is adapted from “Starting a New Job – Remotely,” by Art Markman.)

Make remote meetings inclusive

Working remotely and in crisis mode can cause even the most well-intentioned managers to fall inadvertently into patterns of bias and exclusion. There are a few things you can do to make sure you’re continuing to prioritise inclusion, starting with remote meetings. First, recognise that speaking up in a virtual meeting may be more challenging than during in-person meetings. Send information in advance so everyone is prepared to chime in. Begin meetings by acknowledging everyone in the room and recognising the unprecedented situation we’re all in before you dive into agenda items. Your team will appreciate it if you say something like, “this is hard for all of us.” In smaller meetings, check in with each person individually. And be sure to record and share the link to key meetings, so that employees who were unable to attend can retroactively engage with the materials. Taking these extra steps will make your meetings inclusive and accessible to everyone on your team.

(This tip is adapted from “How to Be an Inclusive Leader Through a Crisis,” by Ruchika Tulshyan.)

4 questions to ask before a new project

Up to 85 per cent of big data projects fail, often because executives don’t accurately assess the project risks at the outset. Before investing in your next big data initiative, ask these four questions to determine its chances of success. First: Is your data valuable and rare? Not all available data is useful, nor is it unique or exclusive. Second: can employees use the data to create solutions on their own? You need to decentralise decision-making in order to encourage people to autonomously initiate, create, and adapt solutions. Third: can your technology actually deliver the solution? You can have all the data and ideas in the world, but if your technology can only deliver a prototype or a non-scalable solution, your project will fail. And finally: is your solution compliant with laws and ethics? Even if it’s legal, if users find your solution to be “creepy,” the project is doomed from the start.

(This tip is adapted from “Use This Framework to Predict the Success of Your Big Data Project,” by Carsten Lund Pedersen and Thomas Ritter.)

Make an impact in virtual meetings

A videoconference isn’t just a meeting over video — it’s an entirely new experience and requires us to adapt our perspectives, habits and tactics. Here are a few ways to adjust to this new norm. First, every presentation coach will tell you that direct eye contact helps to reinforce your point. In a videoconference, this means looking at the camera, not your colleagues’ faces on the screen. Next, use a slightly louder-than-usual voice, because in addition to being audible, strong voices convey authority, credibility and confidence. Be mindful of your background as well. Cluttered rooms make you seem disorganised, so find a spot where the background is simple and professional. And pay attention. Your professional reputation can suffer if it looks like you’re distracted. Close your email, turn off notifications on your phone ... and don’t forget that you’re on camera.

(This tip is adapted from “How to Elevate Your Presence in a Virtual Meeting,” by Joel Schwartzberg.)

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, June 1st, 2020