Thank you for helping prepare and adapt new employees to their VIU roles during a time of remote work. Ensuring our new colleagues are connected and aware of resources, services and the responsibilities of their role makes a large impact in creating a positive work environment. This webpage and helpful checklist can help guide the orientation.
Communications
Please use digital tools such as Zoom meetings, phone and email for onboarding new employees during this temporary period of required remote work.
- Email department to Introduce the new employee to coworkers, advise of contact info and start date
- Add the employee’s contact information to organizational lists – telephone, email and website
- Confirm with new employee who they contact for questions or assistance: email names of team members, organization chart and contact information
- Explain the new employee's performance evaluation schedule as outlined in their collective agreement or Administrative contract.
- Explain the process for reporting sick time and what actions they must take to have sick time recorded
- Work with new employee to complete a work from home plan during period of remote work
- Schedule regular online meetings with the employee
Culture and Policy
- Have the employee review the policies website, highlighting the pertinent policies or guidelines
- Give an overview of VIU’s Academic Plan and People Plan
- Participate in the Strategic Planning project, The Future We Want to See, by adding your voice and input to the process.
- Review online orientation resources for new employees.
Work
- Give the employee reference material and information that is needed for the job
- Direct employee to online VIU systems resources, such as Managing VIU Systems and the
- Ensure the new employee is suitably equipped with technology to perform their role: share contact information for IT Helpdesk for troubleshooting
- Ensure employee is aware that VIU has implemented 2-Step Verification (2SV) and they will need to enrol their authentication methods in order to access certain VIU services, including email
- Decide what meaningful tasks the new employee will start on and prepare the necessary background material to support that work
- Confirm with new employee how to connect to VPN and where to store their work
Future Planning
- Get the new employee a key fob programmed to allow access to the necessary areas
- Inform the new employee of the process to get employee photo ID
- Order business cards, name tag if appropriate and door name plate, if necessary
Topics for Online Discussions
- Overview of the organization, in general
- Organization Chart for institution and area/department
- Explain how the job is related to the others in the organization
- Share the resources on New Employee Support