After hiring a new employee, you want that person to feel confident and ready to make a contribution to your organization. An effective onboarding process will help him or her build the relationships needed to be successful and feel ready to jump in.

But how do you onboard new employees that work 100% remotely? How do you immerse new hires in your company’s culture and help them make personal connections if you can’t meet face to face?

It may seem like a challenge, but you can create an engaging virtual onboarding experience without stepping foot in an office.

Your strategy: ditch the 90-minute “welcome” presentation (yawn) and focus on providing high-touch virtual interactions with managers and peers. Here are four ways to do this:

	Check in often After starting a new job, the most important relationship during a new hire’s first few weeks is his or her manager. But when it’s impossible to drop in for a quick in-person chat, managers need to be proactive about checking in. Ask managers to schedule daily 15-minute video chats with new direct reports. Instead of jumping right into talking shop, start the conversation with “What questions do you have for me?” and “What can I do to help?” Employees will appreciate the focus on them.
	Buddy up To help new employees navigate the everyday workings of your organization and get to know their teammates, assign personal peer coaches. Encourage coaches to include new hires in meetings (even if they don’t have a specific role) to help them get a pulse on current projects and see how the team works together. Then follow up to answer questions.
	Get social Starting a new job can be stressful, and sometimes a new hire just needs to grab a hot beverage and relax. So invite him or her to a weekly virtual coffee chat with the whole team. And to make the experience even more personal, send your new teammate a box of coffee and treats to enjoy while chatting with co-workers.
	Create a community Give new employees a place to connect with other new hires by creating a social media group just for them. Having a place to share personal experiences with peers and to ask each other questions puts new employees at ease and helps them build their networks.