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So I started a new library job a few weeks ago in the middle of *gestures broadly*. If anyone is onboarding new staff virtually and would like some suggestions, I've got 'em!! A thread.
1. Getting used to new technology and systems is always hard but it is *particularly* hard right now when you sort of need to figure it out on your own. Make sure you allow time and support for new staff to get set up. Every new system or site is taking me longer than I expect.
2. You can save a new person a lot of stress by asking about any scheduling issues before creating an onboarding schedule. Many of us have things that we are having to deal with during normal work hours (childcare is a good example!) that we need/want to schedule around.
3. Meeting people on Zoom or Teams or Skype or Meet or WHATEVER is good! What I've found is missing for me is that I don't really have as many opportunities to chat casually with the people I'm meeting. Try to find ways (Slack, Teams) to check in with new people informally.
4. My schedule makers put breaks into my schedule to prevent Zoom fatigue and also giving me some down-time with some recommendations for things I might be doing (important websites, training modules, etc.) or could do another time if I needed a break. I really appreciated this!
5. At some point the onboarding will end (I'm getting there, it's happening), and it's important to make sure that your New Person has a good plan for what should come next and clearly defined expectations for their work.
And finally, thank you to a very kind new colleague for asking me my thoughts on my onboarding experience today which led to this thread. My new library has been doing a Pretty Good Job on all of this and I know that this is hard for everyone right now. Hopefully this is helpful!
