Remote onboarding: Creating human moments online

At Alts Digital, we've always been remote-first. From day one, we knew that people don't just absorb company culture by being there. There are no hallway conversations, no office energy, no small moments where you learn how things really work.

This reality shaped how we had to think about welcoming new people. It's not like we've cracked the perfect formula, but we've been experimenting and adjusting along the way. I'm sharing what we've been doing here, hoping it might be useful for other teams facing the same challenges.

Being intentional about everything

One of the first things we learned is that nothing happens by accident in remote work. If you don't plan it, people get lost.

We start before their first day of work. We do a call before they sign the contract, not for paperwork, but to actually talk. We want them to arrive on day one already knowing what to expect, who they'll meet, and how their first few weeks will unfold.

For the first day itself, we've created a plan with everything they need to do that we share with them after the welcome call session. Their manager gets this plan added to the person's calendar: it's the manager's job to organise a personalised onboarding for them. Meanwhile, we run an HR onboarding in parallel. On day one, the new person already knows exactly when they'll connect with HR over the first three months and what each touchpoint is for.

We also have a document that explicitly outlines what's expected from the manager, from HR, and from the new joiner in terms of behaviour during onboarding. No assumptions, everything spelt out.

Explaining what usually goes unsaid

In offices, people learn by watching. They see how others behave when they arrive and how they talk to each other. In remote work, that doesn't exist.

So on the first day we talk about things we might never have thought to explain:

• How we interpret "flexibility" at our company
• Our unwritten communication Slack "rules"
• What good async collaboration actually looks like
• When they can (and should) disconnect

We try to give feedback early, even on small things. Because we've realised that remote culture gets built message by message, interaction by interaction.

Structure that doesn't suffocate

The comment we hear most from new people is "your onboarding is really well structured."

What we do now:

• Every morning of the first two weeks starts with a live session
• The rest of the day is for exploring what they just learned
• We adapt the content: someone joining the content team gets a different onboarding than someone joining the tech side
• We have all the processes well documented in our Wiki

This structure gives clarity but also space. And it mirrors how we work: lots of autonomy, but with clear direction.

Creating human moments (even online)

Onboarding isn't just about learning the job. It's also about belonging.

We created something called the "Onboarding Mate” game, which is basically a fun challenge for new starters to get to know their colleagues. Nothing forced, just a light way to create connections.

If relevant, managers also schedule calls with key stakeholders in the first few days. The idea is simple: people should meet each other as humans before they start asking things from each other. It makes all the difference when you need to collaborate later.

Onboarding doesn't end in the first week

One thing we learned is that people need time to digest culture. That's why in weeks three to four, we do a dedicated session on our values and culture.

By then, they've lived enough to ask real questions and understand how they want to position themselves in the company. It's more of a conversation than a presentation.

Feedback goes both ways

At the end, we don't just send a survey. We have a three-way conversation: the new person, their manager and someone from the people & culture team.

We talk about what went well, what could improve, and mainly how they're feeling. It's a way to close this cycle but also open doors for what comes next.

What we've learned so far

Remote onboarding doesn't have to be cold or chaotic, but it really does need to be thought through.

Things we believe in (for now):

• Culture has to be designed; it can't be left to chance
• People need clarity, not just freedom
• Remote work is flexible, but it needs structure
• Feeling like you belong isn't an extra; it's the foundation for everything to work

If you're building a remote team, don't treat onboarding as a formality. It's probably the first real impression people will have of your culture.