Onboarding new hires shouldn’t feel like herding cats. If you want new team members to hit the ground running (without drowning in docs or awkward Zoom intros), this guide’s for you. Whether you’re managing a remote crew or just tired of onboarding chaos, here’s how you can use Ubique Live to bring people up to speed—without wasting anyone’s time.
Let’s get practical.
1. Prep Before Day One: Don’t Wing It
Most onboarding falls apart before it starts. If your new teammate shows up and you’re scrambling to find their docs, it’s not a great look—and it wastes everyone’s time.
Here’s what to set up in Ubique Live before their first day:
- Create a new team space: Set up a dedicated channel or workspace for onboarding. Keep it separate from noisy project channels.
- Gather the essentials: Drop in the must-have docs—org chart, key contacts, team handbook, tool links, and project overviews. Don’t dump everything. Stick to what they’ll actually need in week one.
- Prep welcome messages: Record a short video or write a quick note from the team. Makes intros less awkward than a forced round-robin on Slack.
- Assign a buddy: If possible, tag an existing teammate to be their go-to person for random questions. List this clearly in their onboarding channel.
Pro tip:
If you have onboarding checklists or templates, put them in Ubique Live’s pinned notes or files. Templates save you from reinventing the wheel every time.
2. Make Introductions Human, Not Cringey
Nobody likes being paraded around a virtual office or sitting through a marathon intro call. Use Ubique Live’s async video or chat features to keep intros chill and low-pressure.
Try this instead:
- Team intro thread: Ask teammates to drop a quick video or a short message about what they do (and maybe a fun fact). Keep it casual.
- Welcome the new hire: Let them introduce themselves on their own terms—text, video, or audio. Don’t force awkward icebreakers.
- Pin these intros so the new hire can revisit names and faces later. It beats guessing who “Alex” is three weeks in.
What works:
Async intros let people respond when they have time, and new hires can rewatch them instead of pretending to remember 10 names from a single call.
What to skip:
Don’t schedule a giant intro meeting unless your team actually wants it. Most people don’t.
3. Give Them a Clear Roadmap—No Guesswork
New folks hate feeling lost. A laundry list of links won’t cut it. Use Ubique Live’s task or checklist features to map out their first week.
How to lay it out:
- Day-by-day plan: Create a checklist for week one: key docs to read, tools to set up, people to meet, and small tasks to try.
- Set clear priorities: Highlight what actually matters. Don’t make them read your entire wiki before lunch.
- Flag “ask for help” points: Encourage questions by marking steps where it’s normal to get stuck. This takes away the fear of looking clueless.
Pro tip:
Include quick wins—like a “reply to this thread” or “schedule a 1:1 with your buddy”—to help them feel productive fast.
4. Centralize Communication (and Keep It Simple)
It’s tempting to throw every tool at a new hire—email, Slack, Trello, Notion. But more tools mean more confusion. Ubique Live works best when it’s the single source of truth for their first week.
Keep it all in one place:
- Direct messages: Use Ubique Live’s chat for both group and private convos. If you stray to another app, make it clear why.
- Pin important threads: Key info should never be more than one click away. Pin the onboarding checklist, team intro thread, and FAQ.
- Record walkthroughs: Short screen recordings beat long written docs. Show how to request time off or submit expenses instead of writing a novella.
What doesn’t work:
Dumping people into five apps on day one. Even if your team uses other tools, let new folks start with just one until they’re comfortable.
5. Make Feedback a Two-Way Street (and Actually Listen)
Most onboarding feedback forms are ignored, or worse, used to tick a compliance box. If you want to improve, make feedback easy—and act on it.
How to do this with Ubique Live:
- Private feedback threads: Set up a space where new hires can ask questions or flag confusion without feeling put on the spot.
- Quick check-ins: Use async video or chat to ask, “What’s still confusing?” after their first week. Keep it informal.
- Iterate: If people keep tripping on the same step, fix the process, not the person.
What to ignore:
Don’t rely only on end-of-onboarding surveys. By then, it’s too late to help this person—and most folks won’t be brutally honest anyway.
6. Don’t Overdo It: Avoid Overwhelming New Hires
It’s easy to get excited and flood new folks with every process, policy, and “fun” team activity you can think of. Resist the urge.
Stick to the essentials:
- Cut the clutter: Only include what they need for the first week. Everything else can wait.
- Keep meetings to a minimum: If an intro call isn’t necessary, don’t schedule it. Use async tools instead.
- Let them settle in: Give people room to get comfortable before piling on more info.
What works:
A steady drip of information beats a firehose. If they’re not lost and they know where to ask questions, you’ve done your job.
7. Set Them Up for Ongoing Success
Onboarding doesn’t end after week one. Make sure new hires know where to go next.
Next steps in Ubique Live:
- Point to ongoing resources: Link to knowledge bases, project channels, or regular team updates.
- Encourage regular check-ins: Suggest they book recurring catch-ups with their manager or buddy.
- Invite feedback: Let them know their opinions on the onboarding process are valued—really.
Watch out for:
Dropping new hires into the deep end after a week. Check in again after 30 days. Most folks hit roadblocks after the “honeymoon” period ends.
Wrapping Up: Keep It Simple, Iterate, and Be Human
Onboarding isn’t about fancy tools or ticking boxes. It’s about making new people feel welcome, clear, and productive—fast. Ubique Live can help, but only if you use it to cut noise, not add to it. Start with the basics. See what works. Fix what doesn’t.
And remember: a good onboarding process is never “done.” Keep it simple, listen to new hires, and tweak as you go. That’s how you build a team that actually works together—no hype required.