The best leaders know how important it is to identify top talent and build effective teams. And every time you add a new employee, the team dynamic shifts a little–for better or worse. In the midst of today’s pandemic, not only are teams working remotely, but many are adding new team members, growing at a time co-workers can’t get to know each other in the usual ways.

Engaging new employees quickly and effectively may be more important now than ever. Here’s how to help shorten the process.

Starting Off on the Right Foot

Human resources departments have typically taken the lead on employee orientation, sharing the ‘need-to-know’ information about company history, benefits, badges, and the like. It’s important to make sure this critical information is easy to access remotely with an intranet or social platform that works consistently, and on the day a new team member starts. Then you can focus on the human connection that will develop and retain top talent.

In today’s pandemic, it is okay for onboarding to take the online approach. The only difference is, instead of an in-office session, you’ll be meeting new teammates in a different way.

Lending Tree has taken the basics a big step further, assigning a culture ambassador to connect with each new employee regularly, to help them feel they have a ‘place’ in the company.

In the absence of day-one, in-person orientation sessions, HR executive Angela Kirkby recommends using technology to build connection. Link new hires who start the same day electronically so they can develop cross-functional networks from the start.

There is no replacement for a detailed onboarding plan from the supervisor. Who does the new employee need to meet and who needs to meet them? What should they read to put them on the same level as longer-term employees? What media should they follow to keep up to speed on your industry? A thorough plan demonstrates your commitment to helping every new staff member add value as quickly as possible. Don’t skip this important step.

Working effectively as Teams

Technology from Slack to Microsoft Teams to Zoom and others can help with workflow, but effective teamwork also demands collaboration and connection from everyone.

While the first day of a new job is exciting for the new employee, it can also be a little unnerving for the existing team. LendingTree’s new Sr. Director of CRM Joyce Poole met some of her direct reports for the first time through video, so getting to know each other on a personal level was critical for the team to gel. Joyce posted daily questions on Slack so she and her team could learn more about each other’s shared interests and ‘superpowers.’

A Place to Belong

Having friends at work is about more than just basic human interaction. It indicates a feeling of belonging and contributing to a greater whole. The communications team at Novant Health gets that.

New Novant internal communications team member Breonna McDuffie, who started her job just as the pandemic erupted in March, says she felt welcomed right away. In addition to regular check ins, her leadership team had cookies delivered to every employee at home in time for the group’s departmental meeting. And one team happy hour kept things lively by including guests from a llama farm.

Virtual social hours do work, in spite of Zoom fatigue. Scheduled regularly within traditional work hours, they are a serviceable replacement for informal chats that might previously have happened over coffee in the canteen. It’s critical to identify who will take charge of making these events happen, even if you rotate the responsibility among members of the team. Whether you plan online games or host conversations over individuals’ favorite beverages, these sessions make sure teams take time to connect on a personal level.

One Chance for a Warm Welcome

Whether the employee is entry level or a seasoned leader, every new staff member appreciates a warm welcome. Here are some questions companies should ask themselves when onboarding a team member remotely:

1. How does your organizational structure support orientation from a distance?
2. Who should take the lead to roll out the welcome mat, including regular follow ups?
3. How do you share company culture as well as key knowledge?
4. What’s the right balance between formal and informal onboarding?
5. How do we help team members get to know each other as individuals?

Effective Starts Build Effective Teams

Though specific results vary be company and by team, you’ll know your efforts have been successful by the confidence new employees show as they jump into new work…and the way your existing staff members embrace the new person.

And if you’re lucky, the team will tell you straight out—as Breonna’s team has in dubbing themselves “Team Awesome.” When your employees feel that kind of connection, you know you’re doing something right.

You know that really good friend who will always tell you what you need to hear? Chartreuse is not your best color. You have toothpaste on your chin. It doesn’t matter if you like water, it’s good for you—drink it.

In the world of near-daily Zoom meetings, each of us has the opportunity to be that friend—that coach– to each other, boosting our collective credibility and avoiding the slip ups that may garner an eye-roll instead of agreement with our ideas.

Think of the calls you’ve been on in the past three months. How might helpful insight from a co-worker have made your calls better?

• Who looked confident and engaged?
• Who exhibited a space that reflected their personality?
• Whose home office needs a good de-cluttering (no names, please)?
• Whose camera shot was more ceiling than face, with a rotating ceiling fan that hypnotized the viewer?

The Total Package

Just as you would in a workplace conference room, you notice the visual cues that give color to people’s words. You see who has great eye contact, who looks disinterested and who is on the edge of their seat. As in most work settings, you have the opportunity to be a great coach on the combination of content, delivery and environment that is most effective for your group.

The Medium is the Message

The obvious difference in today’s remote meetings is that Zoom has given us a sneak peek into our co-workers’ space and in many cases, their lives. What you have to say is much more important than the painting on the wall behind you, yes. But if your environment is a distraction, your point may fall on deaf ears— or ears focused on the sound of the dog barking in the background or the six-year-old’s request for more juice.

First, turn your video on. Your colleagues and clients want to see you. The black rectangle emblazoned with only your name is not nearly as collegial as even a still shot of you.

Your Zoom ‘shot’ should enhance your connectivity with others—not be a distraction. That goes for both video and audio. Backgrounds that give us a glimpse into who you are are fine, but we don’t necessarily need to know your obsessions. Many have found inexpensive ways to create neutral home backdrops.

Books are a great way to frame your shot. Repurpose that old thesaurus to raise your camera to eye level.

Lighting matters. Position yourself so that light falls on your face. Windows provide great light, but are not a good background, as the backlight leaves your face in shadow.

Mute is your friend. Actually, mute is everyone’s friend. Contractors, children, spouses and pets in the background can derail everyone’s attention. And, if your bedroom is your home office, make sure the person napping just out of camera range doesn’t begin to snore when you make an important point.

Practice Zoom Etiquette

Avoid eating during a call. No one wants to see you chew directly into the camera.

Put your cell phone on silent. If there’s a call you absolutely must take, post a chat to the group that you’ll be right back. Put your photo on screen and mute your mic. Disable the sound for notifications.

If you have to step away mid call–everyone needs to sneeze on occasion–pop up your photo briefly and mute. When you’re ready to rejoin the meeting, go live again with video.

Put me in, Coach

We’re all players in the video meeting game, but your role as Zoom coach can elevate you to MVP. It doesn’t work on every call or with every group, but if you’re in a tic-tac-toe-sized or smaller call, take a minute at the end to offer constructive criticism to each other on your Zoom presence. Keep your comments positive and encouraging and be prepared to take their suggestions for you with equal grace and in the spirit with which you’re sharing.

The result: colleagues who are confident their message is being heard and meetings that are focused and productive, no matter where they’re taking place.

The extended nature of the COVID-19 crisis has given many people an abundance of time to think about the responses of countries and companies–the actions taken (and not taken), and to analyze leaders from every angle.

Women at the Helm

These past few months, women’s leadership has been both celebrated (e.g. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany) and questioned (Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who implemented some of the toughest coronavirus lockdown rules in the United States). Are females better leaders in a crisis? Does it matter?

On a Zoom discussion hosted by the Women’s Impact Fund this month, a group of smart, successful women talked about the qualities of the female leaders at center stage. Their consensus: these women are expert, measured, collaborative, and calm under pressure. These women also demonstrate empathy and caring for people.

Statistically, there appears to be no difference in population death rates between male and female leaders of countries or states [Forbes: Are Female Leaders Statistically Better at Handling the Coronavirus Crisis?]. Yet there are many examples of women managing the COVID response with greater aplomb and impact.

Nationally, you can’t ignore Ambassador-at-Large Deborah Birx, M.D. Look beyond the scarves to the calm, confident expertise she demonstrates day after day, week after week.

In North Carolina, the state Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Dr. Mandy Cohen, and Mecklenburg County Public Health Director Gibbie Harris have steadfastly looked after the interests of a state of more than 10 million people, and also its largest urban area. Neither is afraid to think broadly and decisively, even when their positions may be unpopular.

Some Women’s Impact Fund Zoom participants called for more women to be empowered and encouraged to run for public office. Yes. And there are also other leadership opportunities in the chaos we are experiencing. It is up to women to seize them –leading with expertise and influence as well as their ability to leverage empathy and collaboration to solve problems.

Women are well-suited to lead through crises, but the U.S. is behind other nations in culturally embracing and enabling women. In elected office, the U.S. ranks 76th out of 193 countries when it comes to women serving on the national level, and women make up 28.7 percent of more nearly 7,400 state legislators [VOA News: Here’s How Women Leaders Govern Differently]. In corporate America, there are just 33 female CEOs among the 500 largest U.S. companies [FORTUNE: The Number of Female CEOs in the Fortune 500 hits an All-Time Record].

Resilience During Crisis

When considering leadership during crisis, I think of the calm, reasoned approach of my friend and former colleague Valerie Franco. For several years, Valerie and I led a cross-functional team that prepared for, practiced, and managed a number of crises for a Fortune®50 company.

First, we gathered the right people in the room; a mix of talented women and men who worked together and were not afraid to dig deep into the situation and make a tough call when needed. The variety of perspectives was key to seeing the crisis from different angles and land the response strategy. Diverse views matter in business and certainly in a crisis.

Valerie attributes successes in part to resilience—the ability not only to weather a storm and bounce back, but to come back stronger having learned from the difficulty.

If we study accounts from Vietnam War P.O.W. James Stockdale, we recognize the resilience paradox of realistic optimism. People in crisis situations have a better chance of survival if they remain both optimistic that one day it will end, and realistic about when and how. It’s the idea “yes I’m in a difficult spot, but I will prevail.”

When we are in a difficult struggle, whether being without a job, in an economic downturn, or coping with illness, we have the highest resilience when we are able to hold optimism in one hand and realistic expectations in the other. Regardless of gender, this axiom holds true.

It’s Time to Shine

The opportunity to celebrate and appreciate female leaders is a silver lining in this endless rain cloud of COVID. It is not about women doing better than men. Men are our peers, mentors, advocates and partners. The point is to shine a light on the amazing contributions of women in leadership roles, and on the front lines of medicine, research, business and communities; and to encourage women to confidently step into those roles, knowing that they are equipped for success.