Onboarding and Offboarding: How Remote, In-Person, and Hybrid Workplaces Should Approach Each
Welcoming a new employee or saying goodbye to one are two of the most important moments in the employee experience. For small to mid-sized companies, building strong onboarding and offboarding processes is key to maintaining culture, protecting company knowledge, and reinforcing a professional, people-first reputation.
But onboarding and offboarding aren’t one-size-fits-all. The structure of your workplace whether remote, in-person, or hybrid has a significant impact on how these programs are designed and delivered.
At The Hazel Group, we help businesses across industries implement scalable onboarding and offboarding programs that feel intentional and consistent, regardless of where work happens.
How Onboarding Varies by Workplace Type
In-Person Teams:
Onboarding in a traditional setting often involves direct access to managers and peers, live shadowing, and physical orientation (e.g., office tours, equipment setup). These face-to-face moments help build early rapport but may lack standardization when documentation and processes aren't well structured.
Remote Teams:
Virtual onboarding requires intentional communication and documentation. Clear timelines, access to systems, virtual introductions, and a structured sequence of meetings are critical. Because new hires don’t benefit from hallway conversations, your onboarding must be proactive, organized, and culture-aware to create a sense of connection from day one.
Hybrid Teams:
In hybrid environments, onboarding must unify both experiences. Some new hires may onboard fully remote, while others are in the office part-time. Consistency matters. Standard materials, digital access, and scheduled 1:1s ensure all employees start on equal footing, no matter where they sit.
How Offboarding Differs Across work Environments
In-Person:
Offboarding often involves exit interviews, return of equipment, and knowledge transfer meetings, all of which can happen live. Risks include rushed processes or inconsistencies when multiple departments aren’t aligned.
Remote:
For remote teams, offboarding needs a well-documented checklist and timeline. IT support for disabling access, shipping return materials, and digital exit interviews should be smooth and empathetic. Without physical presence, offboarding must balance efficiency and a human touch to maintain relationships.
Hybrid:
Hybrid offboarding introduces complexity. A mix of virtual and in-person steps requires cross-functional coordination to ensure equipment return, access removal, and documentation happen in sync without missed steps or confusion.
Why Feedback is a Must
No matter your workplace type, both onboarding and offboarding processes should include employee feedback. At The Hazel Group, we recommend sending an employee onboarding survey one week after a new hire’s start date to capture early impressions and surface any gaps. For offboarding, structured exit interviews help identify trends, flag avoidable turnover, and ensure a respectful, informative close to the employee experience. These feedback loops support continuous improvement in how you welcome and transition team members.
The Hazel Group includes structured feedback loops in every onboarding and offboarding program we help design. We capture insights from new hires and exiting employees so your people strategy evolves with real-world input.
How The Hazel Group Can Help
We work with small to mid-sized businesses to:
Design onboarding and offboarding programs tailored to remote, in-person, or hybrid setups
Define realistic timelines and communication cadences
Create role-specific onboarding plans
Recommend and implement tech tools to automate and track progress
Develop surveys to gather employee feedback at key milestones
Provide templates for documentation, access control, and exit interviews
Ensure compliance, knowledge transfer, and a positive experience on both ends
Whether you need a lightweight system for a remote team of 10 or a scalable structure for a 250 in-person workforce, we build repeatable programs that grow with your business.
Want to deliver a great first and last impression every time? Schedule a 30-minute consultation with The Hazel Group to build people-first onboarding and offboarding programs tailored to your workplace and team.
