Onboarding shapes a new hire’s impression and can define their future engagement and success. In the era of flexible, remote work, organizations like GoTo are reimagining onboarding to build genuine connections, foster belonging, and set employees up for success from day one – no matter where “day one” happens.
In Onboarding in the Age of Flexible Work, I explored the critical role onboarding plays, along with some early challenges and solutions we discovered as we began adapting to remote work. Now, years into GoTo’s remote-first approach, we’ve gained new insights and faced fresh hurdles. In this article, I’ll share what’s changed, what still holds true, and the valuable lessons we’ve learned along the way.
How We Are Doing This
To set up new hires for success in a remote environment, GoTo has transformed onboarding into a fully virtual, interactive journey accessible from anywhere. A new hire’s journey as a GoTo employee (or GoGetter, as we refer to ourselves) starts before day one with our Preboarding Dashboard—giving incoming employees an early look at GoTo’s mission, values, and culture while guiding them through essential tasks.
From live virtual orientation sessions and IT setup to early check-ins with managers, every step is designed to spark connections and provide clarity. New hires receive a series of interactive modules—packed with tutorials, videos, guides, and resources—delivered during their first month, plus two feedback surveys to help shape their experience.
Throughout their first year, employees join virtual events with colleagues and leaders worldwide, dive into our cultural communities, and connect via cross-team and social Slack channels to jumpstart relationships and ongoing learning.
Managers follow a dedicated onboarding track with tailored leadership modules and live sessions with internal experts—equipping them to foster team growth and high engagement.
Our data-driven approach means we’re always listening—surveying new hires and iterating on the program to meet evolving needs—so every remote onboarding is smooth, engaging, and meaningful.
Then vs. Now: 6 Takeaways That Elevated Our New Hire Journey
In my original blog, I highlighted challenges and solutions we faced with virtual onboarding back in 2022. Here’s what still holds true, what we’ve improved, and a few new insights we’ve discovered along the way.
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Building meaningful relationships remotely isn’t automatic—this remains as true as ever. While our virtual events and intentional team building kept new hires engaged early on, we’ve learned that regular manager check-ins, small-group networking, and fun virtual activities must be ongoing to foster genuine belonging and prevent isolation. Human connection is still central, but now we approach it with even more intention.
To avoid overwhelming our new hires, we’ve evolved our meet-and-greet events with executive members from monthly to bi-monthly and have prioritized new hires’ questions first. We also increased the cadence of our Culture and Communities event to twice a year, allowing us to better accommodate different time zones. This event still focuses on our culture, communities, and volunteer opportunities to empower our new hires in ways they can get connected with others, the company, and get involved in their local communities.
- Feedback drives continuous improvement.
Our reliance on new hire feedback has been validated: surveys, informal check-ins, and focus groups continue to shape our program. What’s changed is the pace—we gather and act on feedback in real time, using quick pulse surveys and regular touchpoints to keep a finger on the experience and adapt our onboarding for evolving needs. In recent years, we’ve also updated our onboarding questions annually to ensure teams like Talent Acquisition and IT contribute relevant content to the process.
- Personalization makes a difference.
Tailoring onboarding to country, language, and role has always been important, but recently we’ve taken this further. Our Preboarding Dashboard now adapts to local compliance and cultural needs, and our onboarding resources are more flexible, ensuring every new team member feels supported and can hit the ground running.
We collaborate with regional teams to ensure we stay in compliance with evolving laws and customary nuances.
- Manager engagement is critical.
We’ve always equipped managers to guide new hires, but it’s clearer than ever that their involvement is critical. We now provide more robust manager onboarding—including leadership modules, peer roundtables, and practical tools—delivered monthly and designed to best accommodate differing time zones, so all new and newly promoted managers can better support their remote teams and drive early engagement.
- Company culture can thrive remotely.
We used to worry if our culture could cross virtual divides. Now, with intentional events, executive Q&As, ERG participation, and transparent communication, we’ve seen that shared values and inclusion can be just as strong—even at a distance.
- Onboarding is an ongoing journey, not a single event.
We’ve moved beyond a “checklist mentality”. Onboarding now unfolds over weeks and months, with continuous learning modules, milestone check-ins, and new hire events throughout the year. This ongoing approach helps new employees build connections, master their roles, and truly feel part of the team.
GoTo’s onboarding hub is a centralized location where new hires can find a selection of resources to help them get acclimated.
GoTo’s Broader Learning Philosophy
At GoTo, onboarding is just the start of our commitment to continuous growth. We see learning as an ongoing journey, woven into our culture and aligned with real business needs. Every team member is encouraged to collaborate, adapt, and build new skills—no matter where they are.
Our approach is flexible, inclusive, and accessible—from digital resource libraries and new hire events to regular check-ins and personalized development opportunities. These tools and connections extend well beyond the first weeks, creating a living culture where learning never stops.
As we look ahead, GoTo remains dedicated to evolving our onboarding and development experiences for a flexible, empowered workforce. The momentum built early on is just the beginning. With ongoing support and opportunities for every employee, we’re creating a place where learning never ends, and everyone has the opportunity to succeed.
-Michelle O’Gorman, VP, Global Talent Development
