At the 2019 Personnel Adaptation Forum, one of the practical questions was how to help remote employees become part of a team rather than remain isolated names on a screen. Elena Voitsekhovskaya, then a senior learning-programme manager, presented Kaspersky’s approach to onboarding distributed employees.
This is a historical case, but the management problem remains current: a remote employee needs more than access credentials and a list of tasks. They need context, dependable working relationships and a clear route to feedback.
Why remote onboarding required a system
Kaspersky operated internationally and employed specialists in many locations. Its products were technically complex, so customer-facing employees needed both strong product knowledge and a clear understanding of how the company’s solutions differed.
Training a new colleague required considerable time and attention. When someone left during probation, the organisation lost not only recruitment cost but also the effort invested by managers, mentors and subject-matter experts. The presentation also highlighted a familiar onboarding risk: after the first week, many new employees still could not tell whether they saw a long-term future with the company.
Remote colleagues faced additional barriers:
- they could feel detached from the organisation’s purpose and everyday life;
- events and informal knowledge from the main office did not reach them naturally;
- feedback from a manager could arrive too slowly;
- some people worked for years without ever meeting their colleagues at headquarters.
The onboarding model
The company built a structured programme intended to develop the knowledge, behaviours and relationships required for effective work. One of its central elements was a Sales Academy for new employees.
Learning followed two complementary tracks:
- People with a strong technical background were introduced to the specific logic, use cases and positioning of current products and solutions.
- Sales managers studied product characteristics, key distinctions and customer value so that they could explain the offer accurately rather than rely on generic sales language.
The six-month programme combined business simulations and e-learning. Each participant received an individual learning plan, and progress was reviewed rather than assumed.
Design principles
- Use progressive disclosure. Do not overwhelm a newcomer with every document and process on the first day; provide information in a deliberate sequence.
- Create one reliable starting point. Assemble essential documents, contacts and resources before the employee begins.
- Keep materials current. Outdated onboarding content teaches people to distrust the knowledge base and return to private messages for every answer.
- Track real progress. Completion is not the same as understanding; combine learning records with discussion and practical application.
In the first cohort described in the case, 51 employees from five regions and eleven countries took part. The programme’s value was not limited to product training: it also made the organisation, its expectations and its people more tangible.
From training to belonging
Onboarding is also a social transition. Kaspersky supplemented remote learning with a welcome event at its Moscow headquarters. The first meeting brought together 19 employees from nine countries. Participants valued the opportunity to meet colleagues, understand the wider organisation and build relationships that would later make remote collaboration easier.
Practical lessons for distributed teams
- Explain the organisation’s purpose, priorities and operating principles—not only the newcomer’s task list.
- Assign a mentor who can answer practical questions and interpret culture, conventions and unwritten rules.
- Agree a predictable feedback rhythm with the manager, especially during probation.
- Introduce the people and communities the newcomer will depend on before a problem forces the first contact.
- Combine common standards with an individual learning plan.
- Create purposeful moments of live interaction where the cost is justified.
Remote onboarding succeeds when a new employee can answer four questions: what result is expected, how work is done here, whom to approach and whether they belong. A learning platform can support that transition, but only managers and colleagues can make it real.
