Did you know that 38% of working adults in the UK work fully or partially from home these days? The trend for remote employment has accelerated since the global coronavirus pandemic and shows no sign of slowing down with 16% of companies around the world being fully remote.
If you are involved in recruitment in any way, shape or form, it’s pretty likely that you’ll need to hire someone remotely, if you haven’t already done so.
The thing is, remote hiring is a different animal to traditional hiring, with a new set of best practices to follow. That’s why we’ve put together this handy guide which will outline ways to ensure that your remote hiring goes successfully.
Remote Work Hiring Challenges
When hiring people remotely, you face a unique set of challenges compared to traditional recruitment. These challenges include:
- High volume of applicants– As the job is not location dependent, the applicant pool for remote hiring is likely to be much larger than for an office-based position. You may get hundreds, or even thousands, of applications from around the world. For this reason, you’ll need to find an efficient way to sift through them all. Alternatively, you can access a talent pool that is filtered to meet your requirements by using an online recruitment consultancy such as Your Next Hire.
Online interviews – It’s more than likely that you’ll be holding the interviews using a video conferencing tool such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams. While this may be convenient for both parties, it also means that both you and the candidate may not be able to pick up on body language cues and non-verbal gestures. Some candidates may not perform as well on remote video interviews as they would in a physical face-to-face situation. It may also be difficult to assess certain skills over a live feed, such as team working or problem solving skills.
Time zone issues – The great thing about remote hiring is that you can find the best talent for the job from any corner of the globe. The downside is that you may find that there is a time zone clash, making live communication difficult. Interviews may have to be held at an inconvenient time for either or both parties.
Trickier onboarding – Onboarding new staff remotely can be difficult, especially if you don’t have an engagement strategy in place. It is a good idea to introduce new recruits to the rest of the team, especially experienced members, quickly so that they can start to learn the ropes and settle into their new working routine.
Signing contracts and arranging payments – When you hire someone from a different country or region, then different tax laws and salary calculations may apply. There may also be contractual obligations that need to be followed. If you have difficulties in this area, you may need to hire a lawyer or international business compliance expert to help you draw up the relevant contracts.
4 Steps To Successful Remote Hiring
Now that you know some of the possible remote hiring pitfalls, here are some steps you can take to avoid them and ensure that your next remote hire is a good one.
Step 1 – Write a detailed job description
Creating a good job description is even more important for remote hiring than for a traditional office role. Make sure that your job posting outlines the specifics of the role, as you’re more likely to receive qualified applicants. You may also want to specify timezone and logistical requirements, especially if regular team meetings are part of the job expectations.
Step 2 – Prepare your video interview carefully
Make sure that you have a reliable internet connection, as well as a good camera and microphone, so that you give a good first impression when you meet potential recruits. Prepare a set of questions that can be answered easily in a virtual interview, without the need for too much non-verbal communication or hard skills evaluation (this can come later – see the next step). Make sure you send all the candidates details of the interview in advance to allow them to prepare for it.
Step 3 – Integrate technical skills assessment (if required)
Most remote jobs require technical skills. If you are looking to hire remote developers, you can set an online technical test to be completed by the candidate in their own time. There are specialist sites you can use to provide online coding tests, including Codility, HackerRank, CoderPad, and Coderbyte.
Step 4 – Plan and implement online onboarding
Having a well-thought-out onboarding program is important when you hire remotely. The last thing you want is for new recruits to leave within the first few weeks because they feel unsupported, confused, or frustrated. Take the time to set up connections between existing team members and new staff. You should also prepare presentations, videos, or documents to help your new hires get to grips with the logistics of their new role.
Enlist the support of remote hiring experts
If you need help with the online remote hiring process, why not get in touch with YNH? As a leading technical recruitment consultancy, we have a lot of experience in hiring remote software developers and technical staff. Get in touch today.
