Remote jobs are growing in popularity across the country. Employers can enjoy higher productivity, lower office costs, and the ability to choose from a larger pool of workers. Employees enjoy the lack of commute, flexible work hours, and the ability to work for companies hundreds of miles away.
While hiring remote workers is clearly beneficial, it can also be a difficult process because you may not get to meet the applicant face-to-face. These tips will help you hire the best people for your positions right off the bat so that you do not have to deal with future problems, including high turnover rates.
Define What You’re Looking For
You must be clear on the type of candidate for whom you are looking as well as on the requirements of the job. First, you must define skills as well as past educational and employment experience that applicants should have.
Second, you should list what individuals can expect from the job, such as the job hours, the type of work they will be doing, the type of computer or software they will need, and any job benefits.
Look in the Right Places
With so many individuals looking for remote work these days, you have a variety of options for where you can look for your ideal candidate. Remote work job boards are typically your best bet because you will easily be able to connect with applicants from across the country.
You can also post your job in remote startup directories or on your social media page. Try to stay away from traditional job posting sites, which tend to include very few remote jobs.
Determine if They Are a Good Fit Before Hiring
Once applicants have reached out to you, it is vital that you take the time to determine whether they are good fits for your company before hiring them. Even knowledgeable and experienced applicants may not be a good fit if their personality clashes with your company’s culture.
First, you will need to determine if the applicant will work well in a remote setting. Tell him how his hours will be set and when and how often he will need to communicate with his team. You may even want to share personal stories from other remote workers to help applicants get an accurate feel for what they will experience.
Second, your ideal applicant should be able to fit into your company’s culture while mirroring your company’s values. For example, your company may be very team-oriented, or it may focus more on individual projects. You may value a traditional feel, or perhaps you are looking for laid-back employees and welcome feedback from everyone.
Third, you should ask specific questions to weed out applicants who do not match what your company needs. Some questions could include the following:
- Have you ever worked remotely before?
- Tell me about a project in which you took the lead for the team.
- Why are you interested in this job?
- What skills and experience do you have that make you ideal for this position?
You may even want to give applicants a specific problem to solve or a small project to tackle before completing the hire. If you are not sure how to carry out this part of the interview effectively yourself, you can use personality tests or applicant tracking systems to do some of the work for you.
Look for Specific Skills
While certain skills, such as perseverance and critical thinking, are vital in any workplace, a remote job requires even more from your applicants. While the specifics of the job can be learned in time, personalities do not change. Once you have completed the interview or have had the applicant take a personality test, look for certain qualities that would make him a good fit.
- Organization ensures that the individual develops a good work rhythm and orders his day to his own and your company’s advantage.
- Collaboration ensures remote employees work with their teams through telephone calls or video conferencing.
- Self-discipline helps the individual be a self-starter and complete his work on time without direct oversight.
- Accountability lets the individual be accountable to himself, his team and his employer despite a lack of face-to-face meetings.
- Dependability ensures that your remote employee will complete assigned work as promised, show up for video conferencing calls and understand performance management requirements.
- Time management is vital for improving your bottom line and ensuring that projects are turned in on time.
Determine If They Are Cut Out for Remote Work
Your ideal candidate must understand how remote work will be different from a traditional job. Those who have previous experience will understand the need for independent work and dependability. However, you must take the time to tell those who are new to this field what they can expect.
Tell them about incentive program ideas, and give them some tips for developing a good daily routine, connecting with colleagues and solving problems on their own. Seeing how they respond to these tips will help you know how they will respond to other concerns on the job.
Hire Right the First Time
Hiring a remote worker is a far different experience than hiring on-site employees is. However, by following these tips, you can ensure that your future employee is ready for the challenge and will fit in perfectly with your company culture.