How to Hire the Best People for Your Remote Openings

Whether building a remote office from scratch or virtualizing one arm of your department, you’ll need a solid remote hiring process to find those remote gems in the job market.

Any company on any day would want to hire the best people for their open job roles. But it becomes quite a challenge in remote settings because there is only so much you can know about the person. It’s hard to assess and evaluate someone by talking to them on a video call. 

Despite these facts, organizations hire more remote workers than ever and strive successfully. This change is fueled by a global economy of quality remote workers who have swiftly adapted to the changing mode of work and are changing how company culture works in remote organizations. 

On its lookout for quality talent, your company would want to know why remote hiring works for other companies the critical skills that quality remote workers have. We have answered all of these demands in this informative post. 

Why Remote Hiring Works 

Increased Employee Retention

It’s an observable trend that remote workers usually stay longer with a company due to the personal benefits. In an Owl Labs survey , 74% of workers admitted that remote work opportunities would motivate them to stay longer with the company. 

When employees feel at ease in their working environment and can manage their lifestyle with greater autonomy, they stay longer. This is a direct benefit for organizations as lower employee attrition saves the company both time and resources.

Therefore, organizations planning on developing a remote workforce or a hybrid office have this benefit up for grabs. Workplaces with a high employee turnover can look into remote hiring. 

Greater Access to Worldwide Talent 

Availability of talent in local areas has been a persistent challenge for most hiring officers. Either they have to select from local candidate profiles or offer relocation packages for willing employees. But with remote hiring, their search radius has increased dramatically.

They can look for relevant talent in the next city, state, or even off-shore. A remote job opens up gates for candidates in talent-rich countries to fill the gap, which is a win-win situation for both the company and employees. 

About 64% of recruiters have agreed  that having a work-from-home policy in their company helps them attract high-quality talent. 

Employees Find It Easier to Work Remotely

Remote work does offer an opportunity to fix up the loose ends of work-life balance for employees. In another Owl Labs survey , 72% of respondents claimed that remote work makes them less stressed. This invariably improves their life quality as they have to face lesser mental health challenges, which also enhances their productivity at work. 

Furthermore, employees also get several other benefits such as rent allowances, savings on commute costs, extended time with family, all of which go a long way in restoring their work-life balance.  

Cost Benefits for Employers 

Remote work takes away all the physical office spaces, electricity costs, amenities costs, and so on from employers. You may never require a permanent office address if you’re a 100% remote company. 

For startups and companies in their establishment phase, this counts for significant savings. A study found that small companies are two times more likely to work with remote employees. It only reflects that remote work takes away a ton of business costs from organizations that can be fruitfully invested in other operational functions. 

Top Skills That Remote Recruiters Tend To Overlook 

In a remote hiring process, recruiters need to have their primary focus on skills relevant to the job function, but there is a latent set of skills that recruiters tend to overlook. 

We can call “remote work skills” or the skills needed to lead a remote job successfully. These skills enable employees to respond to the transforming dynamics of working virtually, interacting using only webcams, and staying productive in a remote setting.

Look for the following in your next candidate. 

• Virtual Communication:Is the employee well-versed in professional communication in a virtual environment. This applies to verbal and written skills for telemeetings and chat platforms. 

• Team Player: Gelling up with the team in an office comes naturally but can the candidate achieve the same team bonding virtually. Are they trained enough to partner with team members with only virtual communication aids?  

• Personal Productivity Management:Work from home demands personal discipline as the foremost priority. In a virtual office, you have to manage your productivity levels on your own and ensure that work doesn’t suffer due to the many distractions a remote environment may have.  

• Knack with Digital Tools:The candidate must be well-versed with digital tools such as Zoom, Slack, and other foundational apps to remote work. This also includes working with computers and business applications in the absence of instant IT support.

How To Effectively Reach Out To Remote Applicants

As discussed, remote talent is relatively abundant, but finding the right candidate can be extensive. To speed up your hiring process, you’ll have to build an intelligent reach-out strategy that targets relevant candidates effectively.

Here are a few quick tips for doing just that! 

• Build a Referral Portal:Ask your current employees to send in quality referrals for the current remote job openings. This could be the fastest way to find new people with an added layer of trust. 
• Expand Outreach to Remote Job Portals:Move beyond your generic job portals and head to job portals that specifically target remote employees and freelancers. 
• Leverage Social Media Presence: Use your company’s LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook pages for posting open positions. It is surprising how many people apply for jobs on social media, don’t shy away. 
• Introduce Lucrative Perks:4-day work week? 1.5x the salary? Signing bonus? There are a lot of perks on offer that attracts top talent. Talk to your leadership about what perks must be included in the job offers.

Build a Remote Hiring Process Today

Building a solid remote hiring process is fundamental to hiring the best people in your organization. It’s not about nit-picking the most skilled worker in the world but about finding talent that fits the company culture.

Moreso, how will they perform in a remote setting, and are they good with self-management? A modern-day remote hiring manager must consider the expansive possibilities that remote hiring brings with it. Follow the guideposts offered in this article to revitalize your remote hiring workflow. 

Nandini Sharma is the Assistant Marketing Manager at ProofHub.

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