Remote staffing: what is it?
It used to be that working remotely had a bad reputation, but more and more companies are adopting work-from-home policies. A remote recruiting process involves sourcing, screening, interviewing, and hiring geographically dispersed employees. A remote recruitment process makes use of increasingly sophisticated hiring technology stacks, compared to traditional recruitment methods (phone, email, spreadsheets).
Benefits of remote recruiting
Recruiting remote employees has several benefits. It is a win-win situation for both employers and employees when remote workers are equipped with effective remote-working technology and possess relevant remote-working skills.
Tips for hiring remote employees ( Remote Staffing Tips )
When you’re going through a transition, it’s normal to feel overwhelmed. To help you develop and implement your own remote recruiting strategy, here are some tips:
Make sure you know what you’re looking for
Whenever you conduct a job search, you need to develop a very detailed and specific profile of the type of candidate you need. Several qualities will remain the same, but you’ll also need to take into account some qualities that are specific to remote work.
We always say we are looking for independent self-starters, but this is especially important in a remote environment. During the day, you don’t have the luxury of keeping an eye on them or popping into the office to make sure everything is working as it should. Motivating remote employees is essential.
Get your business ready for remote working
Review your organization’s readiness to recruit, support, and retain remote workers before committing to remote recruitment. A review of your end-to-end remote recruitment processes, the upgrade of your recruitment software, and the training of people who will manage remote workers could be involved.
Providing benefits to remote workers will attract them
Employees who work remotely do not have access to in-office perks such as gyms and cafés. Think about what a remote employee would value, such as a clear career path, learning and development opportunities, or a reward and recognition program. Promote your organization’s culture and values online, and show how they extend to remote workers when building your employer brand online. Provide generous vacation time, a technology allowance, and access to co-working spaces in the remote workers’ area to attract remote workers.
Before the interview, provide details
Candidates are unprepared for interviews when recruiters fail to provide detailed information about a role. As a result, the entire interviewing process is futile.
If you provide applicants with all relevant information related to the job during the pre-interview stage, you can avoid this problem. Furthermore, putting details online will ensure a level playing field for all candidates. Career fairs are another excellent way to help candidates understand what you expect from them before the scheduled interview.
Video interviewing
Remote recruiting has never been easier (or more doable) than it is today thanks to video interviewing technology. COVID-19 is causing many major companies to conduct virtual job interviews. These include Amazon, Facebook, Google, and Microsoft.
During different stages of the interview process, you should use both one-way and two-way video interviews. One-way interviews can replace phone screenings, whereas two-way interviews can replace in-person meetings. Remote recruiting allows you to gauge candidates’ non-verbal communication. Preparation for an interview should be just as thorough as for a face-to-face meeting. In addition to revealing what you need to know about your interviewees, good, consistent questions will also help you reduce bias. Video interviewing is one of the best tip in the list of Remote Staffing Tips.
Engage your candidates
Engage your candidates throughout the recruitment process, even if they’re far away. Keep them updated on the status of their application and how the recruitment process is going. Consider using a candidate relationship management (CRM) tool like Smashfly or Beamery that allows you to build and maintain relationships throughout the recruiting funnel to help you stay organized.
Furthermore, many companies have frozen their hiring efforts and left their candidates in the dark. Avoid making that mistake. Your recruitment strategy should be adapted and evolved to meet the needs of your current situation.
Be Transparent
International talent recruitment can be tricky. The employer-employee relationship can be strengthened by being transparent about your company’s mission and expectations. Your employees will be more likely to trust you if you lead by example.
Establish clear policies for remote working
Businesses have just… gone with the flow since COVID-19. Initially, governments enforced working from home. Those who needed to be at their desks were told to return to work. Now what? You probably have to consider where you live. Consequently, some businesses have seriously fuzzy expectations regarding employee behavior when working remotely. You’ve got to be clear about remote workforce policies if you want to keep people happy.
How many days a week do you expect employees to be in the office? When should they be available for emails and work calls? Are you offering a home office stipend, or are you transferring travel allowances elsewhere? Can remote employees get Starbucks vouchers equivalent to that awesome free espresso cart in the office lobby?
Remote work is the future of work
The distributed team is not a perfect solution to today’s workplace challenges, but it offers an alternative for companies and workers alike. Remote work is here to stay, as evidenced by numerous studies. Some examples are as follows:
- Zapier, a San Francisco-based software company, is now offering up to $10,000 to team members willing to leave the Bay Area.
- Location-independent workers will be supported by Estonia’s digital nomad visa. Those who work remotely will be able to reside in Estonia for 365 days under this visa.
- It is now more common for companies to have fully remote teams than ever before. Several companies have transitioned to a fully remote model, including Doist, Buffer, Zapier, InVision, and Automattic.
- Governor Phil Scott signed a bill that pays remote workers to relocate to Vermont. Vermont offers $10,000 to anyone who moves to the state and works remotely.
Further, 37% of remote workers would take a 10% pay cut to continue working from home, according to Global Workplace Analytics. Some employees refuse to accept onsite positions, knowing they can find a more convenient and flexible job elsewhere.
As a result, companies can boost employee retention by allowing teams to work remotely. Team members leaving for greener pastures no longer cause them inconvenience, expense, or disruption. The benefits of remote working far outweigh the disadvantages, so it’s time to prepare for the future of work and the extent to which it will be part of it. Increasingly advanced technology will make remote work even easier. 50% of the workforce is expected to work remotely by 2023.
Doist believes remote work is not a fad. As the year’s pass, more companies will grow distributed teams, and more workers will demand remote work. With the possibility of working from anywhere, now is a great time to grow a business. Companies may feel more comfortable as a result of these advancements. With the right technology and hardworking employees, managing a remote workforce can be easy.
What is the effectiveness of remote working?
Let’s take a look at how effective remote working has been. Post-pandemic, remote working is undeniably here to stay, and it’s also proving to be productive.
Despite the sudden pandemic-induced revolution (rather than evolution), employers now know that remote working can be very productive thanks to the forced pivot. According to a YouGov survey, 57% of employees want the option to work from home, making it an important aspect of a company’s hiring policy.
A final thought
It is imperative that employers carefully plan their remote hiring processes to meet the needs of the modern remote workforce that operates across borders. Every step of the hiring process must be well-planned, from advertising job vacancies to onboarding remote employees.
Recruitment strategies need to be adapted to remote realities. It is a good idea to invite your candidates to the office if you have the opportunity to do so. There are times, however, when it won’t always be possible, such as right now during the COVID-19 outbreak. That’s why you need to be agile when recruiting. In the end, it won’t hurt your business, it’ll only make you more tech-savvy, efficient, and prepared.
