According to a recent study by FlexJobs,
But for employers,
Follow these seven tips to optimize your remote hiring strategy.
1. Make sure your office is remote-ready
Before recruiting remote employees, ensure you and your team are well-prepared for remote work. Poor communication is a massive drain on company resources and performance, even more so when team members aren't in the same place. Therefore, leveraging the right communication tools can make remote recruitment a smoother process for you and your hiring team.
For example, project management software like Asana or Basecamp can enable your team to keep track of different hires. Meanwhile, applicant tracking systems (ATS) like Lever can help you screen and track job applications and resumes, as well as schedule and conduct interviews.
Some ATS systems also allow you to add notes to applicants' profiles and develop shortlists for interviewing at later stages.
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2. Know where to look for remote workers
Using remote job boards as opposed to generic job-hunting sites like Monster and Indeed will narrow your search (and lessen the burden on your recruitment team) by helping you reach candidates that are specifically looking for remote work.
Some of the best sites to look for remote employees include FlexJobs, Freelancer, We Work Remotely and Remote Co.
Some job boards, like Working Nomads, also allow you to further narrow down your search by adding skill-related tags to your listing — which increases the likelihood that it will be seen by applicants who are skilled in your field.
3. Assess the candidates with a trial assignment
Sending applicants a trial assignment will give you a clearer picture of their job performance and allow you to compare them more accurately. They also enable you to look at skills that are difficult to assess by reading the applicant's resume or asking interview questions — like their ability to manage time effectively or perform under pressure.
When setting a trial assignment, choose a task that's relevant to the job's main responsibilities. For example, if you're hiring for your digital marketing team, you can ask candidates to write a mock blog post or draft a social media campaign.
Importantly, make sure the applicant has everything they need. Prepare guidelines in a shared document with important details (e.g., word counts, media requirements, audience profiles). You should also set a reasonable deadline that won't rush the candidate or delay the hiring process.
Lastly, remember it's best to set a trial assignment later in the hiring process so you only have to review work done by applicants you're already interested in hiring.
4. Purpose job descriptions for specific remote workers
"Remote work" can mean a lot of different things. Do you have flexible working hours? Do new employees get a company laptop? Do they need to supply their own? Clearly stating what kind of remote work experience your company entails will help you attract appropriate candidates and save everyone's time.
Here are some tips geared toward identifying the right remote workers:
- Use appropriate keywords: The abilities to self-motivate and work independently are key to success in any remote job. Use relevant skill and attitude-related keywords to emphasize important qualities and attract the right candidates.
- Clarify your means of collaboration: What software or hardware will your future remote employee use to communicate with the office? It's important to outline how the team will work together, including any tools employees must be familiar with.
- Specify working hours and time zones: Make it clear when you expect employees to be online and how flexible their working hours will be. If you have fixed office hours, let them know what time zone these are in.
- List any support or resources you provide: Highlight any equipment or software workers need to familiarize themselves with. If the job requires heavy internet use, you should also specify the internet bandwidth applicants will need (e.g., 5 Mbps upload and 5 Mbps download).
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5. Utilize video interviewing software
Using the right communication tools is essential to the success of all your office operations, whether you're engaging with potential customers, providing customer support, or collaborating with team members.
Having the right software is equally important in recruitment. Video calling tools like Google Meets and Zoom became the norm for remote interviews in 2020, and they aren't going anywhere.
Real-time video interviews make the whole process of getting to know a candidate easier because applicants can interview from anywhere, but interviewers can pick up on their remote skills, like non-verbal communication.
That said, there is more to good video interviewing practice than setting an interview time and opening Zoom. Make sure you consider the following before you interview any candidate:
- Your internet connection: Not having sufficient bandwidth to stream video can make interviews laggy, awkward, and unnecessarily stressful for the candidate. HighSpeedInternet recommends a download speed of 8 Mbps per person if you don't want to get cut off mid-sentence.
- Your plan B: You can't glitch-proof your connection. Agree upon an alternative means of interviewing you can switch to if you encounter technical issues (e.g., a phone call).
- The applicant's stress levels: Interviews are stressful, but you can help candidates feel much more at ease by turning on your camera and giving them your full attention. Be friendly, personable, and show that this specific interview is as important to you as it is to them. An interviewer who cares is a great indicator of a positive company culture, and it will help you retain the best candidates.
6. Onboard your candidates remotely
Successful onboarding in any job context is crucial for employee retention, but especially in remote roles where it's harder for workers to experience company culture and get to know their colleagues.
Making onboarding a social experience will help your new hire connect with their team. Zapier, which stands out for its great remote onboarding process, starts groups of new remote hires together every two weeks, so new workers can go through the onboarding together and bond with one another.
If you're a smaller business and don't hire on a rolling basis, you can create similar experiences for your new hires. Pair them up with a hiring buddy or supervisor who can work closely with them during their first few weeks.
Utilize video call and screen sharing features on platforms Slack and Zoom to make walkthroughs easy to follow. For policies, guidelines, and SOPs, consider building an onboarding Wiki that new hires can refer to throughout their first couple of weeks. Archbee and Wikiful are two great platforms to check out.
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7. Let your candidates guide your remote recruitment process
To build a successful remote recruitment strategy, you need to see your applicants at every step of the recruitment process.
Gather feedback at the end of interviews, assignments, and employee onboarding to get a better understanding of what works and what needs improvement. Survey tools like Google Forms and SurveyMonkey are great resources for quickly gathering feedback from multiple job candidates straight after a job interview.
To get detailed and honest feedback, remember to:
- limit your survey to 5-15 questions
- put pressing questions first
- ask for anonymous feedback
You can also ask successful applicants for live feedback after they accept or decline your job offer. As the applicant will have already made a final decision, they're likely to be more forthcoming with their opinions.
