Hiring Remote Employees: An Ultimate Guide | DT Evolve

 Introduction

The traditional office setup is becoming a thing of the past, businesses are adopting remote working rapidly. Hiring remote employees has many benefits but every coin has two faces. There are also some negative aspects of hiring remote employees.

Remote work refers to the practice of working from a location other than a traditional office or workplace. It can be a home office, a coffee shop, or a co-working space. Hiring remote employees use technology to communicate with their superiors and colleagues. Remote employees complete their job duties without being physically present in the workplace. It is also known by the names “work from home” or “telecommuting.”

The trend of work that is recently gaining fame is remote working. It is happening due to advances in technology. With remote work, employees can achieve a better work-life balance and can create a flexible schedule that suits their lifestyle. Employers are also able to access a variety of talent without being limited by geographic location. Remote work was established for several years but the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated its fame dramatically. After the lockdown of this pandemic, more and more people are accustomed to working from home.

In this blog, we will address all the positive as well as negative aspects of remote hiring. The hiring process for remote employees is really important for effective hiring. There are also various challenges when you are hiring remote employees and we will also analyze the strategies to overcome these challenges.

The Hiring Process for Remote Employees

It is really important to have a clear and effective hiring process. Finding the right candidate for the job role can be a difficult task when it is performed online or virtually. But don’t worry! With these steps for the process of hiring remote employees, you can successfully hire the best fit for your work. 

• Define the job requirements: Defining the job requirements is an essential step of the hiring process. Start by mentioning the key skills, experience, and qualifications that are required for the job role offered by you. You should also consider the specific challenges and opportunities that come with remote working—for instance, self-motivation and communication skills.

• Advertise the job: Advertising the job on various social media platforms, job boards, and professional networks can help find a wider pool of fresh talent to choose from. Make sure to highlight that the role is remote and provide all the necessary details your employees would need to apply for the job. For instance, Hema posted a remote job for a social media marketer role on LinkedIn or Facebook. She also added details like 3 years of experience, digital marketing skills, communication skills, and day-to-day tasks that a candidate has to perform. 

• Screen candidates: Candidate screening is based on their resumes and cover letters, and you can consider using video interviews to get a better sense of their communication skills and personality.

• Test their skills: Test the skills of the chosen candidates. Depending on the role, their abilities can be tested through skills assessment, coding challenges, etc.

• Conduct a final interview: If you find the right candidate, initiate them into a final interview to analyze whether they fit with your organization and culture or not.  

• Extend an offer: After selecting the best applicant, send a job offer with information on perks, salary, and job requirements. Provide a detailed onboarding strategy that includes instruction on remote work tools. Clarify your expectations for performance, communication, and working hours.

Benefits of Remote Work

Remote work can benefit both the employer and the employee. There are many benefits of working remotely. Some of them are:

• Increased flexibility
• Better work-life balance
• Improved productivity
• Cost savings
• Access to a wider pool of talent

Unexpected Challenges in the Hiring Process

Finding and hiring qualified candidates can be challenging for employers and candidates both. In the hiring process, employers can face many unexpected challenges. Some challenges can be:

• Finding qualified candidates: Not all candidates are a good fit for remote working. Remote working includes self-management skills such as prioritizing tasks, managing time effectively, and maintaining motivation. And, not everybody can pull off remote working. 

• Managing a high volume of applicants: Sometimes, employers may receive hundreds or thousands of applications for a job opening. It can be overwhelming and stressful to screen all the applicants.

• Conducting remote interviews: With the rise of remote working, employers are now conducting interviews over video conferencing platforms. It can be challenging and may require additional technology or support.

• Navigating legal requirements: When hiring remote employees internationally, one should navigate the legal requirements of the employee’s location. You should be aware of employment laws such as minimum wage laws, and overtime laws in both your and your candidate’s jurisdiction. There are many more legal requirements for remote hiring such as tax laws, data privacy laws, and employment contracts. Many organizations forbid moonlighting, this refers to working for more than one employer at the same time.

• Negotiating salary and benefits: If the employer and candidate have different expectations for salary from each other, then it can be challenging to negotiate salary and benefits.

• Time zone differences: Remote work includes working with clients or colleagues in different time zones. This can create scheduling challenges and require a high level of flexibility. For instance, an individual from India working remotely for a US-based company may have to work at night and create schedules according to that as there is a huge time difference between India and US.

• Communication skills: Communicating effectively becomes a crucial term when we talk about working remotely. Communication skills are important to avoid misunderstandings, build relationships and trust, maintain productivity, and address problems instantly.

• Onboarding challenges: Onboarding simply refers to the process of introducing a newly hired employee into the organization. Onboarding remote employees can be a challenge for employers than onboarding in-office employees. 

• Home setup as a workspace: All remote employees do not have a suitable office setup at home. They also do not have the access to a quiet workspace and reliable internet connection, that’s why they may not be able to work efficiently from home.

Also Read: Self Introduction- Useful Advice for Easing the Process

Strategies to Overcome Challenges in Hiring Remote Employees

You already got to know about the various challenges that an employer can face while hiring remote employees. There are some useful strategies that you can implement to successfully hire a remote worker. By implementing these strategies, you can overcome all the challenges and build a productive remote workforce.

• Create clear job descriptions: You should create clear job descriptions so that the employees can be familiar with the company’s culture and expectations. A good job description includes information about specific skills and experience and qualifications that are needed.  

• Use video interviews: Video interviews can give you a hint of personality and communication skills, which are critical for remote employees. It can help you to build a connection with the candidate and get a sense of enthusiasm for the role they have.

• Experience in remote working: Look out for an individual’s experience. In this case, candidates will likely have a piece of better knowledge and challenges of remote working. Experienced candidates are better equipped to handle all the challenges and work. 

• Utilize technology: Various tools and technologies are available to help you facilitate communication and collaboration. For example, Zoom, WhatsApp, Google Meet, etc.

• Provide training and support: Employers should provide additional training and support to remote employees. This ensures that they are able to perform their job effectively. Provide them with all the tools for remote work best practices, communication tools, and project management strategies. 

• Emphasize flexibility: Flexibility is the key advantage of remote working. Stress the flexibility of the role and provide options to the remote employees, so that they can modify their schedules as necessary to meet personal needs.

• Consider time zones: Hiring remote employees from different time zones, you should consider how this can impact communication and collaboration. Establish clear communication protocols to avoid misunderstandings due to lack of communication.                   

Also Read: 3 A Model for Workplace Success | DT Evolve

Mistakes to Avoid When Hiring Internationally

You can find a wider pool of talent when hiring internationally, but there are some limitations you can encounter when hiring internationally. You are good to go if you avoid these mistakes when hiring internationally.

1. The laws and regulations of each country are not the same, so you should be aware of all the laws that apply to hiring and employment practices. If you fail to comply with these laws, it can lead to legal and financial problems.
2. Communicate clearly and frequently with the candidates to provide regular updates.
3. Consider time zone differences when hiring internationally.

Tips on How to Manage Remote Employees

Managing remote employees is a difficult task, as both the employee and the employer work long distances. Some effective tips for you to help you in managing remote employees are:

1. Use the right communication tools  
2. Establish regular check-ins
3. Foster a positive team culture
4. Trust your employees
5. Be flexible 

Also Read: Business Communication: An amazing tool to enhance yourself! | DT Evolve

Helpful Tools and Software for Remote Teams

Remote work is gaining popularity rapidly. To overcome all the challenges there are various helpful tools and software for remote teams. Utilization of these tools can improve the communication, collaboration, and productivity of your remote team. 

1. Communication tools: We got to know the importance of communication previously. There are many tools that you can use to communicate with your remote team. Some of them are Zoom or Microsoft Teams. 
2. Project management software: Project management becomes the most important term when you are working remotely. Remote working requires keeping track of projects and deadlines. Some of the tools to keep track of your projects are Trello, Asana, or Basecamp.
3. Time tracking software: Time management is a crucial skill whether it is at your home or your office. But when it comes to working remotely, time flies. You have to keep track of your time so that you can maintain a work-life balance. Time tracking software can help you in this situation, they are, Toggle track, Harvest, or Hubstaff.
4. Cloud storage: Storing and sharing files is a very important task when working. Some cloud storage services are provided by these tools, Dropbox or Google Drive.
5. Collaboration tools: Some of the collaboration tools that can help you to collaborate on documents and projects are Google Docs or Microsoft Office 365.  
6. HR management software: HR management software such as BambooHR or Workday helps in onboarding, maintaining employee records, and benefits administration. 
7. Online collaboration whiteboards: Google Jamboard allows you to brainstorm and collaborate on ideas together. 

Conclusion

In this blog, you learned about hiring remote employees. When hiring remote employees, adopting the right process for hiring becomes a crucial step. There are many benefits of hiring remote employees as it provides flexibility, better work-life balance, and cost savings. An employer may face unexpected challenges like finding qualified candidates, time zone differences, and negotiating salary and benefits. To help you overcome these challenges, there are some strategies that you can use to ensure the successful hiring of a remote employee. 

Remote work is gaining popularity rapidly. To overcome all the challenges there are various helpful tools and software for remote teams. Utilization of these tools can improve the communication, collaboration, and productivity of your remote team. 

Learn With DT Evolve  

Remote working requires a certain set of skills. These skills can help you in establishing a successful remote working attitude and environment. Here’s a course for you to enhance your skills in remote working.

In this course, you will learn how to eliminate time-wasters to stop wasting time, prioritize hacks that can help you avoid feeling overwhelmed, make weekly plans to keep you organized and prevent procrastination, and organize your time, projects, and team. You will also gain soft skills like creative thinking, problem-solving, decision making, and roster and leave management skills. This course will enhance your communication skills by providing you with the best resources, assignments and so many informational modules in a short period of time and lifetime access to the course. Here’s the link to the course, Planning and Prioritizing Management.