Just in the last decade, the number of remote workers has increased significantly. Not to mention the further increase resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic. Most workers have adopted this new way of working, whereas companies have shifted their incentives to simply hiring workers to solely work remote. While many companies are adopting this new way of hiring, there are however a few things to think about before hiring remote workers. This guide to hiring remote workers will provide you and your company with the most essential information to think about during the hiring process.
1. What type of job are you offering?
Nowadays, there are multiple different kinds of remote work. Are you looking to employ someone to work fully remote or just part time? Perhaps you need them to switch between different offices, or simply offer a flexible home office schedule. Familiarize yourself with the various types, and make sure you decide on one to narrow down the search.
Once the type of job is decided, it is also important to decide whether previous knowledge is necessary. As remote workers will have a greater freedom in when and how to do their job, they consequently have more responsibility. They need to be able to collaborate effectively on an online basis, and to stay productive without someone supervising them. It can therefore be wise to determine if you want someone with previous experience in working from home. Whatever the type of job it is that you are offering, make sure you make up your mind before continuing the hiring process.
2. The right job description
Remote work has opened up more hiring possibilities, making it possible to hire independently of where the worker resides. As remote work increases the available talent pool, it can both increase the possibility and increase the challenge of finding the perfect candidate. This makes it more important to publish the right job description, to make sure to attract the most fitting applicants.
Remote job offers can attract both candidates which are qualified enough, but also those who only apply because it fits their lifestyle. Not only do you have to give them a reason as to why they should apply to your company, but also make a job description that attracts candidates which are the right fit. Try to express your company culture in the job ad, and look for a cultural fit in the job applicants. For a higher chance of finding the perfect candidate, share your job ad on social media, or use a recruiting platform to widen the talent search.
3. The time zone
Hiring remote workers also means that you have the opportunity to hire from all around the world. If you are hiring someone that will move to come work for you, then no problem. But if you are hiring someone that will work from home full time, it is wise to think about the probability of different time zones.
If collaboration with other employees is a big part of the job, then narrowing down the search to locations with the same time zone will remove certain barriers. This also goes for already existing employees. By clustering them into time zones, they will have an easier time working together. However, if asynchronous collaboration is not an issue for the job type, then the time zones won’t matter as much.
4. What do you need for this job?
Once you have your candidates, it’s important you know what it is that you need for the position you are offering. The more remote the position is, the more autonomously the person needs to be able to work. Look for someone that shows initiative, or even make them do a small task in advance of the interview. Self-starters, and people who show active communication skills are essential skills to look for when hiring remote workers. Additionally, having strong collaboration skills will also be beneficial if the position involves a lot of teamwork.
Apart from useful skills, you should also look at your already existing employees and how they work. There are numerous different communication styles, and having a team that all prefer different types will make collaboration harder. It is therefore important to understand their way of communicating, and collaborating to find someone that fits well into the team. And as remote work opens up opportunities for having a more diverse workforce, you can also look at how their culture influences their work style. By having a team with diverse backgrounds, you will lay the foundation for a more creative work.
5. Recruiting platform
Hopefully this guide to hiring remote workers could give some insight about the hiring process, and the most important things to think about. It is not always easy to find the perfect candidate when the available workforce keeps increasing. It can therefore be easier to use a recruiting platform which will help you to match the perfect candidates for your company. Moyyn is an AI based recruiting platform that will match your company to highly skilled professionals. Access our talent pool or let us and our AI do the matchmaking for you! Know more about how you can get candidates easily for the most in demand position here.
We are a recruitment platform for highly skilled professionals in Europe. We have thousands of experienced engineers in all domains looking for new opportunities at the moment. If you are a company looking for talents, you can get access to our highly skilled talent base. Getting profiles is completely free of cost. If you like to recruit engineers and feel that you have a shortage of skilled labor in your company, feel free to contact us.