Remote work has become the new norm, but…companies are still facing the learning curve. Today we share 10 lessons for helping you to hire remote workers during the pandemic.
Last year was been a crucial learning year for many business leaders and the challenges of this year are yet to come.
The global pandemic brought difficulties in transitioning the work environment of employees. It has also become a catalyst of the long-awaited (and partially feared) global “remote work” experiment.
With the onset of the global lockdown, human resource managers had to change their recruitment strategies, whereas the owners of the smaller companies had to find their way in the new realm while learning their lessons on the go.
Speaking of which…let’s get right to those lessons!
Change recruitment approach
Many employers and workers have been in a crisis since the outbreak of the pandemic. But the situation has presented an opportunity for human resource managers to demonstrate their leadership skills.
The recruiters have to come up with a strategic response plan for hiring remote workers. It is one of the ways to enable business operations despite the uncertainties in the market. The response plan should ensure the organisation can survive in this economy.
Talent and business needs are crucial factors to consider when hiring. But the business transactions will provide a clear indicator for your recruitment approach. The new plan should start from scratch for effective virtual sourcing and onboarding .
Advise on remote office setup
While remote work brings a lot of benefits, it poses a lot of day-to-day challenges your current (and future) employees need to deal with.
Home office setup, while not being exactly obvious at the first look, is a significant barrier between your employees’ health, safety and…productivity.
Studies show that back pain is the most common reason for workman’s compensation and lost work hours and productivity. Posture experts from Posturion recommend helping your remote team to set up their home offices using ergonomic furniture and orthopaedic solutions before the issues arise.
Embrace new technologies for recruitment
Embracing digital recruitment strategies will help to maintain the momentum of hiring. These new technologies will empower your human resource professionals to remotely screen, outsource and onboard new employees.
These digital recruitment tactics help to prioritise the safety and health of your workers. Besides that, it helps to speed up matching qualified workers with their respective job descriptions. Thus, making the hiring process of remote workers look simple and easy.
Every employer needs to mitigate the issue by availing of digital recruitment systems. It will help to reduce the hassle of hiring and even streamline the hiring process for the future. The applicant tracking system and relationship management system are crucial techies to consider.
Improve communication system
Good communication is essential when it comes to hiring remote workers. The strategy is applicable either during the pandemic or the normal situation. Employees are crucial assets since they determine the success of a company.
The outbreak of the pandemic has eliminated face-to-face meetings to convey procedures for carrying out tasks. The current situation has led to an increase in phone calls, emails, and text messages.
Outline conditions and state expectations for the remote workers. Alert the team in case of any changes in policies or procedures of handling tasks. The description will alleviate the stress and anxiety associated with the job search. Transparency and proper communication will be helpful during the hiring process.
Implement virtual outsourcing plans
Having a tech-savvy recruitment team will be an added advantage for your company. The team will source top candidates for the job during the pandemic. Attracting quality remote workers from the online channel is a daunting experience.
Ensure your human resource professionals have modern technologies. It will help to ensure your online sourcing effort remains afloat even after the end of the pandemic. The creative virtual outsourcing team is quite crucial during this pandemic.
Implement posting of jobs on social media, email campaigns, and online job boards. It is one of the strategies that discourage gatherings for preventing the spread of the deadly viral disease. The digital recruiters can interview the potential candidates online regardless of their location.
Schedule virtual interviews
In-person interviews have been quite popular before the outbreak of the pandemic. It is one of the best ways of recruiting candidates that suit the needs of your business.
The pandemic has limited gatherings like in-person interviews for safety and health purposes. Recruiters have to opt for virtual interviews when hiring remote workers.
Video interviews are the best when compared to phone interviews. Video calls allow potential candidates to demonstrate their personality.
Besides that, it helps to establish trust between the remote worker and the recruiter. It also cut down travelling costs for the candidate.
But the human resource manager needs to draft clear instructions to the interviewers. It will help to save on time during the hiring process.
Consider candidates with remote working skills
Job training is quite expensive and time-consuming. It would be best for the organisation to consider individuals with remote working skills.
The success of a remote working environment is dependent on self-discipline, proper communication, and self-direction. Possession of these skills is important during the pandemic. It’s also vital to demonstrate care and support.
Transition the candidate into the company’s vision and this will help to improve productivity. Keep in mind that transitioning the existing employees to work remotely will lower production due to the learning curve.
The remote recruitment process gives the organisation access to a large candidate pool during the pandemic. The company can hire a freelancer that perfectly suits their needs.
Schedule virtual onboard for new employees
Take the time to undertake background checks and other pre-employment screening of the recruit from the online platform.
Get an online workspace for the remote workers and onboard them. Assign duties through the online workspace to reduce the task of sending emails and making phone calls.
It would be best to train your new remote employees on using the online workspace. It will make digital onboarding easy and less cumbersome.
Compile PDF files and training tutorials for the recruits. The cost of assembling all these documents is quite affordable than training new employees physically.
All of these processes need to form the part of your standard operating procedures for maximum efficiency and effectiveness (SOPs).
Image: Pexels
Remote work is here to stay
Hiring remote workers can be the best decision for your firm. It not only provides convenience but also assures you of unrivalled productivity.
Before the virus struck, remote workers were in their minority. However, over 56% of knowledge workers converted to remote availability during the pandemic, boosting the total number of work from home folks significantly.
Thanks to the convenience this arrangement provides, most workers are considering the new “home office setup” for the long term. This aspect signals a growing shift in attitude, prompting significant transformation in the long run.
Seemingly, businesses will need to restructure their offices, with fewer full-time workers being a priority.
Notably, various companies find remote working to be productive. As long as you can perform everything effectively at home, the demand for offices will go down. Instead, these spots can be the birthplace for collaboration, allowing workers to meet and exchange ideas. There’s no need for vigilant employee tracking systems if everyone is on the same page. However, some people might prefer video conferencing whenever they need cooperation.
Granted, the IT departments will have extra work to do. It would be best to develop systems that allow workers to switch between their old offices and remote locations seamlessly. The systems need to be secure too.
Remote working is a work-in-progress
Remote working is relatively new to many people, meaning not all have grasped the necessary skills and habits.
Whether it is about video courtesy or professional discipline, most people are yet to adapt to various critical elements. However, the learning process is not neverending, with most companies coming up with regulatory procedures as their internal processes improve.
Critical IT systems are also getting developed. From security to enhanced seamlessness, a functional system helps to improve productivity. For instance, an excellent IT system will be user-friendly and content-rich. Its interface should reflect the brand of your business. However, these systems need to be functional because, if they are not, getting maximum productivity from your remote team will be impossible.
As team members, your remote workers have to always be there for each other. Regardless of the number of virtual meetings they have to attend, they need to be giving their all but it’s you who must lead by example. With this goal in sight, you can’t overload everyone with these conferences – make sure to only keep essential meetings while prioritising the ones that you expect to produce the biggest impact.
In this case, you can have specific schedules for both – employees and employers. For instance, you could start by analyzing the workflow and measuring the current state of affairs against the goals of the company. Sure, these are moving targets that you need to be managing and getting back to frequently but they are, nonetheless, the start. With practice, this process will form a new habit and the new realm will unveil its benefits to you and your team.
You can hold together in tough times
The productivity of any business will always be a priority. However, unless you trust your workers with various decision-making opportunities, failure will easily be inevitable.
Companies must take the time to highlight the significance of sticking together. The HR leadership must understand the needs of the team and help cultivate a culture of unity .
Regardless of the crisis, adjusting to remote working will eventually be seamless. It will help to improve staff morale, motivation and job satisfaction as a result of increased flexibility.
Trust your workers, don’t micromanage and allow them to be innovative.
In Summary
A remote working environment is going to be the new norm in the future. Many business organisations have learned a lot of lessons for hiring remote workers during the pandemic.
The current situation has helped companies cut down on expenses. The existing workers can now work from the comfort of their homes.
But it is upon the remote worker to consider buying ergonomic furniture. Comfort is a crucial factor that determines the productivity of the remote worker.
Business leaders, especially human resource managers, need to implement the lessons. These tips enhance effective online recruitment during this pandemic era.
These strategies have been tested and proven to be effective. Besides that, these plans help to prioritise safety and health measures.
About the Author
Artem Klimkin is a digital nomad that has lived in Spain, Russia, Indonesia, Germany, and Ireland. He is the guy behind Linkshero, a digital agency that helps grow traffic organically, and has recently been using his remote team’s power to build up an e-commerce store.
