The modern workplace is highly advanced compared to a few years ago, with remote work now qualifying as a more attractive option among businesses across the globe. New and old businesses have started to hire from the global talent pool because of the many reasons remote work has, including reduced overhead costs, flexibility, a wider range of talent, and enhanced employee satisfaction.
There is great value in hiring remote employees, but it is not a path one takes without a clear strategy. A clear role definition and successful onboarding of new team members from different time zones are just some of the unique challenges that might cloud the entire process of hiring remote employees. Want to know more about remote working, read our blog on what is remote working.
At Black Piano, we help companies through the myriads of offshoring and remote recruitments in finding, employing, and retaining the correct staff. In this blog, we will walk you through the details of hiring a remote employee, including tips, best practices, and common pitfalls to avoid along the way. You can even hire a remote team with us.
Why hire remote employees?
So before we discuss the nitty-gritty of hiring remotely, let us first discuss why it has become so popular amongst businesses. Well, here some of the benefits of working remotely and why businesses are ready to hire remote workers:
1. Global talent pool
Remote hiring breaks the shackles of geographical boundaries and extends the employee pool by an entire world. This way best talent can not only dominate your country, but you will have multiple options. For instance, if you are looking for an employee with certain expertise within a niche field, it may be expensive in your country but in India, it’s cheaper.
2. Cost-effective
Hire remote staff from another part of the world, where the cost of living is lower and the exchange rate is higher, for instance India, here cost of living is less compared to the UK and INR has a lower exchange rate compared to GBP. Moreover, companies will save a lot of money on overhead, such as office space, equipment, utilities, and other claims related to physical workspaces.
3. Increased productivity and employee satisfaction
It is observed that employees working from home are found to be more productive than office-based providers. With work-from-home flexibility and the ability to work from any location they wish, employees can experience a better work-life balance, higher job satisfaction, and ultimately improved performance.
4. Scalability
Remote working gives organisations the flexibility to increase or decrease the size of their teams according to the demands of projects. In comparison to other forms of arrangements, remote companies have fewer logistical issues to hire and manage temporary, freelance, or full-time employees with no location restrictions.
5. Improved employee retention
Allowing employees to work remotely may yield a great deal in terms of retention rates. A lot of employees see working from home or in any other suitable location as an expression of value in the organisation. It has been noted that they exhibit more attachment to their work when they know that they can schedule their own working hours.
Guide for remote employee hiring
Hiring remote employees is not just about collecting resumes but involves a systematic process which you will want to plan strategically to ensure that you not only find the right candidate for the position but also successfully onboard them into your organisation.
Here is an entire guide to this process.
Step 1: Define your needs and role requirements
The foundation of any successful hire, whether remote or on-site, starts with clarity about the role you are hiring for. The first step is the definition of the position itself and what your specific requirements are in terms of the remote hire.
Responsibilities
If you plan to hire remote talent, write a detailed job description about the role's day to-day activities and long-term expectations. This means the specific tasks required to perform the job and how the employee will be expected to work together with other teammates in a cross-functional manner. This description includes critical objectives and states how the role will contribute to overall business goals.
Identify key skills
Define the technical skills essential for the role, from programming languages for the software developer to content creation for the digital marketing specialist, then take note of the soft ones without which the work could not be done such as communication, time management, and finally adaptability. The skill set for remote work is unique, such as the comfort level with online work processes and the ability to work independently without requiring a degree of supervision.
Consider time zone requirements
Time zone juggling is the most annoying challenge in the recruitment of remote workers. How much overlap do you need as regards working hours from the rest of your team? Are you looking for someone to be available during regular working hours in the main office? Or converged towards more asynchronous communication with your team? It is important to determine the need for a time-zone overlap when hiring remotely.
Step 2: Shaping a job description for remote positioning
Now that you have listed all the specifications for your new hire, it is only then that you can prepare a straightforward and engaging job description. Such a job description is expected to attract the right talent, as well as build clear and precise expectations surrounding job responsibilities.
Incorporating remote details
It is about a remote position; therefore, include information such as:
- The expected working hours and flexibility (core hours from 9.00 am to 2.00 pm GMT)
- The tools and platforms a candidate must use, such as Slack, Zoom, or Trello
- Requirement of internet connection reliability and proper hardware
- The expectations on frequency and style of communication
Promote the culture and values of the company
Company culture is important from home, too. What makes your company unique and the reason it would be a good fit for your remote employee? Use words that reflect your values and remote-friendly thinking-whether flexibility, collaboration or autonomy. Before hiring remote workers tell them about your process.
Set up salary and benefits
Remote workers come with different salaries, as each location has its own pay standards. Do some research on the appropriate salary in the countries you would like to recruit from and market them with a good salary. As well as salary, pamper your potential employees with other types of benefits, such as healthcare, PTO, or even perks specific to working remotely such as home office stipends and reimbursement for internet use.
State clear job responsibilities and expectations
Clearly define what success looks like in this role. Include the key performance indicators (KPIs) or deliverables expected from the employee. This might be anything from a minimum number of client meetings each week to finishing particular projects within a specified deadline.
List skills required and preferred
Identify both essential skills required to do this role (e.g., competency with a particular software or tool) and preferred qualifications (for instance, experience of working remotely, industry certification, or additional language skills). Attract candidates who fit beneath the bar while leaving it open to a wider pool of talent. Remote job hiring should be a transparent process.
Step 3: Right choices for platforms for remote recruitment
Working with an offshoring company like Black Piano can help streamline your hiring process. Agencies specialise in vetting candidates and matching them with the right job. Their expertise can be invaluable if you’re new to offshoring or remote hiring. With us, remote position hiring is an easy task.
Step 4: Make the hiring process remote-friendly
Recruitment of remote employees brings a distinct set of remote working challenges that differ from recruitment of on-site employees. Worried about how to hire a dedicated remote employee or how to hire remote foreign employees? Contact Black Piano and we will help you out.
Screening and shortlisting
Use applicant tracking software (ATS) to help you quickly screen resumes and filter out candidates who do not measure up to your standards. Preferably look out for candidates with relevant experience, especially in remote roles, and check their communication skills via email or online chats.
Conducting virtual interviews
A virtual interview should be a part of your process. Use video conferencing tools like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Google Meet to conduct interviews. This allows you to assess the candidate in terms of how they present themselves virtually, whilst also gauging whether they are comfortable using the tools required for remote work.
Interview questions to ask
"Tell us about your experience with remote work and how you stay organised." "What tools and platforms have you used for remote collaboration?" "How do you handle difficult tasks or projects requiring cross-time zone collaboration?" "Describe a situation where you faced a challenge while working remotely and how you overcame it."
Skill tests and assignments
Encourage the candidates to attempt an assignment based on their skills around the job. It may be a coding test for developers or a writing assignment for content editors, and even a marketing campaign analysis for digital marketers. Real-time tasks or projects give the candidates a fair view of their skills in the practical world.
Final interview and offer
In narrowing down candidates, conduct a final interview to assess both the technical and cultural fit. At this stage, discuss clear-cut expectations such as job expectations, team dynamics, and even the organisation's policy towards remote work. After that, make sure the job offer is present because you are confident about your choice.
Step 5: Onboard your remote employee successfully
Now that you have hired your employee for the remote work position, it is time to ensure that he or she fits perfectly within the company team. Good onboarding ensures that the new employee performs well. Here is how to do it:
Prepare documentation and tools for onboarding
Before the employee begins work, all required documentation like an employment contract, Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA), and tax forms should be ready. Give access to necessary software tools, project management tools (Trello, Asana), communication tools (Slack, Zoom) and file-sharing platforms such as Google Drive, or Dropbox.
Assign a mentor or onboarding buddy
To help new hires get started in your company culture, assign a mentor or buddy. The person will answer their questions, introduce them to the team, and even help them learn the ropes when it comes to working remotely. The buddy system reduces the feeling of separation from the team and provides the new hire with a source of support.
Clearly defined expectations and performance indicators
Remote workers should know what success looks like right from the start. Specify what you expect of the remote employee for job performance, communication protocols, and set deadlines. Get specific about the key performance indicators (KPIs) or other metrics you will use to determine their performance.
Provision of ongoing feedback and check-ins
Don't forget to give constant feedback to your remote workers, particularly in the first few months. Schedule weekly to bi-weekly check-ins to discuss updates, challenges, and additional support. This is to ensure that the employee is engaged, motivated, and in-tune with their position.
Best Practices
The above guidelines are all set and here are the best practices you should observe while hiring remote employees:
1. Target communication skills
The remote worker needs to have clear and effective communication skills in working with his team. He has also to be able to work in different time zones and communicate over digital platforms. Communication skills should also include written communication as well as video-call articulation. Communication plays a vital role in thinking about how the entire team culture can be maintained in a remote setting.
2. Motivation and accountability
A remote employee should be a self-starter who can manage time and workload without a constant base of supervision. What you want to see in these job seekers is a proven record of success working in a remote position or testimony of their previous employment that they had great self-discipline and accountability.
3. Assessment of the suitability with company culture
Getting the right culture fit is as important for remote employees as it is for their skills since remote jobs require a lot of team interactions. Use behavioural interview questions, involve essential members of the team in the interview process, and then analyse the cultural fit.
Common mistakes to avoid when hiring remotely
1. Not clearly defining duties and responsibilities
Without a clear understanding of an employee's purpose and responsibilities or expectations by the time one hurries to hire, one of the most critical mistakes has already occurred. Vague job descriptions attract the wrong mismatched hires, who are not fully clear about what their deliverables are.
How to avoid It:
- Write good and clear job descriptions, which must contain vital duties, deliverables, and required skills. Define success metrics for a position, such as KPIs or measurable goals, to provide a clear picture to candidates about the role's expectations.
- Mention specific requirements for remote such as time zone compatibility, with what technical skill and/or frequency of communication.
Read about the Pros and Cons of virtual teams
2. Ignores cultural fit and company values
You may meet a great fit remote employee but aligning on the cultural aspects is a crucial thing for teamwork, productivity, and satisfaction. Hiring someone not with your organisation's values or culture will definitely create a rift within the team.
How to avoid It:
- Define the core values of the company and communicate them through the process of hiring.
- Behavioural questions should also be included in the interview process in order to clarify whether the person matches the core values or not. If the value is collaboration, then ask: 'How do you collaborate most effectively with remote colleagues?'
- Include team members in the hiring process to get more detailed insights on culture fit.
3. Over-dependency on freelance platforms
Yes, those are wonderful venues, but relying just on them will create a very limited pool of candidates. Almost every top-notch remote professional will be available via referrals, recruitment agencies, or company-specific hiring portals.
How to avoid It:
- Diversify your recruitment strategy with a combination of platforms, social media, recruitment agencies, and employee referrals.
- For key roles, consider working with a specialised agency such as Black Piano, which can streamline the process and connect you with pre-vetted, highly skilled candidates.
4. Competencies in remote work
Remote work involves more than just the technical aspects of some jobs. Candidates must demonstrate independence, time management, and technical proficiency, as these traits will dictate whether they succeed with a distributed team.
How to avoid it:
- Present them with an assignment that imitates a core function of the job such as project management, or even writing a sample.
- Assess their methodology in how they organise their time and adhere to deadlines. Some questions may include "How do you order your tasks in a day when working remotely?"
- Look for evidence of using tools like Zoom, Slack, Asana, or other collaboration platforms.
5. Data Security and IT Demands
Remote workers typically use their personal devices or unsecured channels to access company data. Security risks are yet never eliminated by such practices. Lack of proper IT requirements can lead to data breaches or workflow interruptions.
How to avoid It:
- Have strict policies on secure networks, VPNs, and company-based tools being used for work. Provide the necessary devices, security software, or IT support when working remotely.
- Ensure that all employees receive training in best practices with regard to cybersecurity, such as password management and avoiding phishing scams.
Conclusion
Hiring employees remotely is a super fun and strategic way to take your business to new heights. Follow these steps to successfully attract and hire the people you want from around the world-Identify your needs, put together a job description suited for remote working, select a platform through which to recruit your employees, and develop a complete, transparent recruitment process.
I hope now you know how remote hiring works and how to effectively hire and manage remote employees with the support of an EOR like Black Piano.
Black Piano helps businesses navigate through the maze of remote hiring and offshoring. We tailor recruitment solutions from sourcing candidates to onboarding them into your company culture.
So go ahead and start building your dream remote team. Black Piano is here to help. Let’s make your remote hiring process a success together!
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