For people who are used to working in a traditional office, the work-from-home setting may be puzzling. How can a business conduct normal processes, such as hiring employees, remotely?
The responsibilities often performed by human resources can be done exclusively over audio or video calls, emails, etc. The secret is to join the Cloud. For example, ServiceNow’s HR case management can record the interaction between employees and the human resource staff, manage employee concerns, and digitize documents.
For hiring remote employees, here are some tips that may help you:
Share Details About the Job
The process of looking for potential remote employees is similar to searching for in-office workers. First, you have to create a clear job description that includes every relevant detail about the open position. Since the entire process will be done digitally, there is little chance for the applicant to ask questions and clarifications.
Make it clear that the position is remote or home-based. Indicate if you want to have face-to-face meetings with the employee once a week or month.
You should list down the skills you want from your employees. You want them to be self-motivated, disciplined, independent, and have strong verbal and written communication skills. You might also want to have an employee who works better on their own instead of a team-player since they will spend the majority of their day alone. In addition, find someone who is tech-savvy. The downside of working from home is there will be no one to help them to fix their personal computer in case something goes wrong. They have to figure it out on their own.
Lastly, consider the location. If you want to have face-to-face meetings occasionally, hire someone from around the city. If you are okay with a purely digital professional relationship, you can expand the search to talents from all over the nation or even the world.
Post your ads on job-hunting portals. There are websites that specifically cater to remote jobs like FlexJobs, Remote.co, Working Nomads, Remotive, and WeWorkRemotely. You can also post on global job boards like Indeed.
The Screening Process
As soon as resumes start pouring in, you can begin the screening process. You can use project management tools or recruiting software to pick out the most qualified applicants.
Next, perform an initial interview to know the applicants a little better through a phone or video call. At this point, you may also talk to them about performing a test to check if they can perform the tasks assigned to them.
The Final Interview
Once you have checked their submitted output, it is time for another round of interviews. This step is similar to interviews done in the office except that it will happen over a phone or video call.
Start with simple questions and then ask the more complicated questions once you and the applicant have become more comfortable. Give time for the applicants to ask their questions at the end of the interview. Some companies also ask to meet applicants in the office during the hiring process.
As you see, there is not a lot of difference when it comes to hiring office employees and remote workers. Keep the line of communication open and be clear about details of the position to find the right people for the job.