While some businesses put recruitment on hold throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, others found their recruitment needs intensified and were forced to adapt quickly and hire remotely.
With more businesses considering remote recruitment to sustain business continuity, they're having to redefine their hiring strategy.
Times may be changing, but the need for talent is still prevalent and the means of finding candidates is challenging. Sourcing, interviewing, hiring, and onboarding new employees remotely is now a new way of business life as teams continue to be home-based, or as businesses transition to a hybrid home-office workforce. More and more businesses are starting to enjoy the benefits of adopting agile ways of working, and cherry picking from a larger and more diversified talent pool.
Adapt your onboarding process
An effective onboarding process makes employees feel valued, leading to increased engagement and retention. It gets them used to your company’s philosophies, ways of working, and the environment in general, and it gives them the right tools and training needed to become productive quickly.
Maintain a structured communication process from Day 1. Teams and individuals need to stay in the loop and always aligned, therefore regular communication via emails, calls, virtual meetings, and messages is imperative. Hold regular reviews and check in with individuals, to keep communication flowing. Set aside regular dates for virtual team meets to keep teams engaged and encourage social interaction.
And of course, you’ll need to invest in the right technology for your workforce.
The upsides of remote recruiting
- A wide and diverse talent pool
- Unbiased hiring (encouraging diversity)
- Consistent recruitment process
- Level playing field
- Improved time-to-hire / quicker turnaround if planned properly and executed effectively
- Overhead cost reduction (office, travel expenses)
- Increased employee retention - research shows remote workers stay longer
- Increased trust and flexibility - less micromanagement
- Increased level of engagement among employees
- Environmentally friendly (less travel)
- Measured results (employers are forced to measure results rather than attendance)
- Better health and well-being of employees (happier workforce)
The downsides of remote recruitment
- Prolonged process if planned poorly or not managed effectively
- Technical difficulties during the interview process
- Difficult to replicate in-person interviews (no personal interaction, candidate nerves, lack of gut feel)
- Risk of hiring the wrong person
- Lack of team communication
- Bottlenecks in work processes if the workforce is not aligned or communicating effectively
- Lack of human interaction / personal connection
- Culture challenges
- Language or time barriers
- Lack of face-to-face training / new employers learning from existing team members
- Challenges for management - new ways of working and managing remote employees
- Difficulty in tracking and measuring productivity or activity
- Lack of workplace camaraderie, social interaction, team spirit
- Increased spending on technology
How to restructure your hiring process for remote recruitment
Without face-to-face interaction during the hiring process, it’s more important than ever to have clear processes in place to recruit effectively. Here are some tips to get you started:
- Build a strong employer brand online to attract candidates.
- Create clear and accurate job descriptions, outlining roles, responsibilities, and expectations. Leave no scope for confusion.
- Get clear on exactly what you want and need from a candidate.
- Write accurate and engaging job adverts that stand out from your competitors.
- Appoint a single point of contact to maintain responsibility throughout the process.
- Implement an applicant tracking system.
- Ensure all hiring managers are aligned - agree on what you’re looking for, and what questions you all want to ask, create shortlisting criteria, agree on interview dates in advance, and so on.
- Choose the relevant technology to interview remotely, such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams.
- Utilise the record function so interviews can be replayed (for anyone who couldn’t be present). Also, handy when shortlisting, but consider data privacy obligations.
- Run online assessments or online exercises to help you make informed decisions about candidates’ skills.
- Get the whole team involved - ask your current team for input on what skills are missing from the team or what they need further assistance with.
- Choose wisely. Look for people who take initiative, have a high degree of independence, have a strong work ethic, are goal-oriented, are receptive to feedback, and who enjoy accountability. These types of candidates will likely align with your company’s values and beliefs.
- Maintain contact with candidates in the running - stay connected, keep them engaged, and keep them always informed of the progress of their application.
- Consider a job trial basis.
- Be thorough with pre-employment checks (such as ID checks, references, and certifications).
Stay ahead of the game
More and more businesses are adopting agile ways of working to thrive in an ever-changing world, and a huge part of this means redefining their entire recruitment strategy and embracing remote working. Recruiting a remote workforce is no walk in the park; it requires effective planning (optimising the hiring process), implementing the right technology (investment), and ensuring strong and consistent communication between teams (strong leadership), but if done properly, the benefits can far outweigh the negatives.
The question is, can you afford to get left behind?
If you want some advice on how to recruit remotely, we can help!
Call us:0333 323 0733
Email us: info@calibresearch.co.uk
