Tips for hiring remote employees
![Virtual-Assistant[1]](https://www.simplyremotejobs.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Virtual-Assistant1.jpg)
Remote work has been steadily gaining traction over the years in the business world, and it is safe to say it is here to say. More companies are now looking to hire remote employees. The employees are asking for the option to work from home as it helps them balance their work and personal life better. Studies have found that a person is more inclined to work in a company that offers remote work than those who don’t. Research also shows that remote work can help improve employee productivity. They are less likely to be distracted from the continuous disturbances that are common at an office: no more unnecessary meetings, water cooler talks, or a quick word with a colleague. While working from home offers its own distractions, a person with the right attitude and mindset can still get more work done remotely than from an office.
So, it is essential to hire the right person when hiring remote employees. As the person may very well be working for you from another part of the world, the approach to hiring remote employees is a little different when hiring for your traditional office employee. We share a few tips with you that can be useful if you are looking to hire remote employees for your company.
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Tell them what you are looking for
The first step to hiring the right candidate is ensuring you get applications from the right candidates. Hiring can be an exhausting process, and you don’t need to prolong it any more than necessary by having a job posting that is vague or basic. It means you should know exactly the kind of candidate you are looking for. Based on the company’s culture and the job you are hiring for, making a list of everything you expect from your remote employee can help. The job posting you put up online needs to be precise, detailing every skill you require from your employee and the traits they should possess. It should be able to give the candidates applying for the job a clear impression about your company as well as the work expected of them. It helps them decide whether they are right for the job and helps you avoid applicants who might not have fit.
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Post it where they can see it
An attractive job posting is not going to help if the right candidates are not able to see it. The online world is vast, so it’s essential your job posting reaches the right people. It requires you to post it on the right platforms, where people look for remote work. Channels like WeWorkRemotely, Remotive, Flexjobs, Stack Overflow, etc. are ideal for posting job openings to attract lucrative talent for remote jobs. They cater specifically to remote work, which significantly increases your chances of finding the right candidates.
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Interview with the right mediums
Once you have shortlisted the desirable candidates, you enter the interviewing phase of hiring. As the employee will be working remotely, it is recommended to include a test prior to the interview. The test can be in the form of a task that you assign the candidates to assess their working capabilities. It provides you and your staff an idea about their performance level of the work that would be expected of them daily. You can combine this evaluation with the interviews you conduct with the candidates. While emails or audio calls are the convenient options, it is beneficial to conduct interviews for the remote jobs on a video call. A video call allows you to assess your candidates more thoroughly based on their body language and facial expressions. The test evaluation, along with the interview, provides a much better picture of each candidate, which can help you pick the right one for the job.
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Check their references
References are important when hiring employees, and the same goes when hiring remote employees. References can help you find out whether the potential candidate has the right attitude for the job. It enables you to evaluate them professionally. You can find out their past experiences on various projects, their ability to collaborate and communicate, and their accountability towards the work. It would be best to have an employee who can work well within the deadlines without constant reminders from the superiors. References let you have a peek inside the work style of your candidate.
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Offer them a work trial
A small trial period is a great way to judge your candidate before hiring them full-time. Many companies offer this model to evaluate their candidates and determine if they are the right fit for the job in their company. A trial can last for a few days to get an idea about having that candidate working for you. If the company is satisfied with their work, they can hire them. If not, they should keep looking for a candidate that suits them. It helps to avoid any mis-hires and the accompanying consequences.
Hiring remote employees requires a little extra effort on your part, but if done right, the right employee can yield many benefits for the company. Hopefully, these few tips can help you hire the right remote employee.