Remote work is quickly becoming the “new normal,” as companies and workers alike recognize and embrace the many benefits. As a business owner or manager, hiring beyond your immediate geographic area also allows you to tap into a wider pool of top-tier talent. To ensure a successful remote team and maximize efficiency, take a strategic approach to hiring. The below guide from Yegii Insights explains how to build a talented workforce that’s sure to thrive.
Set your business up for remote hiring from an administrative standpoint
Before you start hiring, make sure your business is ready to bring on remote workers. If you haven’t already, establish a limited liability company, LLC, and formally register your business with your state. This can minimize your personal liability, reduce administrative burden, and streamline taxes. A business formation service can help you get set up according to your state’s requirements.
Define what roles you need to fill and write clear job postings
With the admin points checked off your to-do list, it’s time to figure out who you want to hire. A business needs assessment can be a good way to determine where you could use help. Score explains how to do one. You can then go on to define the job title you need to hire and write the actual job posting. Include details like credentials, previous experience, and key roles and responsibilities of the position.
Use a matrix approach to assessing resumes
Once you have a stack of resumes to go through, take a structured approach. Create a matrix to rank your candidates. This means making a list of all the qualities you need and then ranking the importance of those qualities, assigning each one a numerical value. You can then ensure that you are taking a fair and logical approach to hiring. Once you’ve narrowed down your selection to a handful of candidates, move on to the next step.
Do your due diligence when vetting candidates
Successful hiring means more than simply going by what’s on a person’s resume. Dig a little deeper. Make sure to follow up with references, view their portfolio, and conduct an interview. When it comes to remote hiring, you’ll be doing your interviews via video. Builtin offers tips for a successful video interview, like testing your equipment beforehand and choosing a quiet setting.
Create a dedicated onboarding process
Just because your team is largely remote doesn’t mean you can skip the onboarding process. Create a welcome guide for new workers, giving them a primer on the tools you use and your day-to-day processes. You can even send a box of company swag to their home to welcome them to the team. Other tips for onboarding include setting goals together with your new workers and conducting video check-ins.
Set up the infrastructure to maintain consistent communication
Once your remote team is onboarded, the work doesn’t stop. You want to make a consistent effort to ensure your remote workers feel seen and heard. Implement best practices to maintain connectivity, such as buying internal messaging tools and using a virtual “water cooler” to build camaraderie. Encourage a culture of openness and communication, so people know they can come to you whenever they have issues.
Going along with that, don’t forget that you also need to make sure things run smoothly for your customers. Integrating API products to verify identities, check balances, and access transaction histories – all in a safe, secure manner – streamlines the process for your customers, which dramatically aids in customer satisfaction and retention.
Gather feedback to maintain a positive working relationship
Processes like hiring and onboarding can usually be refined and improved over time. To help enhance these procedures going forward, solicit feedback from your employees. You can ask them what you could have done differently to better accommodate their needs when they were starting out, or example. To make things easier, there are professional survey companies that provide templates and other tools to simplify the feedback process for you.
Remote hiring will take some time and effort. As with any new process, there’s a learning curve. However, once you get started, you’ll be amazed at what you and your new team can accomplish!
Yegii Insights aims to be an insight tool for the business professional disoriented by tech disruption, specifically focused on three types of professionals: executives, strategists, and analysts. If you’d like to learn more, don’t hesitate to contact us!
Author*
*This post was written by Ted James. Ted is a professional financial counselor and coach holding an MBA in Finance, but rest assured he does more than just help you create a budget and send you on your merry way. Ted’s specialty is helping individuals and couples of all ages and backgrounds afford the life they want to live, and feel empowered when it comes to their finances (see Ted Knows Money).