When the hiring process was built around manual and face-to-face interaction, the specific requirements, questions, and desired criteria were different. In a digitally-reliant society, one still recovering from a pandemic, finding remote workers can be a struggle. Recruiters and hiring managers may have had some time to get acclimated to the new fully remote hiring process in the past year, but the results it yields are where the difficulty lies.
The fact is, there are a large number of obstacles faced, resources used, and time spent hiring people who end up leaving or being let go from the company. How can hiring managers and recruiters hire better remote workers?
Start with Technical Skill Assessments
These tests evaluate candidates’ technical skills to determine whether they are qualified to do the job. Generally, they are set up by the hiring manager or recruiter, or they are pre-designed tests based on a job category. Technical skill assessments will have questions that are job-specific as well as industry-specific. They help eliminate candidates who don’t meet the standards set for the test. This could be a pass or fail grade based on a ratio of right and wrong answers or a percentage grade. The latter would then go to the person in charge of hiring the employee for further consideration.
Many websites are available, both free and with expenses, that allow customized tests to be created and provide pre-made ones too. Research should always be done before using these sites.
Administer Soft Skill Tests
Like technical skill assessments, soft skill tests serve a similar purpose. However, these tests should come in the second round of the hiring process. The right remote workers will always possess the required technical skills but also excellent soft skills. Some of the most important soft skills include:
- Communication
- Time management
- Teamwork
- Problem-Solving
- Logical Thinking
Recent years have shown an increase in the focus on a balance between good technical skills and good soft skills. In fact, many businesses look a little more at soft skills since technical skills have the potential to be taught by current employees.
Don’t Skip the Virtual Interviews
Conferencing platforms such as Zoom, Skype, or GoRemote became the primary form of communication within companies and during the hiring process in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Even as things get back to normal, the virtual aspect of the hiring process isn’t likely to fade away. Holding virtual interviews is still a valuable tool for hiring the right remote workers. It allows hiring managers and recruiters to see the candidates’ body language, presentation, expressions, and so on. This helps add the human connection element back into the workplace since the pandemic prevented that due to restrictions and lockdowns. It has been proven by professionals that face-to-face interactions, as well as physical ones like handshakes, build a mental and emotional bond between people in the workplace.
Final Thoughts
The same basic focus of the hiring process hasn’t changed. It’s the way the hiring process has evolved and new tools that are implemented which make it both easier and harder to hire good employees. Acknowledging the best method for a business and the job being filled may depend on what works for that business’s needs.
