The work routine of being productive 8 to 9 hours daily for five days a week is still the norm across organisations. However, today, most of them are moving toward a more flexible work policy, giving employees the option to work either from home or office depending upon their preference. One of the major benefits of remote working is the availability of a huge talent pool. With remote working and hiring now a reality, companies are not restricted to hiring employees from a particular state or country. They now have the option to look for talent across the world.
Before companies start with the hiring process, they should communicate with the candidate and inform them about the interview rounds and procedure beforehand. Ensure that the interviewee has a working internet connection and the technology required for the job. A proper remote workforce management system should exist in every company laying down the guidelines for conducting interviews.
Here are three steps every interviewer should keep in mind during the interview process:
1. Evaluation
The initial round of the hiring process starts with the conduction of an interview. The remote interviews look different from traditional ones. These interviews are now conducted virtually. It has become harder to judge a candidate’s body language on a video call. Try building a rapport first and then proceeding with the meeting. Assess the candidate on their qualification and skill set. In a remote working situation, the focus should be on getting to know the candidate by asking the right questions. And, questions should be framed in a manner to understand what the candidate is looking for and what are his expectations from the job role.
2. Assessment
The new standard for job interviews in an online world is assigning a task to understand the skill set of the interviewee. It’s practically not possible to get to know the candidate completely by asking questions. Depending upon the role, developing an assessment for every candidate is integral. This will help in understanding the potential of the person and their strengths and weaknesses.
Forexample, for a graphic designing job profile, make sure to ask the candidate to send in a small assignment of making a logo using designing software. It’s hard to judge someone’s knowledge and skill in an online interview, assessment can help make the job easier.
3. Feedback and decision making
Once the interview and assessment have been done the next step is the decision-making process. Develop criteria on which the candidate is being judged beforehand for easy evaluation. Criteria could be cultural values or qualifications, anything which aids the hiring process. Setting a benchmark or a certain standard can help weed out the people who aren’t the right fit for the company. Being prepared beforehand saves time and accelerates the feedback process. Once interviews are done, feedback is given to senior managers or team heads. Make sure to rank all your candidates. By doing so, it will help in remembering all the interviewees.
Conclusion
Remote hiring comes with its own set of challenges and benefits. Facing issues in network connectivity and webcams aren’t easy to tackle. While for hiring managers, online interviews mean harder to read body language and non-verbal cues. However, with things moving towards a digital world, remote hiring is going to stay around.
At the same time, the advantages are numerous and cannot be sidelined. No longer do people need to commute long distances for a one-hour interview. The flexibility and ease of remote hiring cannot be ignored. It’s convenient for everyone and is something which will stay around. Incorporating remote team management systems in the company will ease the processes. For more effective A-Z human resource management companies can go for employee performance management platforms such as entomo.
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