More and more employers have inherited hybrid, flexible, and remote work conditions. Because of them, companies made significant savings on infrastructure, rent, and maintenance costs.
Now, employers are creating and advertising jobs through remote hiring. But whilst this process is relatively new, there are basic legal regulations you must adhere to.
In this guide, we’ll look at what remote hiring is, its benefits and negatives of it, and how to manage the process in your workplace.
What is remote hiring?
Remote hiring is the virtual onboarding practice for recruiting new employees. Here, you might use technological means, like video interviews and online calls.
Reasons to hire people remotely is normally the same as traditional ones. ‘You need to fill a job role with great candidates'. The only major difference is the onboarding method is done virtually.
You might not ever meet these employees throughout the span of their careers. A remote candidate might pass their interview, get enrolled, and start work, all without stepping foot into offices.
However, you are still legally obligated to support and protect them within their remote job.
Examples of remote hiring methods
There are a handful of methods used for hiring remote workers. These include:
- Hub and Spoke: Basic remote working but does include little ‘in-person’
- Hybrid working: Combination of working on- and off-location (normally divided through a 60/40% split).
- Technological Advancements: Using virtual onboarding technology through apps, like Skype, Zoom and Microsoft Teams.
- Employee Assessment: Online tests which provide a standard for different jobs.
- Remote-First/ Remote-Friendly: Company must state whether they allow complete or temporarily remote
What is remote working?
Remote working is when an employee works outside of their normal office space. It can also include aspects of hybrid and flexible working.
Remote work isn’t a new concept in the business realm. There have always been variations of the practice, just under different names or terms. For example, depending on the industry some employees may be field employees and therefore some of their work may involve remote working from home rather than from the office.
Some remote employees may be in the middle of moving locations (on both a professional and personal level). Here, their employer might allow remote work to make their transition easier.
The recent rise of remote jobs
Remote jobs have been growing in popularity; for both employees and the company alike.
In recent times, the COVID-19 pandemic forced us all to remotely work. Governmental health regulations discouraged social gatherings and ordered people to stay at home.
Many employers faced whether to let their employees go or face insolvency. Instead, everyone decided on remote working, to continue working to the best of their ability. Employees set up workstations at home and adhered to health & safety risk assessments.
Soon, the pandemic was over and social distancing regulations were relaxed. But many of us became accustomed to remote work. Employees benefitted from a better work-life balance.
Employees did benefit from financial savings, from things like commute and food costs. And companies also made substantial savings on office maintenance and infrastructure costs, too.
(Remote working is when an employee works outside of their normal office space).
What are the benefits of remote hiring?
As an employer, you’ll be able to interview candidates, with the best talent, from all around the world. This allows you to specifically pick applicants who are perfect for your remote jobs. Here are the benefits of remote hiring:
You gain access to a global talent pool
The biggest advantage of remote hiring is having access to a global talent pool.
It might be difficult to find people who are highly qualified, talented, and comfortable in your workplace environment. However, you don’t have to apply all these factors to remote workers.
You create a quicker hiring process
The overall recruitment process for remote hiring is actually quicker, overall. It comes down to excluding traditional onboarding steps. For example:
- Less time needed for organising travel or commute factors.
- Less planning needed for multiple calendars or schedules.
- Less time spent on searching for applicable candidates.
You save on effort, time, and money
Don’t underestimate how much effort, time, and money you can save during remote interviews.
A normal interview is a costly company factor–and that goes for successful and unsuccessful applicants.
The entire interview process for a remote hire is significantly shortened. You can monitor unsuccessful candidates, interview feedback, and unattainable applicants–all with very little costs and time needed.
You provide an authentic recruitment experience
When building your recruitment procedure, you need to provide an authentic candidate experience.
During interviews for remote jobs, you can acknowledge a person’s talent and ability with ease. Even through a screen, you can gauge a remote worker’s ways of interacting with others.
What are the negatives of remote hiring?
Whilst we may have added a number of benefits, there are a few negative traits you might come across. For examples:
You miss reading body language
When hiring in person, it’s easy to pick up certain traits and characteristics through a person’s body language. This is considerably decreased during remote hiring. And this specific link is missing for both hiring managers and candidates themselves.
You risk facing technological errors
Sometimes, technology can let you down, especially when you least expect it. It’s not always 100% reliable, and the hiring process isn’t free from technological errors. Video calls may lag or buffer, and people may end up talking over each other.
You miss understanding workplace cultures
Ultimately, remote candidates will never fully experience your work-life culture.
It’s not advisable to neglect interaction with a new team member or the remote team. It means they might miss out on building employee relations or progressing career-wise.
Ireland’s laws on remote hiring
Under the Health, Safety, and Welfare at Work Act (2005), you are legally obligated to protect all employees–including any remote worker.
Ireland’s laws on workplace health & safety stretch to remote workers–regardless of where they work. It’s extremely important for you to follow your duty of care, and ensure they work in safe conditions.
This includes running risk assessments, providing ergonomic equipment, and ensuring employee wellbeing during this time. For example, they shouldn’t work after hours, or feel the need to stay connected virtually.
You need to make sure your remote onboarding process is fair and just. Enable this from the start, and soon you’ll reap the benefits of engaged and motivated employees.
How to introduce a remote hiring process into your workplace
Before waving the ‘remote-hiring’ flag to attract new candidates, try it on your current employees.
Introduce a steady commitment for remote working with them. That way you can pinpoint how efficient it is and creating those changes efficiently. Once you can fully support working remotely, then advertise your jobs publicly.
Here are ways to introduce a remote hiring process into your workplace:
Present clear and transparent remote jobs
You might already have a hiring process added to your company policies and employee handbooks. Whilst this might be your normal procedure, you’ll need additional requirements.
Present clear and transparent remote job descriptions. These should be made accessible to all potential candidates. And they must clearly outline the ethos of remote companies.
By doing so, it’ll allow applicants to evaluate whether the remote role and business is worth applying for. Some might find they don’t think your traditions or cultures are suitable for their needs. So, instead of finding out in the long run, cut to the chase and highlight it from the start.
Make yourself attractive to the best talent
When it comes to remote hiring, there are some things which give you a competitive edge against a rival company. In simple terms, you need to make yourself attracts to the best candidates. Make each candidate feel they’ll benefit from your remote hiring role.
Some of the most beneficial ways to attract top talent include:
- Provide financial benefits: This can be provided to families and carers; covering things like sick leave, parental leave, and daycare support.
- Offer a ‘third space’: This is access to alternative spaces for work, like an external office or residential space.
- Help with ‘de-location’: This helps people live in areas which are more cost-effective, compared to inner-city locations.
- Lend ergonomic workstations: This is a huge benefit, as it’ll take away the stress of having to buy work equipment.
- Assign rest days: These come in the form of things like, 4-day work weeks and casual Fridays. They allow remote employees sufficient time to rest and recharge.
- Offer larger bonuses: This might be a financial incentive, which is based on capability and performance.
- Enable career development: This is especially persuasive for candidates who are seeking potential permanent employment.
Offer support in developing remote working skills
It's true, not all remote candidates will be able to fully thrive alone. So, offer support to help develop candidates into fully rounded workers. Before this, find out if the candidates are:
- Able to work self-sufficiently for the most part.
- Possess good written communication (verbally and virtually).
- Already have some experience working remotely.
- Hold self-awareness of one’s skills and capabilities.
- Understand company values and ethos.
Conduct remote hiring interviews
Candidates, who are already familiar with remote hiring, may have gone through a handful of interview methods.
These might include telephone and online-video calls (with apps like Skype, Teams, or Zoom).
There are so many interview questions to use when hiring the best candidates. Here’s an extensive list of remote questions which recruiters may ask:
- What does your workday look like?
- What are the methods you’ve used to maintain communication with your colleagues?
- Why do you prefer to work remotely, compared to in a company setting?
- How do you focus on your mental and physical wellbeing?
- What are some challenges you’ve met during remote hiring experiences?
- How do you express development opportunities, for yourself or the workspace around you?
- How do you manage to work with people with time zones?
Get expert guidance on remoting hiring with Peninsula
As an employer, you need to inherit the most beneficial onboarding services for your company. Without a proper procedure, you’ll miss out on employing top talent and growing business success.
Peninsula offers expert guidance on remote hiring for new candidates. Our HR services allow you to focus on understanding legal rights for onboarding new employees. We can help you create a happier and safer workspace.
We also offer 24/7 HR advice that’s available 365 days a year. Get in contact with fully trained counsellors who are ready to help.
Want to easily find out more? Book a free consultation with one of our HR consultants. Contact 0844 891 0353
