Remote hiring presents some challenges. What are these obstacles and how can companies address them?
Over the past few years, remote work has gained popularity. But challenges in hiring remote workers could prevent employers from fully reaping its benefits.
Challenges in Hiring Remotely
Recent figures indicate that there are over 4.3 million remote workers in the US. Remote work brings numerous benefits over traditional office-based work experience, with a surprising 16% of businesses globally now operating entirely remotely. Despite these advantages, hiring remote employees can still pose certain challenges.
A survey of 85% of hiring managers suggests that remote hiring will play a crucial role in organizational success in the future. Despite this, many hiring managers have reported that recruiting remote workers can be challenging and take up significant time. This can be linked to common issues that arise during the remote hiring process.
One of the main challenges in remote hiring is sifting through a large number of applicants
The remote work industry has grown significantly in the last decade, with a more than 160% increase in remote employees. This rise in remote jobs has resulted in a highly competitive job market, requiring hiring managers to sift through hundreds of resumes to find the best candidates. This can be a time-consuming and challenging task, so it’s critical for recruiting managers to have clear job standards to streamline the selection process and eliminate unqualified profiles. Furthermore, managers can employ an AI-based Application Tracking System (ATS) to further enhance the remote hiring process.One major challenge of remote hiring is dealing with time zone differences
Hiring managers can tap into a global talent pool and select qualified candidates from anywhere, offering geographical independence as an advantage. However, this can lead to discrepancies in time zones, making scheduling interviews and real-time assessments challenging.
To maximize efficiency, hiring managers can conduct live interviews and real-time evaluations during overlapping time zones. Additionally, automatic scheduling technologies can aid in mitigating time zone disparities by enabling interviewers to select a suitable time for both themselves and the candidates. Implementing such practices can eliminate any productivity gaps caused by discrepancies in time zones.Remote employment challenge: assessing competence and vetting candidates
Hiring for remote roles is especially challenging as it’s tough to assess the skill set, experience, and expertise of potential employees without an in-person evaluation. According to a survey of hiring managers, 33.1% of respondents found it hard to identify the right candidate when hiring remotely. This highlights the importance of effective talent assessments and evaluations to find the best fit for the job.
Employers and recruiting managers can work together to improve their evaluation processes and make them more precise. They can create various assessment tasks for candidates and design skill set evaluations that are specific to the job role. Additionally, customized talent evaluations can help to ensure the most suitable candidates are identified.Challenges in onboarding when hiring remotely
Remote onboarding of new employees can pose difficulties, particularly during their initial phase of acclimation when they may feel overwhelmed. This can lead to decreased productivity as they struggle to get accustomed to the workflow. However, research has shown that after undergoing training, new hires can potentially increase their productivity by 25% in the first month.
As a hiring manager, you can help improve the speed of employee learning. By taking the lead in creating a comprehensive onboarding process, you can provide new employees with the best opportunity to quickly adapt to their roles and adjust to the workplace. Holding introductory sessions for all new hires is crucial to giving them a thorough understanding of the workflow and processes. Additionally, these sessions can help establish a positive and open workplace culture.Legal contract complexities in remote recruiting
Organizations hiring remote workers have a legal obligation to create binding contracts. Thus, creating contractual agreements can be an arduous task for employers and hiring managers.
It is imperative for remotely operated businesses to conduct a thorough examination of labor regulations in the countries in which they operate to ensure compliance with legal regulations. Employers can use standard contract templates to simplify the process, and seeking the assistance of legal and compliance specialists can fine-tune contract conditions.Remote hiring challenge: salary distribution
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused 30.6% of remote employees to suffer economic distress. Prompt payment is crucial to keep remote staff motivated and satisfied with their jobs. However, paying remote staff may be challenging and complex, involving international money transfers, accurate wage calculation, and invoice management, which can lead to hiring and compliance issues. Therefore, wage disbursement for any organization with remote workers can be daunting.
Remote payroll and compliance services can help businesses address these challenges effectively. These solutions can considerably ease the burden on the Human Resources team by managing contracts and compensation profiles.
How to Address Challenges of Remote Hiring?
Remote recruitment poses a unique set of challenges. Nevertheless, with an effective remote recruitment strategy, any organization can overcome these obstacles. AI-based application tracking software can streamline the remote employee screening process. Automatic meeting schedulers can aid in mitigating the impact of time zone differences during interviews. Furthermore, customized skill assessments and test projects can improve the skill evaluation accuracy and the efficiency of the vetting process.
A smooth onboarding process can be achieved through a well-planned schedule of introductory seminars, following established protocols to minimize any miscommunication or misunderstanding regarding contractual obligations. Remote payroll providers can help ensure salaries are distributed accurately and on time. By adhering to these best practices, hiring managers can effectively tackle any challenges they may encounter while hiring remote employees.
Questions:
What are the benefits of remote employment?
As a hiring manager, the advantages of remote hiring include:- Remote hiring allows hiring managers to choose the most qualified candidates from a global talent pool.
- Remote hiring provides more flexibility in performing assigned tasks.
- Remote hiring enhances work-life balance and boosts job satisfaction.
- Hiring managers attest to the greater productivity of remote workers.
What are the pitfalls of remote hiring?
Below are some of the most common challenges of remote recruiting:- Due to the large number of applications, it is impractical to review each applicant’s resume.
- Time zone differences can hinder communication and productivity.
- There are no efficient means of assessing remote candidates’ skill sets.
- Productivity may be affected by onboarding challenges during the initial stages.
- The regulations of various countries contribute to the complexity of remote recruiting.
- Salary distribution can be complicated due to the involvement of numerous nationalities, currencies, and time delays.
How can the challenges of remote hiring be overcome?
Here are some tactics to overcome the difficulties of remote recruiting:- Due to the large volume of applications, it is impracticable to review each resume individually.
- Communication and productivity can be hindered by time zone differences.
- There are no efficient ways of assessing skill sets of remote candidates.
- Productivity can be affected by onboarding challenges during the initial stages.
- Remote hiring can become more complex due to the regulations of different countries.
- The distribution of salary can be complex because of the involvement of numerous nationalities, currencies, and time delays.
