Hiring remote work workers professionally is very complex and tricky. A hiring manager needs to be very detail-oriented and practical-oriented from the job analysis to the on-boarding process to hire the right professional rightly for the right job. Every job is a tough job if done sincerely and professionally, so you should follow all best practices and tips on how to hire a pro for a tough job.
Many new hiring models and process handling mechanisms are emerging to harness the existing business as well as technological ecosystems into achieving the competitive edge in the market. Outsourcing and remote hiring are becoming the most popular forms of hiring worldwide owing to the pros they offer. To have a deeper perspective on pros of outsourcing, click for more info here.
Importance of Pro Web Developers Hiring Remotely
According to a recent report published in Forbes, about 50% of the US employees are going to become remote workers very soon. This remote worker population includes 57.3 million freelancers contributing over $1.4 trillion annually to the economy. A large number of US-based companies hire web developers in Ukraine, India, and other parts of the world.
The remote workforce is contributing not only to the US economy but also contributing significantly in the economy of other countries from where the US companies prefer to hire web developers and other professionals. According to another latest survey, 99% of people want to work remotely, and among them, 95% encourage other people to work remotely. Remote jobs grew significantly during the past couple of decades, according to the FlexJobs research information, regular remote work has noticed 115% of growth during 2005 and 2015. It is 10 times higher than the other categories of the workforce.
Many Eastern European countries like Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, and other countries are becoming a hub for the software and IT outsourcing services. IT professionals and remote developers from Ukraine play an important role in the total GDP of their country. Software companies from North America and Western Europe can save up to 60% cost on their software development projects through the process of outsource web development. The remote hiring industry has already become a multi-billion dollar industry worldwide and this growth saga is continuing in all parts of the world too.
Peculiarities of Remote Hiring
Remote hiring is one of the fastest-growing trends in the human resource management industry. Almost all types of companies, especially software development and IT companies across the globe benefit from this trend the most. Many options regarding the web developer for hire remotely are available in the marketplace such as freelance hiring, dedicated hiring, outstaffing, nearshoring, offshoring, and others.
Developing a hybrid team that consists of on-premise developers and remote developers is a commonplace trend in the IT and software industry. The remote hiring has many peculiarities and features that attract the companies to hire freelance web developers as well as dedicated web developers remotely. Let’s have a look at the peculiarities of remote hiring:
- Increased productivity as compared to the on-premise employees
- Reduced traveling time and expenses
- The employer in the US to save up to $11,000 per employee per year by using remote hiring
- Over 2 billion gallons of gas saved annually in the US
- Reduced emission of greenhouse gases
- Increased employee satisfaction
- Faster time to complete the project due to extended working hours
- The reduced upfront cost for the project infrastructure
- Easy to scaling of the teams
- Access to larger pools of talent
- No boundaries and legal procedures for hiring remotely
- Better employee retention rate
- A higher level of self-motivation and self responsiveness
Top 10 Tips on How to Hire Remote Workers
A large ratio of the global workforce is finding traction in remote work and so it the case of companies and enterprise. The hiring process for remote workers is a bit complex as compared to traditional hiring. So, a recruiting manager should follow the most useful tips, as mentioned below, while hiring the professionals remotely.
#1 Deeper Insight of Job Requirements
A recruiting manager should have a 360° insight into the requirements of the job for which the company is seeking a candidate. This will help you choose the right candidate with the right skills and attitude. A manager should have a full perspective on technical skills, soft skills, timings, nature of the job, and the pressure that the prospective candidate will face. A deeper knowledge of the job requirements will help put the interview focused.
#2 Face-to-Face/Video Interview
A remote interview should always be face-to-face interview through many great video tools like Skype or any other suitable video calling tool. The face-to-face interview helps you explore the face readings, body gestures, confidence levels, and much more about the candidate that you cannot evaluate in a voice interview. This interview should be conducted at a suitable time when the candidate feels convenient. Never try to force your time slot on the candidate.
#3 Analyze Interpersonal Communication Skill
Interpersonal communication skills play a very critical role in a remote work environment. If someone with great technical skills is not able to explain the correct status of the product or project, the entire team may lose the focus from the project objectives. Thus, try to assess the interpersonal communication skills through emails, phone calls, SMS, and any under other modes of communication. A better communicator will perform great in the remote work environment.
#4 Discuss for Statement of Work (SOW)
While hiring a remote worker, you should describe complete details in the job description regarding the work that the desired candidate will perform. According to the latest research information, the skills of more than 35% of the employees in the problem-solving field in the UK is mismatching. So, you should also include the required technical as well as soft skills required to perform those responsibilities efficiently and accurately. The constraint, pressure, and workload associated with the job should also be described in the job description and should be discussed in length during preliminary communication as well as in the interviews.
#5 Collaborative & Communication Tools
Communication and collaboration are the most fundamental components for the management of remote workers. So, discuss with the prospective candidate about his/her knowledge and level of expertise on the major communication tools that you use in your company. The major communication tools include Skype, WhatsApp, social media channels, JIRA, or any other major collaborative tools that you use in your company.
#6 Detailed Job Description
The job description is the most fundamental piece of article that set the right track of hunting the right candidate with the right skills. If the job description is not professionally written, you cannot find the right candidate and reach to the right talent with the skills. So, make sure that the job description that you created is 100% fit for the job requirements and the candidate skillset. Candidates apply based on the job description, if it is not written correctly, the right candidates may miss applying for that job and mismatch candidates may start applying for that job.
#7 Never Skip Screening Process
Screening is a very critical process that plays as the second line of mismatch candidate filtering after job description. If you skip the screening process, then you will need to spend a huge amount of time on the candidates that are not fit for the job position that you want to fill. If you apply the screening process accurately, you will be able to not only find the right candidate but also be able to save substantial time in processing mismatched candidates.
#8 Hire for a Test Project
Though you hire the right candidate if you follow the hiring process correctly, still you need to hire a remote candidate for a short test project. If a remote worker completes that project with the desired bottom lines, you can hire for a long-term.
#9 Consider Time-zone and Culture
According to a new study, time-zone is the second major challenge in the management of virtual teams. The cultural diversity is the fifth most important factor that impacts the efficient management of a remote team. So, the hiring manager should take special care of both those factors. Culture and time-zone should be selected in such a way that they overlap the headquarter timings.
#10 Be Flexible & Encouraging
While communicating with the candidates, the manager should be very encouraging, friendly, and flexible in asking questions or even talking about the candidate interests, company culture etcetera. This creates a congenial communication environment and the candidates will feel easy to use their minds and recall the skills, experience, innovative capabilities.
Final Takeaway
Remote hiring is on rising trend across all industries, sectors, and businesses worldwide. The role of remote employees in IT has increased significantly. Remote hiring saves cost and time and increase the quality as well as productivity of the company. Remote hiring is different from traditional hiring owing to its many peculiarities. So, the top 10 tips mentioned in this article help CEOs and hiring managers significantly to accomplish their jobs effectively.
