How to Hire Remote Workers: A Step-By-Step Guide to Broadening Your Talent Pool

Looking to hire. Location: Anywhere.

Since 2020, many companies have abandoned the expectations of location-based office workplaces and are moving toward fully remote or hybrid models.

Our working culture has changed forever, and it happened fast.

Hiring remotely can be advantageous. As an employer, recruiting remote workers means geography is no longer a factor. You can seek out potential candidates globally, and in some cases, you’ll be able to provide your customers with round-the-clock service.

Don’t get us wrong — the remote hiring process has its challenges. But if you're smart and intentional, you’ll find yourself reaping the many benefits it offers.

What is a Remote Job?

A remote job is a type of employment where an individual works outside a traditional in-person environment.

Remote workers perform their duties from their chosen location instead of commuting to a physical workplace. This is often their home, but as long as communication tools such as email, phone, and video conferencing are in place, they can work from almost anywhere.

Many companies in across industries offer full-time and part-time remote jobs. It’s ideal for people who want to eliminate the daily commute, work for a company they admire that’s not where they’re located, or accommodate personal circumstances.

6 Benefits of Hiring Remote Employees

When a business goes remote, it opens up a world of opportunities — literally.

 The numerous benefits include tapping into a global talent pool and creating a more flexible and productive work environment. Let's dive into some of the key advantages of hiring remote staff.

1. Expanded Talent Pool: Compared to traditional hiring, remote hiring means you can pick from the best of the bunch — on a global scale. The result is adding highly skilled and experienced remote workers to your payroll.
   
2. Reduced Overhead: Remote hiring can result in significant cost reductions for your business. With fewer people to accommodate in a physical location, you can save money on office space, utilities, commuting expenses, and other overhead costs associated with maintaining an office.
3. Boosted Productivity Rates: Fewer distractions and the ability to create a personalized work environment often mean. Additionally, the flexibility of a remote workforce enables your employees to work during their most productive hours for even more efficiency.
4. Increased Employee Satisfaction and Retention: Employees with the flexibility to work remotely are often more engaged, motivated, and loyal to their employers.
5. Business Continuity Factors: Remote hiring can provide business continuity, as employees can work remotely during unforeseen circumstances like natural disasters, pandemics, or other disruptions that may hinder on-site work.
6. Elevated Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility: Remote hiring allows individuals from different backgrounds, demographics, and locations to join the workforce. This can lead to a more diverse and inclusive workplace and bring in various perspectives and ideas.

How to Hire Remote Employees

A successful remote hire isn’t that different from hiring for an in-person role. There are just a few nuances. Here’s how to source a remote employee:

1. Create a Job Description and Posting

Create a job posting with a detailed job description, requirements, application instructions, and the deadline. Be specific about the remote nature of the position and your company’s remote work expectations.

Emphasize the advantages of remote work, like flexibility, work-life balance, and location independence. Explain how your company supports remote work and any tools or technology you use for remote collaboration.

2. Screen Applications

Review potential candidates' resumes and applications to evaluate their qualifications, skills, and experience. Look for qualities that align with the role and your company's overall culture.

A candidate might be the perfect fit if they plan to work in your office, though someone with a different skill set might be better suited for remote work.

Be mindful of the following qualities:

• Self-motivated. Remote workers need to be able to complete tasks independently without constant manager supervision.
  
• Strong communication skills, especially via email, video, and messaging software.
  
• Well-organized. When you hire a virtual employee, they need to be able to manage time effectively and set boundaries between work and personal life.
  
• Comfortable using technology to complete work and communicate.
  
• Flexibility and adaptability. Remote employees might need to work odd hours based on team availability and handle unexpected challenges, like technical issues.
  

After review, go ahead and shortlist the candidates who meet the job requirements.

3. Conduct Remote Interviews

Conduct virtual interviews with your shortlisted candidates. Ask specific questions about their remote work experience, communication skills, and ability to work independently with a strong work ethic.

During the remote interviews, discuss expectations about communication. It's important to consider how you communicate and establish clear expectations carefully.

If you're working across different time zones, this may involve remote workers checking in via messaging tools at the end of their workday for your team to review first thing in the morning. Be specific about these expectations so your team can effectively collaborate and communicate with all remote hires.

Consider involving HR, managers, colleagues, and executives to build a thorough interview process. Each interviewer will look for different qualities, strengths, and weaknesses.

4. Extend the Offer Letter

Once you've identified the most qualified candidate, much like in an in-person hire, it's time to send out your offer letter with the compensation and role details. The right HR software with integrated applicant tracking and recruiting tools will simplify communicating with your candidate.

It's important to avoid resting on your laurels. Speed can be a differentiator in appealing to star talent in a competitive talent market.

Interviewing Remote Workers

Navigating the interview process for remote workers requires careful planning and strategic thinking to ensure candidates are well-suited for the unique dynamics of remote work environments.

Here are our top tips for conducting successful remote interviews:

1. Prepare your technology: Ensure a stable Internet connection, test your video conferencing software, and have a backup plan in case of technical issues.
   
2. Clearly define the interview process: Outline the structure, inform candidates of the schedule, and share any necessary materials or information beforehand.
   
3. Focus on communication skills: A candidate’s communication ability is crucial for remote work, where a manager isn’t physically there to observe work.
   
4. Give candidates time to answer: Be aware that there could be a connection lag, or the audio might cut in and out. 
   
5. Assess technical proficiency: Evaluate the candidate's familiarity with remote work tools and ability to adapt to new technologies.
   
6. Seek feedback: After the interview, ask candidates for feedback on the process to improve future remote interviews.

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Learn More: 10 Virtual Job Interview Tips for Hiring Managers & Recruiters 

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Considerations When Hiring Virtual Employees

Several important factors must be considered when hiring virtual employees to ensure a successful and productive working relationship in a remote environment.

State Work Regulations

To stay compliant, you must know differing minimum wage rates, payroll taxes, time-off policies, and more. You also must ensure employees are paying state taxes for the state they live in, not the state of your corporate headquarters.

Your organization could be penalized if you don't comply with these regulations, so it's worth ensuring you're doing things by the book.

If you’re hiring remote employees across multiple states or localities, staying current on all the different and changing employment regulations can be challenging. Robust HR software can help you keep track of all the applicable laws based on where your workforce is based so you can avoid doing all the legwork yourself.

Global Hiring

If you’re looking to add international employees to your staff, ensure you’re set up for hiring remote employees in other countries and running a global payroll.

Global hiring means setting up in-country bank accounts to comply with payroll funding regulations. In addition, you must ensure compliance with labor requirements.

It’s wise to look into global payroll solutions to help manage the complexities of employing international employees. A platform that offers customer support, such as managing foreign currencies, time zones, and compliance requirements, is vital.

Availability and Time Zones

Consider a remote employee’s global location in relation to your team’s working hours. Is there enough overlap in working hours to make teamwork work?

If there's a large gap, clearly communicate your expectations regarding communication and response times during those hours when the remote employee is working while everyone else is sleeping.

Maybe you schedule sync meetings at the end of their day and the beginning of yours — or vice versa. Or, if there's no overlap, is there a chat channel where they can sign off with a summary of their day?

Onboarding and Training

Be incredibly intentional about how you onboard and train remote staff. Sticking them on a conference call in a room full of in-person workers may make them feel isolated and disengaged. Consider HR software with baked-in employee communication and development tools to help overcome the digital divide.

Remember the logistical necessities. Ensure your remote employees have the tools to work from anywhere. Give them instructions on how to set up and use the tech, including communication tools and project management software. Provide guidance on filing IT tickets in case they encounter issues.

5 Mistakes to Avoid When Hiring Remote Workers

Avoiding common pitfalls is essential when hiring remote workers to ensure seamless team integration and maintain productivity in a distributed work environment. 

Let's explore five key pitfalls:

1. Failing to provide competitive compensation: Failing to research and offer competitive salaries and benefits based on the local market can make it challenging to attract and retain top remote talent.
   
2. Underestimating technology needs: Not providing remote hires with the necessary tools and technology can hinder their productivity and engagement with the company.
   
3. Overlooking cultural fit: Remote workers must align with your company's values and culture just as much as in-office employees. Ensure they understand and embrace your company culture to maintain a cohesive team.
   
4. Lack of clear expectations: Unclear performance expectations and goals for remote hires can result in confusion and underperformance.
   
5. Not implementing the proper security protocols: Remote work can pose security risks. Implement robust security measures like VPNs, encrypted communication tools, and regular security training to protect sensitive company data.

Hiring the Best In-Person and Remote Talent With Paylocity

Hiring the best in-person and remote talent begins with Paylocity.

Our connected HR software simplifies processes, breaks down barriers, and creates purpose for your business. Leverage our talent management software to automate the recruiting and onboarding experience, ensure fair pay, and offer plentiful opportunities for career development.

Explore intuitive resources like video tools, two-way email and texting, employee templates, and digital contract signatures to streamline the talent acquisition processes — making hiring in-person or remote talent a breeze.

Request a demo today to learn more about how Paylocity can help you source star talent, wherever they’re located.