6 tips to transform your remote recruitment process

Thanks to the pandemic, the need for remote employees has increased dramatically, with a growing percentage of businesses desiring to embrace the new normal even once Covid-19 has faded. Workers are no longer bound to the business-as-usual approach. Research says that 76% of people prefer working remotely in the foreseeable future.

With 90% of workers saying they’re more productive, 44% saying they’re ready to leave their current jobs for a remote one & 93% saying remote work is better for their organization, there is no dispute over the fact that remote working is truly the future of employment.

With remote employment becoming the best way forward, companies of all sizes are scrambling to find the best remote hiring process. Read on to see how you can smoothen out your remote hiring experience.

Considerations when hiring remote workers

Various countries have varied taxation, safety, and health systems, as well as different regulations for employment contracts, payrolls, and legal compliance. Knowing best practices for remote hiring is imperative. So what should be considered?

Management of payroll & taxation

Your remote employees will be subject to their home country’s tax regulations, so it is important to be well aware of all employer tax obligations in a new country. Similarly, many countries require the existence of a local bank account for the payment of salaries. 

Calculating compensation

Every country has a certain set of statutory benefits, social insurance rules, and other regulations that must be complied with. For example, Indian employment law mandates an employer contribution towards the pension fund of an employee. When calculating compensation, employers must also factor in the cost of providing these statutory benefits.

Knowing this ahead of time can help you prevent confusion and ensure that the employee receives fair compensation.

Intellectual property & data protection

International remote employees can raise the danger of cybercrime and hacking for your company if they are linked to unprotected networks. Before appointing remote employees abroad, you would want to assess your security procedures to determine if they can effectively prevent such threats. Certain countries like those within the European Union follow a stricter standard of data protection (GDPR), non-compliance with which can result in strict legal measures against the company.

Strict regulations that outline how to utilize VPNs, intranets, and data encryption should be in place for businesses that wish to move toward a remote workforce.

Misclassification of employees as contractors

Incorrectly and unlawfully classifying employees as independent contractors when they are employees is misclassification. Employee misclassification refers to a government determination that the employees of the organization have been given the wrong legal category.

The legal protections generally provided to employees, such as hourly wage regulations, workers’ insurance, and severance compensation, are not afforded to employees who are misclassified as contract workers. Additionally, misclassification of employees can result in heavy legal penalties.

Building the perfect remote recruitment process

Companies that previously provided little or no remote job choices will need to change their stance to attract and keep top personnel. Additionally, 2 out of 3 firms stated that their employees perform better while working remotely.

Below are a few tips to help you build your global team.

Build a strong employer brand online

Employer branding has long been seen as a crucial element of workplace performance since it contributes to the retention of employees and productivity improvement. The ability to recruit and keep a competent remote workforce is quickly becoming a key component of successful human resource (HR) strategies.

You should define a well-built EVP (employee value proposition) and cultivate your company culture so that employees feel a connection to your way of working. This way, you are well set for remote recruitment even before starting! In the age of digital presence, your company website and careers page play a huge role in painting a favorable image in the minds of potential candidates. 

Posting across the right job boards

Before beginning the process, be mindful of who will view your job ad and also what perks and compensation they would anticipate. You need a precise job description, a strong grasp of how the position will be carried out remotely, and a list of the skills and abilities that candidates must possess. Ensure that you post across remote-friendly job boards like Angellist, Flexjob & Jobspresso to attract remote employees.

Use your digital presence

Integrating content into your remote hiring process is a highly impactful practice. You can do this through your social media. Think about including an introduction video in your job description or sending it to applicants after they have been scheduled for an interview. According to our recent survey,  93% candidates are most engaged on LinkedIn, followed by YouTube (88%) and Instagram(77%). Use various social media platforms, as well as your company blogs to advertise yourself and your company better.

Here is your chance to make a strong initial impression, which is especially crucial given that you won’t be conducting a face-to-face interview.

Use an AI-powered recruitment software

AI for recruitment offers a chance for recruiters to spend less time on tedious, repetitive chores like optimizing the filtering of applications, starting evaluations automatically, or setting up interviews with applicants.

AI-powered tools can look at many profiles, saving users time and allowing them to concentrate on more crucial things. Processes and groupware may be analyzed by AI to create more simplified and effective procedures.

AI can also aid in reducing hiring prejudice, which is essential to rules and regulations related to inclusion and diversity. The use of a candidate fit score guarantees that applicants are evaluated based on their experience and skill set rather than a biased demographic.

Build a structured & objective interview process

Make sure the interview is direct & to the point. Ask questions that will help you gauge the interviewee in minimal time. For this, you’ll have to organize your interview process in advance, including the technologies you’ll employ.

Create a list of questions that will help you gauge whether your prospect would be a good match for working remotely. Ensure that you give due weightage to soft skills along with technical qualifications. The goal is to determine if they possess the communication abilities necessary for remote collaboration as well as the time management, organization, and self-discipline skills needed for working from home.

Think about it:

• What characteristics make a candidate an excellent fit?
• Which abilities should they possess? (Skills that can and cannot be negotiated)
• What character attributes do you value most?
• What benefits can this applicant provide the business?

Plan ahead of time!

Remote onboarding process

As employers, we must build an onboarding process that is not restricted by time zones and boundaries. This entails putting in place a strong training program and dealing with the documentation required by employing an employee. Employing a buddy system is also helpful.

The employee would have a one-to-one “friend” that they could go to with any of their queries and thoughts, leading to quicker and clearer communication. Also, sending a welcome kit with a few goodies along with important documents also goes a long way in making the employee feel ready to go from day one.

The benefit of an EOR

When hiring across borders, the management of payments, tax, and regulatory documentation on your own can be extremely time-consuming and capital-intensive. Unless your company is a global firm with legal entities throughout every nation in the globe, it is incredibly simple to violate international payroll laws and tax duties, and the consequences can be severe.

At this stage, you must have a partnership with a company that can assist you in handling these aspects of your global hiring process. Making the right choice for your partner requires careful consideration; for example, you must choose one that you could rely on with the payment of salaries and management of taxes. This is why an EOR (Employer-of-Record) is ideal in this situation.

An Employer of Record is a third-party company that manages every element of the labor in a foreign nation. The EOR is responsible for managing all parts of the workforce, including hiring, payroll, taxes, benefits for employees, and legal compliance.

Conclusion

The excitement for, and various advantages of implementing remote work into a corporate strategy might overwhelm worries about employing a company’s first remote worker. Before the onboarding procedure starts, however, company executives should address the intricacies of remote work, such as staff objectives, level of experience, and availability.

Even though no hiring process is flawless, especially when introducing new workplace standards, keeping these six factors in mind will result in a smoother hiring and onboarding process for businesses, HR professionals, supervisors, and remote work candidates. It may also be the initial step in establishing a company’s image as a remote-enabled organization and broadening its rules on remote work to cover more distributed team members.

If you’re looking for a different but meticulous remote hiring experience, look no further than Talent500. We offer pre-vetted professionals with on-field experience & personalized AI algorithms to design tailored talent acquisition and management solutions for you. Want to know more? Sign up here.