To successfully hire remote talent, clarify your expectations of applicants, establish clear communication protocols, and create a structured onboarding process. Pretty straightforward, right? Well, not quite.
Many businesses still struggle to recruit remotely. According to research, 33% of respondents say hiring in a remote environment is among their top challenges. Another 37.4% revealed that remote onboarding/training is a big hurdle.
So, despite these issues, how can you find the right talent for your growing business? In this guide, we will walk you through hiring the best remote talents for your small business or startup. Then, we’ll offer more tips to ensure you successfully build and maintain a high-performing remote team. Let’s jump right in!
How to Hire Remote Talent
Hiring remote workers for your small business or startup begins with defining the job requirements. Next, you source candidates, screen their applications, conduct virtual interviews, and make them an offer.
Below is a detailed breakdown of each step:
Step 1: Define Role Requirements with Remote Success in Mind
As you would for any on-site role, you need to describe what the job entails. This will guide you toward writing a clear job description and attracting the right candidates. So, outline specific responsibilities, required skills, and experience level needed for the job.
Since this is a remote role, you will also include the technical and soft skills required from interested applicants. For example, most remote roles require candidates to be proficient in virtual collaboration tools and have strong written communication skills. On the soft skill side, potential hires must be self-starters and have excellent time management ability.
Afterward, assess how remote-friendly the role is. To do this, consider if the relevant tasks can be completed off-site. Evaluate how convenient it would be for team collaboration or client meetings. And lastly, consider if the software, tools, and tech needed to do the job are accessible off-site.
Another option is to check out the competition. If they are going remote for similar roles, then it is feasible. It might even be necessary to remain competitive.
The next task in this step is determining the type of engagement you want (full-time or part-time). The project and your budget will mainly decide this. For instance, part-time hires are cost-effective for short-term work, while a big budget can accommodate full-time employees.
Once you’ve ticked these boxes, you can create the job description. Two things to keep in mind when writing the job description:
1) Don’t just focus on requirements; discuss outcomes. For example, rather than merely saying, “2+ years of PHP development experience required,” highlight specific deliverables. Instead, say, “Build and maintain scalable web applications using PHP frameworks that improve user experience by 30%.” This way, candidates can better understand what success looks like in the role.
2) Write in accessible language without any colloquialism. Avoid cliches like “ rockstar developer” or “ninja coder.” instead, use clear, professional terms that will resonate with a global audience while accurately describing the role and its requirements.
Step 2: Go Beyond Job Boards to Find Passive Candidates
The next step is to find top candidates for the role. Now, the traditional approach is to post your job ad on traditional job boards like Indeed or social networking platforms like LinkedIn. There are even remote job boards like Remotive.
However, while these sources are good, they aren’t great. They don’t usually attract the best candidates. The very best at what they do are hardly scrolling on job boards. These professionals are already employed, so they are not actively job searching.
Therefore, they need to be headhunted. This is where partnering with a specialized recruitment agency like DistantJob can be effective. Our global headhunting team is embedded in local tech communities. As such, every candidate we put forward is headhunted exclusively for you.
Niche communities, industry-specific forums, and professional networks are other excellent places to find qualified remote candidates.
Step 3. Screen Applications Efficiently without Missing Quality Candidates
By now, you already have hundreds—in some cases, thousands of applications coming in. Going through every entry manually is impractical and time-consuming. Besides, even if your job description is clear, you’d still get many applications from unqualified candidates.
Dovetail revealed that out of 225 applications per role, 90% of the candidates don’t read the job description entirely—and 85% don’t have the core skills for the job.
So, you need to find a solution that balances efficiency with thoroughness in evaluating candidates. This is what an ATS (applicant tracking system) does. This system streamlines the screening process by filtering applications based on predetermined criteria such as keywords, skills, years of experience, and education level.
This way, only the most qualified candidates advance to the next stage. Of course, this process is faster when with a remote recruitment agency like DistantJob. We can screen candidates who match your requirements and only present you with a shortlist of pre-vetted professionals.
This saves you countless hours of reviewing applications and conducting preliminary screenings.
Step 4. Conduct Remote-Optimized Interviews to Assess Fit and Skill
Virtual interviews have become popular, even for some on-site roles. To conduct a successful one, ensure that you have the right technology.
For technical interviews, ensure you have screen-sharing capabilities and collaborative platforms ready to evaluate candidates’ skills in real time. Some popular tools include HackerRank (tech), Codility (tech), Sales Assessment by OMG (Sales), and The English Quiz.
However, don’t just give candidates generic challenges. Top talents aren’t impressed by cookie-cutter tasks. Set tests similar to the ones they’d be working on in their actual role. You can even make it a paid assignment to incentivize candidates to put in their best effort.
By doing so, you achieve two things: first, you get a better sense of how they tackle real-life problems. Second, it shows you respect their time and expertise, contributing to a great candidate experience.
Also, use the actual collaboration tools they will use on the job. For instance, you can use a project management tool like Clickup to assign tests. Then, assess how the candidate manages tasks and communicates through the platform. This lets you evaluate their proficiency with remote work tools while getting a realistic preview of their workflow.
Behavioral and culture-fit interviews will primarily be on video. Hence, tools like Skype, Zoom, or Google Meets will suffice. Some practical questions you can ask during this interview include:
- Tell me about when you had to work with someone whose personality was very different from yours.
- What is the most difficult/challenging situation you’ve ever had to resolve in the workplace?
- Describe an occasion when you had to manage your time to complete a task. How did you go about it?
- What would you do if you misunderstood an important task on the job? Give an example.
However, there are tools, such as HireSelect (personality tests), Predictive Index (personality and workplace behavior), and Pymetrics (cognitive and emotional traits), that can support these assessments.
At DistantJob, we conduct a tailored search to find candidates who match your specific needs. Each candidate undergoes our rigorous technical assessments to ensure they possess strong English skills and are well-versed in remote work dynamics.
Whether you hire talent from Latin America or Eastern Europe, you can be confident they will seamlessly integrate into your team.
Additionally, candidates we send you are heavily influenced by Western culture, and we headhunt those working at companies similar to yours.
Step 5. Make an Offer that Resonates with Remote Professionals
If everything looks great — that is, the candidate passes your technical and behavioral tests, make a conditional offer. Avoid being too clever, trying to see “what else is out there.” Top talents won’t wait around too long. If the candidate ticks all your (or the most important) boxes, move forward.
However, before you do so, understand that you are a small business. This means you might not be able to offer the financial package bigger corporations would. This isn’t a weakness; it simply means you have to be a bit more creative with your offer.
Benefits like flexible work hours, professional development, equity options, and performance bonuses can compensate for a less attractive salary. You just need to find something your company can offer.
Next, conduct a background check. This allows you to review a prospective hire’s criminal, educational, employment, and other relevant records. You want to ensure the person joining your team is really who they say they are. If everything checks out, finalize the employment.
The advantage of working with a staffing agency like DistantJob is that we already have a pool of pre-screened candidates. These professionals have undergone thorough background checks, ensuring they meet our high standards for professional integrity. We can also set up a payment pipeline for your candidate in the way that’s the most beneficial for both of you.
Step 6. Streamline Remote Onboarding to Maximize Engagement
You can find the best remote talent. However, the onboarding process hugely impacts whether or not they succeed at your company. According to research, 69% of employees will stay with a company for three years if they have a great onboarding experience. Therefore, it is an essential step in the hiring process.
Although their aim is the same, a remote onboarding program will differ from an in-office one. A remote program involves preparing digital versions of contracts, NDAs (non-disclosure agreements), and other relevant documents. You’ll also need to provide digital copies of essentials like the employee handbook and other resources.
Provide the necessary tools and technology for a successful collaboration, such as hardware, software, and access to company systems. Some organizations send new employees laptops and other equipment directly to their homes. Others provide a stipend for purchasing approved devices and setting up a productive home office environment.
Conduct a virtual orientation to introduce the company culture, team members, and processes. Create avenues for team members to bond. This can be through virtual happy hours and team-building activities or by dedicating a Slack group to non-work-related topics.
Assign a buddy to help your new hire navigate their first few weeks, answer questions, and guide company protocols and culture. Additionally, provide accessible resources and a clear roadmap for their first 90 days to encourage productivity and integration.
DistantJob also offers onboarding services. We can handle payroll, compliance, and administrative tasks to ensure a seamless transition for your new remote hire. Plus, we check monthly to learn if they have everything they need to be productive and if you are happy with their performance.
Tips to Successfully Hire the Best Remote Talent
Now you know the process for recruiting remote talents. Let’s discuss how to optimize your hiring strategy to attract and retain the best candidates.
- Familiarize yourself with local employment laws: Research the employment and labor laws of the regions of potential employees before you get far in the hiring process. Understand working hours, minimum wages, benefits, and termination procedures, among other things.
- Don’t limit your talent pool to a single location: Many companies new to remote hiring only hire within a specific city, state, region, or time zone. The transition to remote work can be overwhelming; we get it. But you miss out on enjoying the full benefit of remote recruitment when you create these restrictions. Cast a wider net, and you will give your company a real chance to hire the best of the best.
- Set clear expectations: Explicitly define job roles, responsibilities, and performance goals. Regularly review and provide feedback on performance. In the same vein, establish communication channels and protocols. Determine the communication tools, meeting frequency, and response time expectations.
- Respect cultural differences: Be aware of cultural differences, such as holidays, communication styles, and work practices.
- Prioritize data security: Implement robust security protocols to safeguard sensitive information. Use VPNs, multi-factor authentication systems, and encrypted communication channels to protect company data.
- Monitor compliance: Ensure compliance with local laws and regulations by reviewing and updating your compliance practices.
Hire Top Talent with DistantJob
So there you have it: the steps to hiring remote talent and tips for ensuring a successful process. Apply them when recruiting for your small business, and you will reap the benefits of tapping into the global talent market.
However, if you’re still feeling overwhelmed — If paperwork, documentation, contracts, and the legal aspects are too much to handle, leave it in our hands.At DistantJob, we will help you hire without borders 60% faster than in the average industry. Our team of specialized IT recruiters can help you find and hire talented remote developers who will adapt to your company’s process. All this while managing the paperwork, as our global legal & HR team handles everything. Have more questions? Contact us!
