The all-remote and remote-first companies like Motion Software are blessed with having access to world-class talent from a global… or at least a pretty large pool.
But even without the location restrictions, it may take extra effort to recruit talent in more diverse places. It’s far from enough to switch in-person interviews for hour-long online meetings and call it a day.
The following article shares some practice-based knowledge on how to seamlessly and efficiently hire remote talent. Read on.
Craft Remote Hiring Principles and Procedures
Our team believes in the power of the collaborative hiring approach for every remote workplace. Developing and documenting a hiring plan and talent acquisition standards that fully align with the company’s culture and values should be the basis of all employment decisions.
Make sure the right team members have access to these guidelines and procedures. We document everything in Notion and love it mainly because of its flexibility (it works as a writing repository, note-taking utensil during meetings, task manager, database, and more. However, there are plenty of other great productivity tools and note-taking, such as Trello, Asana, and Monday, that your company can choose from.
Take on board that the standardization of all recruitment-related duties leads to higher-quality hires and increased productivity – employee satisfaction and retention start with recruitment.
👋 At Motion Software, we want to guarantee not only that we’re hiring the most skilled tech talent in Central and Eastern Europe, but also professionals who understand and praise the remote work model. We also incorporate our key values – transparency, self-improvement, and empowerment – from step one of the hiring process.
Thus, we’ve established these 3 internal hiring directives:
Response
- Value each party’s time in the hiring process
- Select tools to smoothen the communication between candidate and employee
- Use synchronous and asynchronous means to assess candidates’ level of expertisе
Synergy
- Lean on Motion Software community and network of tech professionals
- Communicate the referral program with everyone within the organization (through internal newsletters, handbooks, etc.)
- Foster cross-company collaboration regarding open positions
- Support project transitioning as everyone should be doing what they love
Transparency
- Discuss the hiring strategy and opening positions with the team before publishing
- Share insights and celebrate hiring achievements during the regular sales huddles
- Tell shortlisted candidates stories that reflect Motion Software’s culture and values
- Give every candidate honest feedback in a timely manner
Technology to the Rescue
According to a recent LinkedIn research, 81% of HR and talent experts agree virtual recruiting will continue post-COVID. Therefore, the workplaces of the future should stop using a notebook to keep track of the process. Instead, they need to permanently adopt and utilize remote hiring technology to their advantage – throughout the entire recruitment process. Reliable software, like the one offered by Greenhouse, Workable, and Manatal (and many more), can reshape once and for all the way businesses recruit and hire.
👋 Looking back to Motion Software – we’ve developed our own remote work platform that fits our business needs and deals with everything, including video interviewing, tracking applicants, talent to business matchmaking, and onboarding new hires. We love to call the platform “the backbone of Motion Software” – this is the place where you need to sign up when applying for any job on our website.
Tackle the Employer Branding
A survey by Papirfly shows that 75% of candidates research a company’s reputation and employer brand before applying for a job. Further, 69% of candidates would not accept a job in a company with a negative reputation, even if that meant they wouldn’t have a job.
With the ever-growing number of employers who offer remote jobs, the candidates have become more and more demanding. The remuneration isn’t the only decision-making factor for a career move.
To promote a strong remote employer brand, companies should not only foster a culture of flexibility, empowerment, and self-growth. They should also build stronger teams through virtual meetups, community collaboration, and team-building activities.
👋 The HR and recruitment team of Motion Software keeps it as transparent as possible and clearly communicates what we stand for as an organization at the pre-screening interview stage.
Make the Remote Hiring Process “Semi-Sync”
Conducting just some recruitment process steps without any live, co-located elements is called “semi-sync”. This approach makes interviewing and hiring more scalable, accessible, and inclusive. The talent specialists can make time-zone safe hiring decisions by accessing a much larger pool.
👋 Speaking of “semi-sync”, here’s how the remote hiring model of Motion Software currently looks like:
#1 Application review stage (async)
The purpose of this very first stage is to screen out candidates who do not meet the basic criteria for a position, based on their resume (i.e. minimum experience, educational background, level of English, etc.).
Today, loads of companies use candidates’ LinkedIn profiles as a screening tool in this initial stage.
#2 Pre-screening interview stage/Self-Recorded Video stage (both options available)
The pre-screening stage provides an easy and convenient way for candidates to showcase their experience and for us to match them to the best opportunities available. It is usually quick (15-30 minutes long) and takes the minimum effort from both parties.
At Motion Software, for instance, we strive to be as flexible as possible and give applicants async (phone call with a recruiter) and synchronous options (self-recorded video through our own platform). They both work great for gaining overall info about a candidate’s professional manners, communication skills, English skills, sense of humor, and ability to actively listen.
At this stage, we also make sure candidates know what’s ahead of them in terms of hiring steps.
#3 Technical Interview (synchronous)
The third stage is the least flexible and entirely synchronous one (45-60 minutes long). However, it’s essential to align skills to roles, get transparent with the candidate about the level of expertise required for the job, and evaluate the applicant’s motivation to join our company.
It is a great strategy to dedicate a couple of engineers to interviewing – that sets up a core team that will focus on improving the candidate experience. Moreover, this forms shared accountability for the end result of the hiring process.
#4 Send Offer/Candidate Rejection Email (async)
As part of the hiring procedures, make sure to create templates for job offers and candidates’ rejection emails. The second one shouldn’t sound too robotic and generic – give people constructive feedback that proves you appreciate the time and effort they took to apply to your job, and that would help them in the job search.
The Best Hires Are Employees Referrals
The best, time-tested way to hire top-quality candidates is via referrals. It’s faster and cheaper, generally brings more qualified candidates, and lowers the turnover rate at the organization.
👋 At Motion Software, we’ve got a referral program in place that has been regularly communicated with the community through internal newsletters, onboarding documentation, etc. We encourage every remote organization to plan their own one – not just to financially encourage employees but also to create a more productive workplace.
To sum up, the recruitment process of each remote company should be kept in draft – with the constant aim of streamlining, automating, and making it easier without a negative impact on quality. This can be achieved through adopting the right technology, developing and documenting the hiring process from A to Z, and promoting async communication where possible.