Remote work is increasingly becoming commonplace owing to its varying benefits like increased productivity, remote access to global talent, retention, lower costs, and much more. A study by Upwork suggests that 73% of all departments will employ remote workers by 2028. The rise in remote work became prominent during the pandemic. However, its prominence has sustained in the post-pandemic world as well. Remote work has a possibility of permanence, especially for selected professions that comprise a small pool of highly educated people with high competence. Gartner, Inc. anticipated that 51% of all expert employees globally, will work remotely by the beginning of 2022.
With remote work becoming a trend, the hiring process initially became very challenging. Concerns like directing and engaging individuals that you have never met in person became demanding for employers. But despite these challenges, today, there are several solutions to overcome those challenges. HR managers can now take advantage of the rapidly developing market for technological solutions, including video conferencing, collaboration software, and other HR tools that facilitate remote hiring. The increasing use of recruitment software is evident from its market growth, which was estimated to be worth US$ 2.55 billion in 2021 and is anticipated to become US$ 3.85 billion, at a CAGR of 6.10%. by 2028.
The hiring can also be outsourced from dedicated companies that undertake best practices to hire the best talent. The global market for outsourcing the hiring process also is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 13.9% between 2022 and 2030.
Following are the main remote hiring challenges and their solution.
Skill assessment
It can be difficult to carry out precise talent evaluations and assessments at remote locations. Therefore, designing specialized test tasks and carrying out tailored skill evaluations can aid in the efficient assessment of candidates.
Onboarding concerns
The majority of new hires are likely to feel overburdened initially and be less productive. Thus, introductory meetings and positive and open corporate culture can help to comprehend the workflow and procedures. Asynchronous communication can also provide all the pertinent information to the employee in a single snippet such that they may review it at their convenience.
Application sorting
With intense competition in the market and a closely competing sea of applications, sorting becomes a herculean task for HR managers. The challenge can be met by maintaining transparency in the entire process, setting clear expectations, and drawing clear role requirements. It can be further streamlined with the use of AI-based applications. It would not only speed up the selection process but also make it easier to pinpoint talented candidates.
Background checks
The startlingly prevalent issue of degree and work history fraud can harm the firms’ reputation. Nevertheless, it can be fully eliminated with the use of the right risk-based background screening and keeping up with current employment regulations. This will reduce the risk of fraud and software can aid background checks by offering instant access to background information and assessing results for verification in close to real-time. The gig economy also presents unique screening challenges making it necessary to verify every possible job an applicant may have held.
Time clash
It’s hard to determine a common time for an interview in the absence of in-person evaluations. It can be more difficult if the time zones of the recruiter and applicant differ. This challenge can be met by in-advance detailed planning before the actual interview takes place. With software, automatic schedules can be planned when hosting remote candidate interviews.
Obligatory legalities
Creating written agreements for remote workers is vital, but it is challenging for employers and recruiting managers because of contractual laws that are a laborious undertaking. So, using pre-made templates to construct contracts and consulting with legal and compliance professionals might assist in adjusting the contract’s details.
Payroll remittance
Appropriate wage computations, invoicing, etc. can be troublesome for HR managers. These issues can be resolved by remote payroll and compliance providers, making it much easier for recruiters to manage contracts and compensation profiles.
Mentoring the newcomers, undertaking the hiring process with empathy, offering work-life balance, conducting effective communication, establishing a questioning environment, exhibiting vulnerable leadership, and conducting team-building activities- are all the other hiring essentials that can attract the best talent to the companies.
Transition, expansion, and remote labor are now the norms that can be effectively managed, with just a little forethought and commitment. Despite being novel and intimidating, these remote hiring difficulties, if managed carefully, have the potential to increase productivity.
All-inclusive recruitment software and outsourced hiring can assist in handling these issues and allow hiring managers to easily overcome the difficulties associated with remote hiring by adhering to these best practices.
(The author is Mr. Anuj Agrawal Founder & CEO, Zyoin and the views expressed in this article are his own)
