Hiring remote employees is a great way to benefit your company. It is also a great way to bring in skills that are scarce in your location from a talent pool of the whole world.
Remote employees are going to benefit as well because they can go after a job that truly challenges them and pays well, without having to relocate or come to the office each day.
Even with all the benefits to both parties when it comes to recruiting high-quality candidates and retaining your remote workers, things can be challenging.
Some of the different steps that you can do to attract those remote employees include:
How to Attract Remote Employees
There are different steps that you can do to attract some of the best remote employees. Some of the steps you can use include:
1. Build Your Employer Brand
Having a good reputation as an employer will help you to attract the qualified candidates that you need. Often local candidates might be easier to reach because they are likely to have heard about the company or even know one of your employees already.
However, if you plan to hire remotely, many of the candidates have to rely on the digital presence to learn about your company. This means that you need to show how trustworthy you are, showing off your culture so the candidate can visualize themselves on your team.
One way that you can do this is to describe your way of working. Remote employees often like the fact that they get to make their own schedules when working in this way. Despite this, they still want to know more about the job and what they will need to do.
It is important to show your flexibility and give a glimpse into the typical day that most of your employees will encounter. The more you can showcase the work your remote employees will do and how they fit into the overall scheme of things, the better.
When possible, you should include testimonials from the employees. If you already have some remote employees, ask them to give testimonials that can help out other remote employees down the line.
You can even showcase some of the in-person meetings to let others know a little bit more about you. And always make it a goal to present some of the values that truly define your culture. This will help you to get others who will fit in with this culture better.
2. Decide Where to Advertise the Job
While defining your brand and your culture is important, you need to find the right place to post about the position. A combination of job posting sites and social media are good places to start.
It is often best to consider more than one job board to do this, especially if you plan to search around the globe for employees.
Your potential remote employees may not check every job board so the more you post the job, the easier it is for you to find the right person.
3. Assess the Employees
Once you have a pool of applicants to work with, it is time to assess them to see who is the best fit.
The method you use will depend on the specific job you post, but using different methods, including interviews, can help you make the best decision.
How to Retain Your Remote Employees
It is impossible to use the same techniques on your remote employees as you can with those who come into the office.
Free snacks and ping pong tables are great, but they do not matter to someone who will work from a different location.
What is important to your remote employees? They like a good compensation plan. This means that they want a compensation plan that is:
1. Attractive
When you look to hire remote workers, you will compete against companies all around the world rather than just in your own country. This means that you need to design a compensation package that is competitive.
The salary you offer is important, but it is just one step in the process. If you can’t offer a higher salary, then consider things like stock options and mobile plans to help entice some of the best talents.
2. Fair
They also want a fair compensation plan. If you have two remote employees and one lives in an expensive city and one is in a cheap area to live in, you may need to find a good balance.
This helps to keep large salary gaps limited between your team members.
3. Other Benefits
The benefits that you offer to your remote employees will be different than what you do for most other employees. You may need to think outside of the box.
A good salary is a good starting point, but a few other benefits to consider include:
- Professional development: Even your remote workers look to grow professionally so look at ways to help them do this. Purchase them tickets to conferences, help them find ways to grow within the company, and offer continuing education options.
- Vacation plans: Your remote employees often need to work longer hours than your office employees. A generous vacation plan can help them feel more valued.
- Life and health insurance: While there are many benefits to working remotely, many do not get health and life insurance. Consider offering a plan for remote employees and their loved ones as the benefits package.
You can choose the benefits that you would like to offer based on the position and how much you are able to afford to offer. Adding some lucrative benefits can help you to get better candidates without having to spend as much money.
Finding the Right Remote Worker for Your Needs
Remote workers are some of the best employees that you can choose. They work hard and often provide exceptional work without you needing to have extra office space for them.
Finding the right talent to work remotely can be a challenge, but with some of the steps above, you will be able to recruit and retain your remote employees with ease.
