How to hire remote workers: Advice for doing it effectively

With the uptick in remote work in recent years, companies are looking to hire remote workers more than ever. And for good reason—with the right setup, remote teams can benefit both organizations and employees. 

However, it’s important to recognize that remote work success begins with a thoughtful approach to hiring the right staff. In this blog post, we will focus on how to effectively bring the best workers on board to ensure remote work is successful for your organization.

How to hire remote workers: Know what you need

Before any actual hiring starts, you will need to have a good idea of what kind of people you are looking for. Consider the purpose of remote work in your organization: for example, is it to hire remote employees in other countries, maximize flexibility, save costs? In other words, the ideal candidate should align with your broader remote work strategy. 

For instance, you might prioritize people with a proven track record of remote work. Alternatively, you could invest in training and mentoring for skilled candidates who may be transitioning from a more traditional office setting.

You will also want to ensure you have the proper foundation to support remote work: a remote work policy outlining how it will be carried out and expectations for employees, a plan for effective onboarding, and the necessary technical support.

If you think you have that covered, let’s move on to what you should look for in remote candidates.

Key skills, traits, and experience to seek when hiring remote employees

It’s no secret that remote work comes with its own unique challenges—while some people will thrive in this setting, others (who might be perfectly competent in hard skills) might struggle. Basically, when hiring remote workers, you want to look for specific skills, personality traits, and experience that demonstrate they can succeed in the long term. Let’s look at those in more detail.

Communication skills

Good communication is essential when working remotely. Since most interactions happen through emails, chats, or video calls, you need someone who can express themselves clearly across various communication channels. 

So, be on the lookout for candidates with proven experience in effective remote communication with different stakeholders. Keep in mind that, especially in a remote setting, an otherwise skilled worker can become a liability if they are hard to approach or prone to leaving their colleagues out of the loop. Remember—you’re hiring a remote team, not just isolated individuals. 

Self-motivated attitude

Self-motivation is another key trait. Without a manager or coworkers physically nearby to help keep them on track, remote employees must take the initiative. They should be able to manage their time effectively, stay disciplined, and push through tasks without needing constant supervision. You don’t want someone who twiddles their thumbs unless they’re micromanaged, so try to hire remote workers with a proven track record of a proactive attitude.

Previous experience in remote setting

When hiring remote staff, experience working remotely is always a bonus. Potential employees with prior remote or hybrid work experience are probably already familiar with the tools, routines, and potential challenges of working from home. They’ve likely dealt with things like managing time zones, staying productive despite distractions, and collaborating with colleagues virtually. 

However, you shouldn’t completely rule out workers who may not have remote work experience if they otherwise seem like a great fit. After all, everyone has to start somewhere. This is where your organization can fill the gap with an effective onboarding process and support.

Hiring process: 3 key considerations

Now that you have a good idea of what kind of remote workers you are looking to hire, let’s look at the key considerations of the actual process—what to include in the job listing, why some practical assignments are a good idea, and what to look out for in interviews.

1. Create a compelling job listing

To attract the right remote talent, start with an informative and compelling job listing. Along with outlining the role and responsibilities, include details about your company’s remote work policy. Be transparent about any restrictions, such as required locations, time zones, or working hours. Keep the list of requirements practical and focused to avoid chasing the perfect candidate who may not exist.

Make sure to emphasize the benefits of remote work and any perks that come with the role in your organization. For example, flexibility, home office stipends, or wellness benefits can be great selling points. If you’re open to hiring remote employees in other countries, you should specify that in your listing. 

In essence, the job listing should strike a balance—clear enough in its expectations to filter out unsuitable applicants, yet appealing enough to attract the right candidates.

2. Use practical assignments to evaluate candidates

There is a good chance your job listing will attract many applicants. And you might end up with a lot of potentially qualified candidates even after combing through resumes—so consider assigning practical tasks that demonstrate their skills. 

Design the assignment to be challenging enough to differentiate candidates’ performance—but make sure it’s reasonable and doesn’t feel like unpaid work. The idea is to provide a task that gives insight into their abilities and helps you make a better informed hiring decision.

3. Interviewing the candidates

When interviewing for a remote role, there’s a good chance the interview itself will be virtual—so in a way, it’s a good test of how candidates come across in this setting.

Ask questions that help them reflect on whether they’re suited for a remote work environment. For example, ask what they enjoy most about remote work, what challenges they’ve faced, and how they handle those.

You can also ask about their office setup, how they organize their time, and what kind of management style helps them thrive. These questions will help assess if the candidate is a good fit for your organization’s remote work culture and expectations.

After the final round of interviews, ideally, with insights from some practical assignments, you should be able to make an informed decision regarding the best candidate.

Empower your remote staff hiring with DeskTime

If you have just hired remote staff, you obviously want to know how they are doing. And this is where time tracking comes in—unless your organization is micromanaging employees (which is not a great idea), it can be hard to get an idea of how remote employees are managing their time and performing. 

Time tracking solves this by offering insights into all the important metrics such as attendance, time management, and performance. DeskTime’s productivity software will give you insight into your hiring decisions from day one and onwards. In a remote setting, where direct oversight is limited, time tracking provides the much-needed structure and accountability.

And seeing how new hires are doing is just a part of what you can do with DeskTime. With features such as in-depth reports, performance evaluation, and project tracking, it is a long-term solution for effective remote work. 

Remote work success requires a comprehensive approach

Hiring the right remote staff is undeniably a key factor in making remote work effective. As we have seen, this involves looking for employees with strong communication skills and self-motivated attitude. The best candidates to hire are remote workers who possess those qualities along with the necessary job-specific hard skills.

However, it’s important to recognize that success comes from paying due diligence to all parts of the equation, including remote work policy, onboarding experience, company culture, and the tools which can deliver insightful data. In other words, you can’t cut any corners if you want to create a productive long-term remote work environment—it requires a comprehensive effort.