How to hire new staff remotely

The Covid-19 pandemic has meant that many companies have had to adjust the way they operate, and, for some, this has meant that they are unable to recruit new staff. However, at jobs24.com many companies are still looking to recruit and not just those in key industries such as Logistics, Social Care and Retail.

If you need to hire new staff but are unsure of how to do this whilst adhering to social distancing, our guide will set you on the right track.

Advertising your vacancies

Luckily in this digital age, advertising your vacancy should be as simple as before the pandemic. Using an online jobsite like jobs24.com means you can post your vacancy quickly and easily, and reach a wide range of candidates at a low cost.

Once your vacancy is live, applications are sent directly to you and all you need to do is review them and make your shortlist. If you’re short of time and resource, you can always upgrade your recruitment package to include candidate screening. Once you’ve made your shortlist, you should contact the candidates to invite them to interview.

Conducting an interview

Being unable to host a face-to-face interview will be one of the challenges you will have to work around for the time being, but once you have everything in place it’s pretty straightforward.

Choose a video conferencing platform that you are comfortable using. There are many of these available but just keep in mind that your candidates will need to be able to access it too so it might be worth using a popular channel such as Skype or Zoom.

Using video calls means you still feel like you’re meeting the candidates in person, this wouldn’t be the case over the phone.  It also means that if your interview process would normally require candidates to complete a task or give a presentation you can still do this via screen sharing.

Onboarding remotely

Depending on your business, your new team member may be required to work from home when they start. This can often be the biggest challenge of hiring remotely as it can be difficult to integrate new staff without them being able to physically meet the team.

The first thing to ensure is that they have everything they need in place to start work. This means ensuring that they have been given access to software and files they will need before they start as you don’t want them hitting roadblocks on their first day.

Take time to make them feel welcome by organising a quick, informal meeting with the rest of the team and set aside some one-to-one time to answer any questions they have. You should use this time to outline their workload and set expectations going forward.

The most important thing to remember is to regularly and clearly communicate with your new staff. This might mean daily catch-ups within the first few weeks moving into regular one-to-ones. Make it clear that they can come to you or other members of the team with questions whilst they’re settling in. Starting a new job can be stressful at the best of times and the last thing you want is for your new employee to feel abandoned.

Looking to hire new staff remotely? Find out how jobs24.com can help.

Posted on April 30, 2020