Convid-19 pandemic has caused a lot of disruption in almost every industry.
And the recruitment industry is not left behind. Infact, this article lists the top businesses most affected by Covid-19 outbreak .
If you are a recruiter and you suddenly have to work remotely, then you are going to be faced with a lot of challenges as you might not be sure how to navigate this new shift.
That is why I am creating this guide.
In this guide, you will learn:
● Shifting strategy to remote hiring? (what you need to know)
● How to conduct a remote interview
● Mistakes to avoid when conducting a remote interview
1. Why You Should Rethink Your Strategy
As an HR personnel, you and your team need to shift your strategy to ensure that you can successfully execute remotely, those tasks which will usually take place in person, like face to face interviews.
Another reason why you should rethink your strategy is because you will still be filling vacant positions for your company, and you need to ensure that you keep providing strong business outcomes and values.
Additionally, more of your focus as HR should be on building a solid brand image for your employer, so that candidates can get a vivid representation of your company culture, open job positions, and also get a feel of what your office environment is like remotely. You can do this by reinforcing your knowledge of your company's core values, mission and vision.
Identify aspects of your employer branding that are lacking in these elements, and come up with ways to fill those gaps. With the knowledge you gathered, choosing a voice and content that reflects your brand, should be easy.
Find ways to endear candidates to your company, especially in this pandemic. Share your vision for after the Coronavirus, be transparent about how employees will work for your company, and how you are handling the pandemic, to give candidates a glimpse of how your employees are adapting, you can also host virtual hangouts or support programs.
Whatever you do, make sure that your employer branding is running smoothly and consistently throughout your hiring process. Through consistent branding, you can easily paint a good picture of your company, to be seen by the public.
You may find a talented and passionate candidate who will be drawn towards working for you, because of how you portrayed your company culture during the pandemic.
To get the best candidates to apply, here are a few tips to help you represent your employer brand, throughout every aspect of the hiring process:
Combine the right candidate assessment tools and methods. By the time a candidate would have completed the online assessment, they would have understood and felt what it's like to work for your company, so they know what to expect.
2. Navigating The Virtual Aspect Of Remote Hiring
With remote hiring, comes virtual interviews, maybe even tons of it (yes, welcome to the new world order).
And since you will now be depending on various tools and technologies to do that, here are a few take away tips:
Use Purpose Built Interview Tools
To conduct successful virtual interviews, use tools that are solely built for this purpose to interview candidates. While regular video conferencing tools like Google Hangout or Zoom may be convenient, they are not built for interviews, and could affect the quality of the interview, even that of the candidate's performance.
The best interview tools to use, depending on your company's needs and the preference of your HR team as well. However, if the tool is built for conducting interviews, it should suffice.
Some interview tools for your consideration include:
Spark Hire is the perfect interview tool for you if what you're conducting is a pre-recorded interview. It allows the candidate to record their responses to your interview questions, while you're off handling other tasks. You can watch candidates' responses and evaluate them later.
VidCruiter gives your interview a professional and official outlook, no matter which location you're conducting the interview from, by displaying your company logo at the corner of your device screen. It also has customisation settings that are easy to apply.
JobVite's customizable interface, gives candidates a solid representation of your brand, as they navigate the interview process.
With Lever, you can interview, source, and hire top talents.
Familiarise Yourself With Technology
You and your team should familiarise yourself with technology ahead of time, in order to avoid troubleshooting or any other technical difficulties that may arise while conducting the interview and make sure that the interview goes well for the candidate as well.
3. Choosing The Right Technology
As you work towards adopting a sustainable hiring strategy, it is also important that you choose the right tools for conducting interviews. Whichever tool or vendor you choose to use their services, make sure that it is tailored to suit your specific needs, and soothe your most pressing hiring problems.
Partner with companies that are open and can explain how their algorithms are being used within their products. If you don't understand how an interview tool works, desist from using it.
4. How Fast Can You Shift?
Thanks to the availability of custom interview tools, shifting your hiring strategy should come easy. But, the search and implementation for an interview tool that fits your company like a glove, may take longer.
Different teams have their own specific hiring needs, but using purpose-built interview tools that are easy to use and adapt to, can provide some relief, at least till you find one that works for you.
5. Retaining New Employees
Successfully, hiring remote employees is one goal, but after you've achieved that, the next goal would be retaining your new hires.
While hiring, ensure that the candidates can benefit from your company as much as you would be benefiting from their talent. Your hires should be a good fit for your company, and you should be a good fit for them too.
Additionally, recruit candidates who are interested in your company, and are willing to work for the long haul.
1.Connect With The Candidate
The possibility of hiring a candidate depends on how well you think they'll fit into your company culture. To gauge this, you need to connect with them, build rapport.
Usually, forming connections is dependent on observing the person's body language. But you can't do that in a remote interview, especially if the interview is not on video.
What you can do is to relate with them virtually, the way you would if you were conducting a face to face interview. Try as much as you can to read their facial expressions and maintain eye contact with them. Also, listen to them attentively and nod or repeat after them to show you are paying attention.
Choosing the right communication tools, will help you achieve this. You can choose a standard tool for conducting a preliminary audio interview and use another one when you're conducting the final video interview.
How candidates relate with these select communication tools, will give you foresight on how they will succeed as remote workers in your company.
2. Set Expectations
A remote interview comes with a different set of expectations, as opposed to that of a face to face interview. The same way, both of them also require different preparation processes.
Before conducting a remote interview, you and the candidate should be clear on the expectations you have set and the preparation processes, this type of interview entails.
Expectations to set for the interview include:
Will the interview be video or audio?
Video interview tool to be used.
An email detailing people who will be present in the meeting.
An agenda outlining the order of event.
3. Have An Accessible Interview Link
Since you will be conducting the interview online, you'll need to create a working link that the interviewees can use to join.
The link and login details should be shared with them earlier, and should be a one-click link.
4. Prepare The Interview Questions
The relevance of interview questions still stands, even in a remote interview. It is both professional and smart to prepare the interview questions you want to ask the candidate beforehand.
In addition to preparing interview questions, the questions should also factor in how candidates will perform remotely.
5. Practice
The remote interview is a different ball game and should come with extra practice and precautions before you commence.
Check for possible problem areas that may arise during the interview, and come up with ways to fix them. You can conduct a mock interview with your colleagues to do a double-check of your tools, internet, and the questions you want to ask candidates.
You could also do a soundcheck and assess the tone of your voice, to know how you would sound during the interview. A teammate can be on the interviewee side of the video interview, and provide feedback to you.
6. Have A Backup Plan
No matter how standard your interview preparation process is, it's always better to have a backup plan. Have backups especially for your WiFi and other tools that are crucial to the success of your interview.
If you will be late for the interview, inform the candidate beforehand of the new time. If a member of your team won't be available, find someone to replace them.
7. Choose Your Interview Team
A remote interview team should be made up only of necessary members. The team should consist of the person who would act as a direct supervisor to the candidate should they be hired, and other people.
Basically, you would want to have people who make the hiring decisions in your company, on the video call. To assemble this interview team, use tools like Slack or regular email to build team culture.
Also assign specific responsibilities to the interview team.
8. Finish Strong
When the interview is over, don't forget to do the necessary things you have to do to end the interview.
Take any questions from candidates and relay any further steps they need to take after the interview to them.
Here are the mistakes you should avoid when conducting a remote interview:
1. Giving Lengthy Talks About Your Business
In as much as you should pitch your business to the candidate to make them want to work for you, it is important that you don't stretch out the time you use to do so.
Give a brief introduction about your company's vision and mission a remote interview. There should be an equal amount of time for both you and the candidates to talk about yourself.
2. No Asking Vague Rhetorical Questions
Questions like "as you already know" or "I'm sure you are familiar with", are a terrible way to assess a candidate's capability.
Instead ask them direct questions to acquire the information you want. Be specific and direct with your questions, so that you can get the candidates' honest answer on how they can contribute to your company. Ask what you want to ask.
3. Obsessing Over Their Personal Lives
It's okay to ask candidates' about their hobbies, and how they spend their time when they are not working.
However, being too interested about how a candidate may be spending their time outside work if you hire them is not the right way to go. Just because a candidate likes to play tennis on the weekend, instead of being available to you in their free time is not a reason to disqualify them.
4. Making Candidates Uncomfortable
How you treat the candidate during the interview speaks a lot about how you will treat them if they join your company.
Don't be a red flag or a source of potential stress to the candidate, by asking them questions in quick succession, interrupting them rudely, or asking for their take on impossible problems faced by your company.
5. Favouring The Well-Dressed Candidate
On the video, a candidate may look smart and well-composed, but they may not be the same person when you meet them face to face. Instead of swooning over that type of candidate, focus on the one who is articulate, and matches the person they introduced to you on their CV.
The impact of remote hiring may be limited due to the distance barrier but it is still a standard way for you to hunt top talents for your company. With the right strategy and our guide, you can achieve this. However, the basic of hiring remains the same. It might therefore be important if you can read this introductory guide to hiring for businesses.
Leave a Comment