Huge numbers of job seekers are looking for roles that let them work remotely. Right now, data* shows that almost half of workers (44%) prefer fully remote roles, and 40% prefer remote-first roles (where offices are available for staff to use, but attendance is optional).
Given the obvious benefits for talent attraction – as well as for employee wellbeing, engagement, and retention and productivity, as new research proves – more employers are advertising roles that offer remote work, too. There are important considerations to make before whittling down the competition and hiring for these roles however.
Home-based work requires a slightly different set of skills and aptitudes to office-based work. Different workers will also prefer and be better suited to different kinds of remote work. So, whether you offer hybrid or fully remote work, here’s how to attract and hire talent that will be able to thrive…
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Make your offer clear
There are varying levels of location based flexibility. This includes hybrid work (whereby workers spend anything from 1 to 4 days a week working from home, and the rest of their time in the office), remote-first work, (whereby office attendance is optional, and teams meet up every month, for example), and fully remote work (whereby no office attendance is required).
Companies must make it clear which of these they offer, in order to find workers best suited to their specific setup. Outline in job descriptions exactly how often workers will be able to work from home, and on what days if these are set. Transparency, from the very beginning, is key.
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Shout about it
Burying details about flexible work in job descriptions isn’t enough to attract the huge numbers of job seekers actively searching for roles that come with remote work. Shout about your offering on your website and socials, and encourage employees to post and talk about how they benefit from working remotely, too. External voices can also help champion you as a flexible employer, with platforms like Flexa reaching over 2.5 million flexible job seekers.
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Look for remote experience
Candidates don’t need to have worked remotely in the past to be able to thrive doing so in the future. But previous remote working experience can be a useful predictor of performance. CVs won’t always make this obvious, so use platforms like Flexa to verify whether previous employers listed on candidates’ CVs offered location-based flexibility, and what kind. Don’t rule out experience of remote study or training courses either.
In interviews, ask scenario-based questions to determine previous remote working experience and success. As an example, you could ask: “Can you describe a project you’ve led in the past that required you to collaborate with colleagues remotely, and the outcomes?”.
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Test for remote skills
Staff who work from home need to be able to collaborate with colleagues remotely (perhaps using specific software, like Slack or Microsoft Teams), work independently without constant in-person support, and maintain healthy work-life boundaries. This requires specific skills.
Good initiative, communication, and digital skills are essential, as is the ability to set work-life boundaries (or manage a healthy work-life ‘blend’, if that’s more your style!). Candidates who show that they are motivated, adaptable, and demonstrate good problem solving skills are also more likely to excel whilst working remotely, even if they lack previous experience of doing so.
Tests designed to assess specific skills can help hiring teams establish whether job candidates have what it takes to succeed in different working environments. Whilst remote interviews speak volumes about candidates’ communication skills throughout.
You could also test interviewees’ remote working skills by asking questions based on relevant potential scenarios, which don’t rely on candidates citing previous experience. For example: “Whilst working from home full time, you find yourself frequently having to repeat the same feedback to a direct report, and need to broach the issue with them. How do you approach this conversation, and how can you deliver the feedback differently?”
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Understand individual working preferences
By advertising specific kinds of flexibility, and assessing job applicants for associated skills and experience, companies can hire candidates who are the best possible fit for their working environment. But it’s still important to understand the needs and preferences of individual candidates, as these are often too varied to fit neatly into ‘hybrid’ or ‘fully remote’ working categories.
When companies understand exactly how candidates want to work and why, they can better support new hires to thrive, and in ways that might not otherwise have been possible. So remember to ask the question in interviewees, for candidates that feel comfortable answering.
*Research from Flexa
