5 challenges that hinder remote hiring experience and how to fix them

Well, here are 5 challenges that hinder the remote hiring experience along with solutions to fix them. 

Infrastructural barriers

Remember hearing the phrases like- “Am I audible?” or “Is my screen visible?”, perhaps “Unable to hear”. Well, these were the most spoken phrase in the year 2020. Technology has been making our lives simpler ever since its inception. But when technology fails or even slows down for a bit the present-day life does come to a standstill and nothing is more discomforting at that moment. We have all had our experiences with technological failures. But we all hate it more than ever when it happens during an interview, regardless of which end you are. According to a survey conducted, 16% of respondents said that technology is a barrier among the top three challenges while hiring remotely. While another 15.4% of respondents said that it would it is the adaptation of technology by the recruitment team.

Well, we can’t ascertain when the technology may or may not turn its back on us, with a glitch in the network or a good old power outage. You can plan and try to work out all the things possible but you still wouldn’t know how things are at the other end. However, what you can do is to ensure a couple of things as a recruiter and also ask your candidates to do before an interview- charge your laptop, have a backup for network, test your microphone and speakers, and do a test run with someone.

Huge applicant list

One of the biggest boons of being able to hire and set up remote teams is definitely the freedom to choose candidates from across the globe. But that also means a huge list of applicants as soon as you post a job. And while it gives a lot of options to choose from, it also makes it difficult to keep a track of them and engage them. 51.7% of recruiters consider it a challenge when it comes to remote hiring. It’s totally understandable too, how can you keep track of tens of thousands of applicants. It’s not the easiest task but as a recruiter, you just have to do it to create a quality candidate pool. But can you imagine doing it personally, the amount of time and effort it would require from you?

Here’s where you should totally exploit the technology at your disposal. Employee AI in your recruitment process and let it take care of the grunt work for you. The advancement of technology, especially artificial intelligence, has actually made keeping candidates looped in the process and help you deliver a great candidate experience. And the best part, you can actually customize and personalize it to suit the company’s tone and your requirements. You still get complete control over how you want your candidates to feel at the end. 

Emphasizing the value of the organization

You want the candidates to choose you no matter how many companies they interview with, right? But due to the whole virtual process, you can’t really lure them in except for a competitive CTC and perks, alas, that’s not enough in this candidate-driven market. The candidates need more, they want to know how you will treat them. They want a sense of their future, your work ethics and your culture. But how do you show it in a virtual world? How do you transfer feelings through the laptop screens? 

It’s tough but definitely worth it- revamping your employer brand. Redefine your employer branding to suit the present settings. Involve your employees in the process, needless to say, this would have a better impact than you talking at lengths about the benefits and work culture of your company. You want your candidates to not just listen about your organization’s value and culture, you want them to relate to it. So, work your way through it- show, instead of say. Let your employees be in the driving seat while you guide them through the process. Trust us, this is one of the best decisions in the direction of ensuring that candidates pick you.

Examining emotional quotient

Tested the candidates for their technical skills and even soft skills but don’t know about your intentions and conviction? Drawbacks of remote hiring. In the good old times when you could call people in person for an interview, it was easier to sense and judge a person’s intention about the company through their expressions and body language. But judging a person’s body language through the screen is difficult because you don’t even see their body. For all you know they might just be wearing a shirt over their pyjamas to look formal. So, what can you do to find out that the person you are interviewing can not only handle their personal emotions but also have good intentions about the company and aren’t going to ghost you?

Well, one thing that you can definitely do is ask them scenario questions in the interview and see how they react and answer. Frame questions that test their judgement skills as well as their technical skills. This will not only help you better understand your candidates but also save you the time of scheduling multiple interviews to test their technical skills and emotional quotient. A total win-win situation if you ask us. Here are some questions that you can refer to if you are confused.

Onboarding the remote hires

The last but most important part of the hiring process is the onboarding of the new employees, and it can be overwhelming in the remote setup for both recruiters and the candidates. Remote hiring is still a new concept for us and we all are trying our best to deliver the best experience and hoping to have a good experience, aren’t we? But remote or not onboarding is a little tricky to ace because you really have no idea what the candidates are actually looking for and what would please them. Survey shows that as many as 20% of candidates drop off within 45 days of hiring due to a poor onboarding process.

There are five components of onboarding typically- initial orientation, functional training, role clarification session, team assimilation, and leadership assessment. But when it comes to remote onboarding a couple of steps get added to the pre-existing process, like- ensuring the delivery of tech stack and documentation. You need to tweak the existing process as well to ensure that the onboarding goes smoothly for both you and your candidates. You can refer to how top brands are delivering the best remote onboarding experience possible.

Remote hiring can be a boon or bane depending on how you plan the process. It can be overwhelming but once you plan it well and work it out with your team making tweaks along the path, trust us, remote hiring will become as normal as hiring a team pre-covid times. So, get your team and start planning things out.

Happy Instahyring!