Professional Tips on Hiring Virtual Employees for Your Organization

Now businesses hire remote workers for multiple roles, and the season of virtual work will continue for years. The reason is the benefits it brings to the organizations. Hiring virtual employees offers great advantages to the companies, such as reduced cost (low in-house cost), higher productivity, and less employee turnover.

As businesses hire more and more remote workers, it becomes imperative to do it correctly. This post provides a range of tips for hiring the best remote workers for the company.

What is a virtual employee?

A virtual employee or a remote employee is a person who works online from a remote location. The remote location is any site apart from the office. Most virtual employees work from a café, and some are digital nomads as well.

Employers hire such individuals for any role such as virtual assistant, software developer, graphic designer, content writer, digital marketer, etc. The job of these employees is to do the assigned work on a daily basis. The only difference between the on-site employee and the virtual employee is that the latter works from any location during office hours.

Difference between a virtual employee and a virtual freelancer

A virtual employee and a virtual freelancer may appear to be the same profiles, but they are not. Employers hire virtual employees to work full-time for the company. These individuals have fixed salaries and work for a dedicated number of hours every week.

Virtual freelancers are professionals who are not tied to any organization. These individuals have multiple clients from different locations. Virtual freelancers are paid on a project basis and hourly basis.

Laptop shows different human figures

Ultimate tips for hiring virtual employees for your company

Listed below are the smart tips hiring managers can count on while hiring remote workers for the organization.

1. Determine what you need

Understanding why there’s a need to hire an employee is the first thing recruiters need to evaluate. Whatever the reason is, the manager must remember that the question is not about hiring an employee but about hiring the right remote employee. Managers have to determine the skills and other requirements prior to making any hire. Jotting down the list of essential skills will not only help managers to screen the candidates easily but will also save time.

2. Create a clear job description

This is critical since the candidates will gain a better knowledge of what the hiring manager is searching for in job applicants. Moreover, these individuals will know if they should apply for the job post or not. A clear job description is precise and contains a brief of tasks required to be done by the remote worker. It also states whether the requirement is for a fresher or an experienced professional. Managers can even add a summary of the background of the organization to the job description.

3. Ask for a detailed resume

Job seekers usually share a cover letter when applying for a job. Recruiters should ask for a detailed resume from the candidates. When a large number of candidates apply for the profile, then it is always a good idea to count on the tools like ATS (applicant tracking system) for screening the candidates. Some may still consider the traditional method of reviewing resumes manually. The basic idea is to seek resumes and screen the candidates that appear to fit the positions.

4. Consider video screening

Hiring someone based on the phone interview and emails will be the biggest mistake recruiters will make. Since the newly hired employee will be working remotely, it is vital to use a webcam for interviewing. There is no doubt that facial expressions speak a lot about the person. Recruiters must count on conducting a video interview. Zoom, Skype, and Google meet can be used as a platform for the interview. Also, before getting on the webcam, managers should provide all the details of the interview to the candidate and ensure that the candidate is familiar with the tool.

5. Create a list of difficult questions

Hiring managers must consider noting down all the questions that are to be asked of the interviewee. This will create a flow in the interview as the managers would be ready with a set of questions, which will give a good insight into the candidates. That said, there would be no awkward silence between the questions. The interviewer will know when to switch to the next question. In between, if a candidate is unable to understand a question and asks to elaborate on it a little, then the recruiter must do that.

6. Count on behavioral skill test

Managers have to hire a team member who not only is an expert in the skills required for the position but also holds good behavioral skills. To assess such skills, hiring managers can have a separate question set that should be asked at the end of the interview. Allowing the candidate to fill out a questionnaire once the interview is over is also a good approach. In addition, it is vital to evaluate if the candidate’s goals are similar to the company’s mission. Recruiters can prepare a quick multiple-choice question to understand the personality of the candidate.

7. Ask why a candidate wants to work remotely

This question will make the manager understand the candidate’s intentions. There can be a myriad of reasons such as:

• spend more time with family and kids
• eliminate the grinding commute
• better work-life balance
• office politics

8. Watch for red flags

It’s important to be courteous to the candidates, but hiring managers should be watchful in the entire process of the interview. It is vital to match what the candidate has said in the interview with what is written in the resume. Also, in a virtual interview, the virtual employees or recruiters must observe the body language of the candidate. Apart from this, managers must cross-check if the candidate has real experience or has shown fake experience in the resume. Take such things into consideration in order to hire a talented and genuine candidate.

9. Respect their time

One of the common problems candidates face in virtual interviews is the inconvenient interview time. Individuals who reside in different time zones frequently face this problem. The hiring manager should choose a time that is fine for both the interviewer and the interviewee. Also, the recruiter must give a short guide to the candidate that contains all the details related to the interview. This includes the meeting platform, time of the interview, length of the interview, and how many interview rounds will be there.

10. Offer a paid trial period

Taking a skill-based assessment is essential for any role, and it should be done in the first round of interview. However, if the hiring manager is not fully confident that the selected candidate would be a good fit for the role, then considering offering a paid trial period is a smart decision. This trial run can be for a few hours a day or for one or two days. From this, managers can easily assess the candidate’s ability to understand the needs and execute the task in the dedicated timeline.

11. Sign a contract

Now is the time to get the candidate on board if the trial period goes well. A contract must state the information the candidate should know, along with the company’s policies. Moreover, let the candidate take time to go through the contract and sign it if the candidate agrees to all the terms and conditions. This step is imperative when hiring a virtual employee as the newly joined professional must know the duties and details of the company.

12. Do not forget referrals

There are many great platforms where skilled and talented professionals look for remote work. If the hiring manager has to fill up a series of profiles, then counting on such portals would be the perfect thing. However, if the manager has to hire someone on an urgent basis, then asking for referrals will be the right solution. Clearly, this is a good approach as it saves time and there is a sense of trust in the first go. The point is to get a skillful remote worker for the company, be it through the site or from a referral.

Ending note

These were the smart strategies for hiring virtual employees for the organization. Now employers know what to look for and how to hire the right candidate. Recruiters can also hire professionals at Uphires, where there is an array of job seekers with multiple profiles who are ready to work remotely for the companies.