Our Chief People Officer, Brendan Ring, discusses how HR and Recruitment Teams around the world are having problems hiring talent, and offers his advice on how to alleviate this issue.
One of the great benefits of being Chief People Officer at Otonomee is that I frequently get the opportunity to speak to companies across the globe. It allows me to learn from companies that are excelling in their industry. What is very evident, no matter the industry, is that there is a common challenge facing companies right now. They are finding it really difficult to get the right talent quickly enough to support their needs.
Companies, especially HR and Recruitment Teams, are having a lot of sleepless nights and are being put under a huge amount of pressure to find great talent. Recruitment is hard, it always was hard, but it is especially hard right now. From what I’m hearing, those companies who have decided to return to the office or employ a hybrid model have faced the biggest challenges.
There has been a lot written about remote work over the past two years but there is one thing that can’t be questioned – remote working makes attracting talent easier. Instead of limiting yourself to the best employees within an hour’s drive of the office, you can attract the best people from across the globe. Our recruitment strategy at Otonomee has evolved hugely over the past 18 months and here are some of the key insights that we have learned about hiring remotely. Some of these insights are also relevant if you are hiring for hybrid or in-office staff.
1. Be accurate with your job description
Don’t leave out duties on the job description that you believe might make the job ‘unattractive’. New employees are going to find out soon enough anyway. Transparency and trust are the key in the employer/employee relationship. Don’t damage that from the first interaction.
2. Understand what makes a good remote employee
This is a fascinating topic. From my experience, we have not identified a ‘type’ OR ‘generation’ that are 'better’ at remote working and I hope we do not find it. We want to continue to build a diverse workforce, people from different locations and different generations. Check out my colleague's article on this (Diversity, Equality & Inclusion at Otonomee)
What we have found is that it is about the person. Their current personal circumstances have a huge bearing on their ability to be successful in a remote role.
3. Use the right recruitment channels
Once you have created a job description that stands out from competitors and (it) is reflective of who you are, you need to get it onto the right channels. There are several remote-friendly channels available throughout the globe. One example is Grow Remote who have a community of members looking for remote roles. This should allow you to reach the right talent. Other examples of remote job boards are:
👉 We Work Remotely 👉 Remotive 👉 Remote OK 👉 People First Jobs 👉 Workew:
4. Pick the right technology that automates your recruitment process
Whether the candidate is lucky enough to become an employee or was rejected - at interview stage, your brand is being judged during the recruitment process. The candidate will remember how they were made feel during the process and will tell other potential candidates or partners. I can’t underestimate the role that technology plays in the candidate experience. How many times has technology left a candidate or an interviewer apologising and feeling embarrassed for being late? Invest or forever be frustrated.
5. Perfect your interview process
Understand the WHY behind the candidate applying for a remote role. Those who have a ‘purpose’ and need that autonomy will be more loyal and appreciative of the freedom you are providing them.
Make sure that your HR team and your hiring manager are 100% aligned. Who speaks when, who is taking notes, who is introducing and closing the interview.
Be transparent: remote working is not for everyone. Talk about the challenges and ask the candidates how they will overcome these. Don’t treat an interview as a chance to tell candidates how good you are. Tell them the truth. If you are a start-up and it is chaotic and you have no processes, then tell them. Don’t start the relationship based on how the CEO wants the company to look like in 5 years.
Having all this in place will help to expedite your recruitment process and enable you to find the right employees at the right time. Stay tuned to our blog in the new year when we will share more key remote-first recruitment advice.
At Otonomee, we provide people and technology solutions through multilingual customer care to help you move into new markets, level up your customer management processes and deliver stand-out customer experience.
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