Overview
Hiring virtual employees can save time, boost productivity, and expand business capacity. This article shares five proven strategies for finding and vetting remote talent, from using specialist services and technology to evaluating skills, fostering an inclusive culture, and involving your team, ensuring you hire the right candidates for lasting success.
Introduction
As a business owner, you have numerous responsibilities to manage daily. Numerous aspects must be managed to ensure a company’s success, including handling email, overseeing employee relations, and tracking project updates. However, all these tasks take up too much valuable time. Have you considered hiring someone who could assist you? More importantly, have you thought about hiring virtual employees to expand your team?
For instance, if you’re running an immigration law firm and can’t keep up with case preparation and other administrative tasks, it might be wise to hire a virtual immigration paralegal to help you out with the workload. But where do you find good virtual employees? How do you ensure that the person you meet is right for your needs?
Below, we share five proven strategies to help you hire the virtual employees you need.
1. Know Where to Look
There are several ways to find a virtual assistant. One option is to use a freelancing site such as UpWork or Fiverr. Here, you can search for assistants who meet your specific requirements. You can also post a job description and receive proposals from interested assistants. However, to do this properly, you must conduct research and keep an eye out for prospective hotspots that may provide you with the talent you want.
If you are looking for freelance virtual employees or virtual assistants, your initial impulse might be to visit a platform like Upwork. However, using a special service is a better approach to hiring virtual employees. Seek out companies that promise transparency and authentic talent.
For instance, if you are looking to hire virtual executive assistants to help with time-consuming administrative tasks and allow you to focus on what matters most, then an experienced virtual assistant service is your best bet. These professionals thoroughly vet each virtual assistant, ensuring you receive the right employee for your specific needs.
2. Use Technology for Your Hiring Process
When hiring virtual employees, you will likely use a video conferencing app like Zoom to conduct video interviews with the applicants. This is a smart move because when recruiting virtually, you can easily miss a candidate’s professional demeanour and facial expressions if you decide to interview via phone or chat. Although it’s a virtual role, you want to ensure the applicant remains professional and competent.
However, video platforms are not the only tools you can use to make sure you find the best candidate. Remote hiring technology, such as talent sourcing, applicant tracking, and onboarding, can identify, sort, communicate with, and onboard applicants, significantly improving your virtual hiring process.
3. Evaluate the Skills and Experience
Once you have a short list of top candidates, evaluate their skills. For example, you can give them a pretend scenario where they must deal with an upset customer. This is an excellent test as it will demonstrate their level of proficiency, attention to detail, and ability to manage complex customer scenarios.
In addition, try to find someone who already has experience with remote work. It is advantageous to hire virtual workers who have prior experience working remotely, as they are already familiar with the duties and qualifications required for remote work.
4. Talk About More Than the Job
Talking to and asking questions about an applicant’s background, family, education, and prior work experiences will provide you with a clear understanding of their mindset. Additionally, you may base your discussion on their values, interests, and how they overcame challenges.
This will enable you to recognise their advantages and determine whether they could readily fit into your company’s dynamic.
On the other hand, you also have a role to play as an employer. Given how many businesses offer virtual opportunities these days, you need to make your organisation stand out to top candidates. Selling your company culture to prospective new workers is one of the simplest ways to accomplish this.
Building an inclusive workplace culture with your remote employees is crucial, as studies indicate that approximately 40% of applicants have declined job offers due to a lack of inclusivity. To build an inclusive company culture, ensure that your values and systems align, promote transparency and open communication, and consistently lead by example.
5. Get Your Team Involved
Finally, don’t forget to involve your existing employees in the decision. It’s essential to seek feedback from other team members, particularly from those with whom the selected candidate will be working closely.
Team members should get the chance to speak with applicants and ask questions to learn more about them. This makes it possible for everyone to understand how a recruit will fit into the company culture, which is a crucial but frequently disregarded consideration.
Final Thoughts
One of the simplest methods to rapidly expand your staff and streamline work processes is by hiring virtual employees. However, your company’s productivity and success will largely depend on whether you find the right ones for your company. By applying the tips in this article, you can quickly and cost-effectively hire only the best candidates.
