For those unaware of what remote workers are, remote workers are employees that work from any place outside the company building. For example, if an Amazon analyst works from home instead of at the HQ, they’re a remote worker.
Due to the move to remote working, many companies are now looking to hire people capable of remote work. No one knows when this pandemic is going to end--when workplaces will be able to go back to normal. Finding employees used to the lifestyle of remote working can relieve a lot of the onboarding pains from the company’s end.
2020 has definitely seen companies suffer due to the current pandemic, with many small businesses going out of business altogether. And companies are having to indulge their employees by helping them get organized for a remote lifestyle, how to communicate from home, and so on and so forth.
But finding good remote workers can be difficult, especially if you have no experience working remotely yourself since you’re not sure what strengths you need to home in on. Fortunately, there are a few ways to simplify the onboarding process for remote workers.
Without further ado, here are five tips that can help employers find suitable remote workers for the company.
Provide Cybersecurity Training
Having employees working from home means you’ll lose a certain measure of control that you possessed when they were working on-site. And while this isn’t a huge deal most of the time (considering you have trustworthy employees), you won’t have the ability to enforce cybersecurity measures and practices on your employees.
For this reason, it’s important you spend some time going over proper cybersecurity practices with your employees. Mention how strong passwords are key to keeping business accounts safe. Tell them how a VPN as a cybersecurity tool is a great way to help keep their data secure.
Taking some time out of your day to go over cybersecurity procedures will significantly decrease the chance of a security accident occurring and affecting the whole organization.
Brief Them about Proper Policies
When advertising your company’s need for remote workers, be clear about why you need remote workers. High turnover? Need for more employees during the pandemic? Be specific so that you can attract interested individuals.
Along with that, all policies should be mentioned during the interview, and potential employees should have a good idea about what is expected from them, from workload to schedule to other aspects of their job.
This will ensure that the employee is prepared for their time at the company and will give them a better picture of what their day-to-day will look like.
Specify the Requirements for Remote Workers
Specify the positions that are available for remote workers. Along with this, make sure to properly communicate what will be expected from them while they work from home and the requirements they must follow. For example:
- Communication should be enforced
- The remote worker should practice proper cybersecurity while working from home.
- What the worker’s day will look like while working from home.
Debriefing the potential hire then instead of later will save both you and them from a headache later down the road.
Debrief them on Availability
Hiring a remote worker requires you to have a lot of trust in that individual--the trust to get things done, take responsibility for their work, and not slack around while at home. One thing you need to do before making the hiring decision is to figure out their availability and how much time they can dedicate to their work.
Knowing this will help you work around their schedule and help put your mind at ease.
Analyze Their Workload
When hiring a remote worker, it’s important that you instill a sense of productivity in them. But even after you do that, you’ll need to make sure they 1.) have a consistent workload and 2.) are handling the workload well.
This can be a bit more difficult to do when working remotely, but you still must do so. This will help make sure the remote worker is productive and is spending their time wisely.
Conclusion
Contrary to popular belief, remote work does not necessarily equal lower productivity or less communication. High productivity can be kept--communication can be secured--as long as the boss oversees everything and keeps remote workers on track.
Teaching employees about cybersecurity, setting fair expectations, and working around their hectic schedules will make sure work goes smoothly, despite everyone being separated!