What to Do When Hiring a Remote Employee

Reading e-mail. Busy remote worker feeling overloaded while reading e-mail sitting near little dog

As workplaces continue to evolve, more and more businesses are looking to hire remote employees. This allows for more flexibility and autonomy while also saving money for your business. If you are new to the process, there are a few things to keep in mind. 

Know How to Market the Position 

Your first step will be actually marketing your remote position. Depending on which sites you market your job listings on, there are options for listing the position as remote. For example, when using Indeed, you can list the job as “remote” or “virtual.” This is similar to many other job websites. 

In the actual listing, you should also include keywords that indicate it is a remote position. Consider what keywords people will be searching for. Many people might look for “work from home,” “telework,” “virtual,” and more. Using the right words in your listing will draw in more people. 

Do Your Due Diligence 

When looking for remote employees, it’s easy to just trust people and go forward with the hiring process. However, you want to actually take the time to get to know people and understand important information about them. Background checks can help you get to know an employee better from a distance. You can make sure you’re hiring someone reliable. 

A background check can look through work history, medical records, criminal records, etc. Even if you never meet someone in person, you want to know who you’re hiring. As part of the background check, you should request references from the potential employee and contact all those references. 

Schedule a Video Interview 

There’s only so much you can tell about someone based on their application and online communication. Before hiring someone, you should hold a video interview. This allows you to get to know them more, see their personality, and discover if they’re really right for the job. This video interview also gives the candidate a chance to ask any questions and learn more about your business. If you decide to hire them, this interview will help you form more of a connection with them so both you and the potential new employee are comfortable communicating in the future. 

Hiring a remote employee will vary slightly from hiring a traditional employee. However, the process is not difficult to understand. Take your time and make sure you have clear expectations in place as you look for the right candidates. 

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