6 Tips for Hiring Remote Tech Employees
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Support the Remote Worker
Supplement your company culture to support the remote worker.
Working at home can be isolating without the occasional "water cooler" talk. So make a little extra effort to connect on personal levels with all employees — and do that doubly for the remote workers that complete your staff. You may not be getting together after work for a drink, but do frequent check-ins. Call and see how your employee's day is going. Acknowledge his or her birthday and other milestones.
Bottom line: You should make virtual employees feel heard and valued in order to help ensure employee satisfaction. Above all else, don't let your remote staff feel left out, or they will find a place that doesn't and, because they're remote, you'll never know it until it's too late.
These six tips for hiring remote workers isn't the end-all-be-all of how to manage the virtual workplace. But it is a solid starting point and one that can minimize downtime while maximizing uptime. The success of your organization depends on the strength of employees you hire, so good hiring practices, particularly with remote workers, are critical.
In today's culture, the idea of a virtual workplace is incredibly attractive. Employees embrace the work-at-home idea because it fosters the notion of a more flexible work environment and increased work-life balance … all while, theoretically, in pajamas.
And for employers, remote workers save them plenty of overhead. A Stanford study that followed one company's remote workers found that they saved the employer an average of $1,900 per employee for nine months while working from home full time. The same study reported that on the whole, remote employees are also more productive, owing at least in part to a quieter space in which to focus and the lack of commute.
But … working from home is not for everyone. It's imperative that remote employees be extremely independent and self-motivated to maximize their time and maintain work quality.
In 2013, Yahoo! CEO Marissa Meyer banned employees from working remotely. Speaking at an HR conference that same year, Meyer defended her stance stating, "People are more productive when they're alone, but they're more collaborative and innovative when they're together. Some of the best ideas come from pulling two different ideas together."
Himanshu Sareen, CEO of Icreon Tech, however, believes that the very nature of the tech sector makes a strong case for telecommuting. As an employer you:
- Have a greater talent pool from which to select
- Are not confined to a job search by geographic location
- Get a reduction in overhead
- Are able to easily increase employee satisfaction (A Staples Advantage study reported 63 percent of the happiest employees are able to telecommute, have flex time, or both.)
- Enjoy elimination or reduction of sick time or commute
- Experience an increase in productivity
While all of this may sound appealing, if you're a tech company of any size there are some crucial factors Sareen thinks you should consider when hiring remote tech talent.
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