Currently, for most businesses, remote employment, a flexible and convenient working mode, has become the new norm of office operations. It is estimated that about 88% of companies globally shifted to remote work within a few weeks after the pandemic began.
Why the Future of Talent is Remote?
Among them, even companies without prior experience in remote employment and those who previously believed that remote work was inefficient, have discovered that the productivity of employees working remotely has not decreased. On the contrary, employees save commuting time, and employers save significant expenses on renting workspaces and daily overhead costs.
True remote employment involves flexible employment on a global scale, known as international remote employment, where employees can work in another city or country. Employees can live wherever they desire, and employers can hire the best talent from around the world.
Benefits of Hiring Remotely
International remote employment, free from national and regional constraints, offers tremendous opportunities for global skill development and strategic talent planning. It is widely believed that flexible remote work models will continue to evolve and be adopted by more businesses.
Specifically, international remote employment offers the following significant advantages:
- Access to High-Quality Talent: Recent surveys indicate that 41% of businesses believe remote employment will bring additional revenue and profit growth, 42% view international remote employment as tapping into a larger talent pool than the domestic market, and 30% see remote work as a means to enhance diversity in their workforce. In the survey, 61% of respondents from the US and 63% from the UK expressed the need for businesses to broaden their scope beyond Silicon Valley and London to find the best talent globally.
- Enhanced Employee Experience: Taking Silicon Valley as an example, the cost of living in this core region of US technology and innovation has skyrocketed, making it unaffordable for many tech workers to reside there. Consequently, they are forced to live in surrounding areas and endure lengthy commutes. Similar situations have emerged in London, where rising property prices have compelled people to leave the city or move to smaller nearby cities like Bristol or Manchester. Such circumstances not only diminish employees’ quality of life and limit high-quality talent’s job choices but also deprive businesses of opportunities to access the “right” talent from other regions. International remote employment is pivotal in addressing this issue. Through international remote employment, businesses can access excellent talent worldwide. Additionally, remote work makes it easier for talent to find ideal job opportunities, regardless of their location.
- Increased Employee Retention: For businesses, international remote employment not only offers the chance to expand their talent pool but also serves as a method to enhance the retention of top talent. We surveyed over 2000 employees from various countries to investigate if remote work would increase their tenure with a company. One-fifth of respondents stated that they would be willing to stay with their current company for an additional ten years if they could work from anywhere globally without affecting their daily salary and benefits, while 45% expressed their willingness to stay for an additional 1-10 years. Moreover, 76% of respondents indicated that they would accept a certain degree of pay cut if their company adopted a remote work model. International remote employment provides businesses with a larger talent pool than the domestic market, accelerates global industry expansion, and enhances inclusivity and diversity in corporate culture. Remote work positions increase businesses’ attractiveness to high-quality talent, enabling them to recruit talent from around the world, regardless of their location.
How to Hire Remote Workers?
As our company grows and evolves, so does our recruitment process. We start with a simple resume screening system, looking for candidates with reputable university backgrounds and outstanding work experience.
In addition to this, we have several screening suggestions to offer.
A multi-step screening process can be used, aimed at quickly and effectively ranking potential candidates by obtaining what we consider to be “key parameters” of excellent remote workers.
The first step is a questionnaire designed not only to assess cultural fit but also to test communication skills, which are crucial for remote work.
Many HR professionals have stated, “Communication is really important, and much of what we do is online. This is often a big issue for us.”
This doesn’t mean that everyone we hire needs to be a “writer” or have perfect mastery of multiple languages.
It’s not what you say, but how you communicate.
After evaluating the responses to these types of forms, we invite a batch of candidates to continue with a values interview with senior company leaders. This can be either in-person or via video call, depending on where the candidate lives.
Here, we predict the candidate’s ability to thrive in a remote work environment by asking about their current lifestyle.
Following the initial interview, we proceed to specific role interviews to assess the candidate’s potential leadership. Then, we review their abilities to match the job in a discussion around potential work. At each stage, we review and refine the list of potential candidates.
Finally, feedback on the relevant interviews to determine suitability.
Top Tips for Conducting Remote Interviews
We interviewed remote recruitment HR professionals from multinational companies to understand how they screen candidates for remote positions.
We found that many exceptional remote workers share similar characteristics. Key traits often include communication skills, self-motivation, and discipline, with previous remote work experience serving as a strong indicator.
Communication Skills:
A: “When you’re remote, most of your communication with colleagues is through text, so you must articulate subtle nuances in complex concepts clearly.”
B: “Having excellent communication skills is crucial for anyone working as part of a distributed team, which becomes evident in the initial interactions.”
C: “Unlike past experiences, we prioritize practical application and heavily rely on written communication. Therefore, candidates who struggle with accurate expression, understanding written instructions, or delayed responses aren’t likely to succeed.”
Self-Motivation and Discipline:
A: “During the interview process, if candidates require significant prompting to answer questions or show no initiative before requests are made, they may not be suitable.”
B: “The ability to complete tasks, self-motivation, and self-drive are all important factors.”
C: “We also look for those who are proactive in their personal and professional lives.”
D: “Hiring proactive, curious individuals who don’t wait to be told how to do things is crucial and highly valued in our interviews.”
Previous Experience:
A: “We wouldn’t hire someone for a remote role without experience.”
B: “In addition to the requisite skills, we value prior remote work experience and prefer candidates who have demonstrated success in remote environments.”
C: “Previous experience working from home is preferable, especially if they’ve done so for an extended period, as it instills confidence in their ability to handle the role.”
International remote employment provides businesses with the opportunity to hire and manage top talent from anywhere in the world. Without the need to establish local entities abroad, companies can access high-quality talent worldwide, fostering healthy growth. As a premium service provider for global enterprises, PayInOne offers a one-stop platform for international remote employment and payroll management, designed and developed to meet the needs of globalized businesses.
