HOW TO HIRE SOMEONE WHO YOU HAVE NEVER MET

The constant change in the working of the world has also led to a change in how the corporates used to function. Processes that were time-consuming and were done manually are now done by the systems and software with a few clicks. Although there has been a turn in the functioning, certain processes are ought to work in the old fashion but, extreme conditions bring out the best solutions. One such situation is hiring.

In times of social distancing, when sitting in closed spaces with another person is a threat to life then face-to-face interviews cannot be possible. The surge in Covid-19 changed the face of recruitment. Rather than meeting candidates physically to understand who is right for the vacancy in the company, online/virtual interviews became the go-to solution. For most people, a face-to-face interview is the most important stage during the hiring process. By the time this stage is due; the employer has looked over the candidates’ resume, knows about the work experience, or maybe has even had a telephonic conversation with them.

Remote hiring someone you’ve never met can be a challenge for everyone who was used to the usual ways of recruitment. Even if the working is shifting back to offices, virtually interviewing and interacting can be of great help as this method gets businesses in contact with potential employees from far-off places. It is believed that remote working is the future of organizations but managers are still sceptical about conducting the entire hiring process online. To make this practice a success, leaders must get comfortable and quickly pick up the nuances of virtual working.

One must try and keep the following points in mind while recruiting online:

1. Thorough screening

The employer must know about the candidate who seems to fit the job requirement. The manager may get on a casual call with the candidate and take and give a quick introduction. The employer may also ask questions that are relevant to the job role to see if that person is a good match.

2. Hiring team

Putting together a team of people to determine what talents and characteristics a vacancy needs. This saves a lot of time. One can also use application tracking software to track the applicants and their applications. It helps filter the people who fit the job role and tracks their further advancement in the recruitment process. Also, this can minimize any chances of miscommunication that may arise among departments. Other departments may communicate their requirements like the technical and functional requirements (JD), the number of vacancies, CTC, the dates within which they require the candidate to fill in, etc. to this hiring team. Hence, also takes care of issues of manpower required and manpower budgeting.

3. Introduction through video

Organizations can now also ask for candidate introduction through video. This saves time as each person in the team need not ask the same question over and over, rather this video can be shared with the team members to assess the candidate.

4.  Group discussions and interview

A group discussion with multiple candidates can be conducted virtually which will bring out the person who stands out and will give the employer a good platform to draw a comparison between a few candidates. Further, multiple people from the hiring manager can conduct interviews which will keep the entire team on the same page.

5. Sample work

It is important to understand the candidate and their skills while hiring. To test the abilities they claim to have, organizations can assign test projects to potential candidates as this will not only give the employer an idea about the person’s skills but also will help them to understand consistency, hard work, etc. This also gives the applicant a taste of how that particular organization functions.

6. Scorecards

It can be of great help to use scorecards to measure one candidate against the other. Companies may rank the individual on core values, or can even ask the hiring manager to rate how well they feel about hiring a particular candidate. All this can be done using a simple scoring system, for example, 1 to 10 or 0 to 3, etc.  

7. Background check

Referrals are a great way of getting to know the employee. But, new situations require modern solutions. So, organizations can go beyond referrals and check the candidate’s LinkedIn or google their name or they can also look at them on social media to see what pops up.

With people opting to work remotely, even with offices reopening, organizations must evolve and redefine their solutions from remote-friendly to remote-first. Companies should re-do their process of hiring so that they do not miss out on the right kind of talent which helps to keep them afloat and thriving.