In the period of Covid-19, executives, and managers who were once against or resistant to the idea of remote work has been pleasantly surprised to see the several benefits that it can have for a workforce, from enhanced employee productivity to better retention rates.
Mr. Mahajan says, since the manner we work is transforming rapidly, hiring managers are also realizing that remote work is not for everyone – some still prefer to collaborate and brainstorm in-person, or find it arduous to work with household distractions.
Therefore, recruiting, hiring, and onboarding procedures should shift to keep up. As several companies begin to rely on virtual interviewing, business leaders have to think about how they need to change their interviewing process and questions to make sure they are hiring people with the proper competencies to succeed while working remotely long-term.
The ideal way to do this is through restructuring the questionnaire you ask in a job interview. This blog by Mr. Atul Mahajan, Director, TFTS (Trendsetters Facilities and Technical Services Pvt Ltd) India’s top HR firm says what traits do business leaders need to look for while hiring new employees for remote positions.
Self-Motivation: Are you Able to Motivate and Manage Yourself?
In any job, employers usually, look for candidates having the ability to self-motivate – a quality that’s especially crucial for remote positions without any supervision.
Several employees are now adjusting to managing themselves in the present day’s remote work setting. Finding the everyday drive to continue to produce quality work can be difficult when there are competing distractions inside the home-based workplace, like children or roommates. Knowing what tasks to prioritize and having the ability to run projects and timelines around as required can go a long way in maintaining continuous motivation and sustaining a more balanced workload.
Employers need to develop questions to understand a candidate’s self-management skills and how they balance the myriad of challenges that all have to face in the new work from home reality.
Some of the suggestions include:
Can you share one example of when you went above and beyond to complete a project or assignment?
How do you remain organized and prioritize your workload to meet their deadlines?
Self-Dependence: Do you Work Best, Solo, or as a Team Man?
Several successful candidates are the ones who show they are team man but can also work alone. In remote settings, the ability to work independently will be a crucial skill.
While interviewing for remote positions, go beyond asking related to preferred working styles and how a candidate will handle situations that can be difficult to overcome when not in an office setting.
Have questions and prompts like the following:
How would you approach about communicating an issue you’re facing in the job?
Tell me about a moment you were able to implement a decision independently.
These experience-based questionnaires give interviewers a sense of whether or not the candidates have the independence and zeal to succeed while working remotely.
Adaptability: How would you Make Remote Work Succeed for you?
Another important quality to check-in interviews is a candidate’s ability to adapt to working in any given setting. For instance, can they continue to produce results consistently while managing their own time and schedules without any distraction?
Sometimes this needs the flexibility to work in adjusted hours beyond the typical 9 to 5 timings. Consider asking behavioral questions like:
How would you complete an assignment with a team member working in a separate time zone?
How would you balance work and life?
On the flip side, one of the biggest benefits of remote work is having more time to spend with family and your other interests. Identify candidates who can search for ways to adapt and shuffle tasks around when team members have to go to a doctor’s appointment or care for another family member during the day.
When offices will reopen for good, we might not see a complete return to work as we once knew it. As remote work steadily becomes more of a norm, It is believed that measuring for these qualities in job interviews will make success more feasible for both candidates and employers.
