Remote Interviews – the Future of Hiring

Hiring remotely is incredibly beneficial. Online interviews can save not only time and money but also the environment. The World Economic Forum called flexible work, including virtual teams, “one of the biggest drivers of transformation” in the workplace. Especially in developing countries – where mobile technology and improved internet connection have coincided with traffic jams and escalating rents in cities – lots of employees work remotely at least part of the time. 

Since remote work has been such a strong trend, it is not surprising that more firms opt for remote interviews to gain an understanding of a candidate’s fit. The trend is undeniable, and companies will have to work their way around offering this kind of flexibility whenever possible. How will remote interviews look like in the future?

Video meetings make remote interviews more tangible

Remote interviews will make use of the latest video meeting tools to get a good first impression of candidates. 87% percent of employers know within the first fifteen minutes of an interview whether a candidate is a good fit or not. While the volume and tone of a candidate’s voice play a role, gestures and facial expressions are the most critical aspects. We convey 93% of messages via body language, so the video is crucial for getting a good first impression fast. 

After you have made up your mind about the candidate, it is vital to understand the candidate’s expectations and values. According to the futurologist Lars Thomsen, the future workforce will search for a company with colleagues who share the same values and lifestyle. He speaks of a community of shared values instead of employers and employees. This is why it is important to understand your candidate’s expectations and values right from the beginning, and video meetings allow for that.

Hiring remotely allows for a much greater pool of potential

Every business is facing the challenge of hiring the right person for the right position. There is a growing challenge for HR to attract, keep and motivate the people they need. Hiring a remote worker allows you to pick from a greater pool of candidates. 

When companies opt to hire remote workers, they choose to access a global network of talents that extends far beyond their immediate location. As a tech recruiting agency, we often advise our clients to give a chance to remote software developers. We have no doubts that remote specialists will be as productive as onsite employees. We take advantage of the global large talent pool also when we hire for our company.

Cloud-based solutions facilitate remote interviews

The hardest part of remote interviews is usually the beginning. We know the struggle when it comes to setting up video calls with a new tool. Downloading software and creating an account can take quite a while, and that delays the time table dramatically. It is also time-consuming to help candidates solve these technical issues. 

Cloud-based solutions avoid these problems and therefore, they will be the norm. Not all video meeting tools are cloud-based, so it is important to make the right decision when choosing a video meeting tool.

Test assignments during remote interviews

Remote interviews will include test assignments: what better way to test how well a candidate performs remotely than assigning them a test during a remote interview. As we mentioned in our article – How to Lose Thousands of Dollars on Remote Developer Recruitment Process – giving a test assignment is a must, and every technical recruiter should keep that in mind.  

Thus, remote hiring will need video tools that integrate tools that facilitate this process. Depending on the position, the recruitment process will be different. For software developers, we recommend code challenges for which a candidate will have a specific amount of time. However, it is a good idea to facilitate tests during remote interviews is by sharing your screen. Video meeting tools like eyeson allow you to share your screen and work on the same document remotely.

Paperless recruiting streamlines the recruitment process

In the future, recruiting will be completely digitized. Hiring tasks, including job postings, CV filling, and interviews, will be paperless. It will not only be beneficial for HR managers, as they will be able to automate and expedite their work but also for the company itself. A paperless workflow makes companies stand out as particularly advanced and sustainable, an important quality to attract qualified new employees.

Record the remote interview for future reference

Most video meeting tools that recruiters use for remote interviews have a recording function. Recording allows you to rewatch the interview whenever you want so you can always go back and make an informed hiring decision. Furthermore, recordings of the interviews allow better collaboration within your hiring team, because you can ask your colleagues for feedback about the candidate’s performance on the interview.  

You’re Hired! Onboarding employees with video calls

Onboarding is the first stage at the beginning of an employee’s journey at a new company. As an organization, you want to kick-start a successful employee experience right away, and the best way to do that is with a solid onboarding program. However, the onboarding process is costing firms money, and often an employee might decide to turn down the job shortly after. An excellent way to minimize the chances of this happening is by starting the onboarding process remotely. Remember, you may always fly the candidate in at a later stage.

Conclusion

Remote interviews allow you to save money and resources. The lack of barriers introduces you to a bigger and qualified workforce market. It also increases the sustainability level of your firm by making it more environment-friendly, which increases the attractiveness for new employees. Sharing your screen, calling, and working on documents together remotely has never been easier, so why not make use of it!

If you want to be well-prepared for the recruitment process of a software developer, we have another useful article worth reading – Hiring a Remote Developer While Scaling up a Company – 5 Must Know Facts.