Description: Discover essential ideas on how remote work is impacting traditional recruitment. Learn everything you need to know to get started in the right direction.

Ever since the pandemic, there has been an increase in the number of people working from home. With workers unable to operate from their physical location, it forced employees to adapt to a life of remote work. And while the concept of remote work isn't new, the pandemic has undoubtedly increased the popularity of remote work amongst workers. These changes have also seeped into the recruitment approach that recruiters now adopt. With traditional methods becoming obsolete in recruitment, passing culture tests, soft skill tests, and impressive cover letters have become necessary in this new era of remote workers.

With estimates predicting 51% of the global workforce to remain remote by the end of this year, it doesn't appear working from home will slow down soon. Keep reading to see how working from home is transforming recruitment.

The Labour Market

The pandemic has given a test of what it feels like to work remotely, and workers' tastes are changing to include a sort of flexibility in any new job they will be undertaking. EY reported that 67% of the responders would only accept jobs that offer job flexibility. The theme of work-life balance has saturated the market, with workers actively looking for a job that affords them flexibility.

A survey showed 64% of employees working in companies like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon will forgo a significant increase in salary to work remotely permanently. These reports reveal the new trend in place. For companies to recruit the best talent now and in the future, there will need to embrace the new normal.

Sourcing Out Process

The way companies will source for its candidate will have to change. While posting on job boards may attract several applicants, unqualified applicants are likely to rush at the prospect of working remotely. The only problem is not everyone can work remotely. To work from home requires the person to be disciplined, have communication skills, the ability to work without supervision, the ability to take the initiative, and being able to meet deadlines.

We gain these attributes over time, and not everyone will make that leap. To avoid wasting precious time on applicants that don't qualify, look for sites like, We Work Remotely, RemoteOK, and Upwork, which have a population of remote workers available. You can also search for a candidate remotely on sourcing applications like SignalHire. Searching in these places gives you a better chance of finding the right candidate amongst them.

Company Brand

Since candidates won't be able to go to the physical location, the company's online presence will face a lot of scrutinies. Companies will need to ensure they keep a close eye on their social media accounts. They should tackle any problem with customers carefully, knowing that one bad tweet can damage their reputation. The company should engage with followers on their social media platforms and showcase their company culture by how their employees are contributing to the community. People will also welcome pictures of company hangouts. The goal is to have an interactive and fun social media platform.

Expect some applicants to go to review sites like Glassdoor to check out reviews, and some may even reach out to workers who are still employed or once in the company to find out what it is like to work there.

Soft Skill Test

In the past, recruiters tested candidate knowledge, experience, and technical know-how. The shift to remote work has brought about testing soft skills like communication, a fit for the culture, and working with a team unsupervised. While the hiring managers test for how qualified the candidates are, they now observe how fast candidates respond to emails, follow instructions, and how well they express themselves. These will be activities they will be involved in daily.

Also, sending in a "Thank you" email or "Thank you for the interview" says a lot about the candidate's communication skills. This shift has also created an extra step before employment. The employer hires the candidate on probation. Probation happens because the employer wants to get a feel for working with the person and determine if they are a good fit for the company. This strategy is highly effective for remote jobs. Although when hiring people, most companies still want to have a physical interaction or meeting because of the risk involved if they get the appointment wrong.

Cover Letters

Cover letters have become more crucial than ever before. Since the recruiter cannot meet the candidate in person, the cover letter shows a glimpse of the candidate's attention to detail to the recruiter. According to TopResume, recruiters favor cover letters tailored to the job description put out. It shows the person reading the job description and carefully writing the cover letter. And not send a generic cover letter over to the recruiters. 

Staying Mentally Healthy

One issue that the pandemic sheds light on is the issue surrounding mental health. Many people, especially those living alone, found it hard to cope with their mental health. Recruiters and HR personnel have to equip themselves with the knowledge of mental health facing employees.

They will need to learn how to identify the signs and methods to keep the mind healthy as they work from home. Working at home brings with it working more hours. Since the pandemic began, people have been putting on more hours, which has led to stress-induced illnesses like the tightness of the chest and difficulty breathing. Companies will need to mandate longer breaks and more flexible schedules if they don't want their employees experiencing burnout.

Onboarding

Onboarding is slowly shifting towards becoming a remote process. While there are tools to help with the onboarding process, it isn't the same. There is no physical location and so meeting the other employees may be tricky. The process will also need the new hire to read documents to get up to speed. The company may have to put him on a mentor program where the new employee asks the mentor for their way around the company remotely. 

Final Ideas

In conclusion, remote work has brought with it a lot of changes. It has also brought advantages, like a wider candidate pool to choose from, less money on infrastructure, and a happy set of employees working from home. Improvement in technology and communication means remote work is here to stay and likely become the norm in years to come. So let's embrace it now and adapt.