How to Attract Remote Workers to Your Company

With the modern trends and events over the past decade, it was only natural for many companies to shift work practices and adopt the concept of remote work. The benefits of remote working are nothing but evident – promoting a better work-life balance, providing enhanced flexibility, and opening a vast of opportunities for business growth.

When it comes to global employers, one of the major benefits is breaking free from traditional hiring constraints and embracing the global talent pool at their disposal. This is why we dedicate this article to the most effective strategies for attracting, hiring, and retaining remote employees, regardless of their physical location. 

How to attract remote employees

Attracting quality remote employees requires a strategic approach that emphasises the organisation’s value, culture, and growth opportunities for individuals. 

However, before we start exploring the best tips and tactics on how to attract remote workers to your company, we are inviting you to check out the “Global Talent Revolution – Disrupting the Norm” webinar by Synapse and Native Teams. 

In this webinar, we discussed some of the most common challenges and legal considerations of hiring remote workers and explored a couple of modern strategies and solutions to enhance remote work culture and remote employee environments.

Welcome to the Synapse and Native Teams Webinar – “Global Talent Revolution: Disrupting the Norm.”

Now, we are continuing with some of the most popular strategies and tips to help your organisation attract the right talent.

1. Build a strong employer brand online

As a first step to attracting quality remote workers, global employers need to work on building a strong brand. 

After all, your online presence speaks volumes to potential remote workers, who will likely rely on online information to familiarise themselves with your company. This is why it’s important to establish a brand that shows reliability, trustworthiness, and an employee-oriented remote work culture.

To showcase the values of their remote work culture, many global employers utilise strategies such as employee testimonials, virtual employee meetups, and different types of materials that promote their brand values.

Another very powerful brand-building strategy is “word-of-mouth”, or how your existing remote employees showcase your brand online. This is why global employers should encourage their employees to “advocate” for their company, which can be made through a variety of ambassador or referral programs, employee-generated content or social media buzz, and other types of online engagement. 

2. Use the right channels to advertise

Attracting the relevant target audience is only possible if you use the right channels. Hence, employers should identify the most effective channels to reach the right remote candidates.

Whether it’s niche job boards, remote work communities, or professional networking platforms like LinkedIn, the advertising channel will determine the success of reaching out to the relevant talent pool. On the other hand, employers who want to attract talent from specific locations should focus on local job posting boards rather than global communities.

The message you send through job posting channels should also resonate with the talent you’re looking for. In order to attract high-quality candidates, employers should highlight flexibility, autonomy, and opportunities for growth in their organisation.

3. Promote professional development opportunities

Speaking about professional growth, remote workers value continuous opportunities for learning and career advancement. By investing in the professional growth of their remote employees, global employers are not only attracting ambitious candidates but also fostering an employee-inclined culture of innovation and productivity. 

To inspire their remote workers’ professional development, global employers should provide access to professional resources or develop training programmes tailored to the specific needs and career goals of their employees. 

Global employers should also encourage remote workers to identify areas for skill improvement and offer their comprehensive support. For instance, many global employers pair remote workers with mentors within the organisation and foster opportunities for skill-sharing and cross-functional collaboration among members to inspire continuous learning and knowledge exchange. 

4. Ensure an inclusive work environment

Creating an inclusive workplace environment is crucial for remote workers to feel valued, respected, and included, even when working from a physical distance. 

To promote inclusivity, employers should prioritise diversity by providing training, raising awareness, and nurturing understanding and acceptance of diverse perspectives. When it comes to hiring practices, it’s essential to use inclusive language and seek out candidates from underrepresented groups. 

Employers should also focus on creating and advertising a work environment where remote employees feel comfortable speaking up, sharing their ideas, and expressing their authentic selves without fear of judgment. This will contribute to enhanced psychological safety and foster a culture of trust, empathy, and mutual respect. 

How to hire remote employees

To facilitate a successful hiring process, employers should understand that HR practices in remote settings are different from those in traditional work environments. In the section below, we’ll be exploring strategies and tips that might help the successful hiring of remote employees.

1. Define the role clearly

Employers should ensure a clear definition of the role in order to avoid misunderstandings and confusion. 

Crafting a comprehensive job description that outlines the responsibilities, expectations, key deliverables, required experience, and qualifications will help facilitate a smoother hiring process. It’s also recommended to outline any specific remote work requirements, such as time zone flexibility and proficiency with remote collaboration tools. 

Employers should also ensure that the remote role aligns with the company’s values, mission, and overall culture. Hence, it’s important to highlight work-life balance, flexible work and other aspects of the company culture that may be relevant or appealing to remote candidates.

2. Adapt your screening process

Employers should adapt the screening process to showcase their remote work environment as closely as possible. This can be done through video conferencing tools, collaborative exercises, and remote work simulations to assess the candidates’ suitability for the role.

Candidate suitability being mentioned, it’s important to evaluate remote work skills such as communication, time management, and self-discipline. Employers can facilitate this through behavioural interview questions that address remote work scenarios and assessing previous experiences in remote work settings.

Finally, the right remote candidate should align with the company’s values and culture. For this reason, employers should focus on assessing cultural fit by looking for indicators of adaptability, autonomy, and collaboration. 

3. Ask for referrals

Asking for referrals in the global business community and network can be an effective strategy to find and hire the relevant talent for the specific company.

Global employers should leverage their existing network of employees, partners, and industry contacts to source high-quality remote candidates. Implementing incentives and rewards for successful referrals can encourage the relevant stakeholders to actively participate in the hiring process.

A good example of encouraging stakeholder participation is formal referral programmes, which clearly outline the process for submitting entries, eligibility criteria, and the reward structure. Communicating the benefits of participating in such programmes can encourage employees and external stakeholders to actively participate in sourcing talent for the company. 

4. Check for remote work compatibility

When companies are sourcing remote employees for their organisation, there are a few things they can do to ensure that they’re making a quality hire. 

As one of the most important considerations, employers should assess candidates’ remote work skills, experience, and, hence, suitability for the remote position. Self-motivation, time management, and communication are among the most important skills of remote workers, regardless of the position. 

Besides evaluating their remote work skills, employers should also evaluate whether the candidate aligns with the company’s remote work culture and values. Some of the most important qualities are autonomy, accountability, self-management, and the willingness to embrace remote work practices and contribute positively to the remote company. 

How to retain remote employees

In order to foster a productive remote work environment, employers also need to focus on retaining remote employees after a successful screening and hiring process. Below are a couple of popular strategies and tips on how to retain employees in a remote organisation.

1. Offer competitive compensation and benefits

Employers should ensure that their employees are compensated fairly, competitively, and in accordance with industry standards and market rates. Hence, global companies should always be well-informed about salary benchmarks and compensation trends to adjust their salary ranges accordingly.

When it comes to compensation packages, global employers must provide comprehensive benefits such as healthcare, pensions, paid time off, and other perks for their employees. Except for mandatory benefits, global employers must also consider additional benefits that are tailored to remote workers’ unique needs. This includes home office budgets, access to co-working spaces, wellness programmes, development allowances, and others. 

Finally, performance-based rewards are also a good strategy to recognise and reward remote employees for their contributions and achievements. This can include bonuses, salary increases, or other types of incentives tied to both individual or team performances. 

If you want to learn more about the mandatory benefits and related labour laws in every country, visit the Native Teams Knowledge Base.

2. Promote work-life balance

One of the main benefits of remote work environments is exactly the flexibility and the excellent work-life balance they provide. Hence, global employers should always offer flexible work arrangements that allow employees to balance their work commitments with personal and family responsibilities. 

To promote work-life balance, remote workers should also be encouraged to take regular breaks and time off. Employers need to promote a culture that values and prioritises workplace well-being and lead by example by taking time off and respecting boundaries between work and personal time. 

In order to promote a good work-life balance without disrupting productive workflows, global employers must set clear expectations around availability, work hours, and response times. Matters such as workloads, deadlines, and priorities should also be openly communicated to help remote employees manage their time effectively and avoid work burnout.

3. Creating a supportive remote work culture

Besides all the efforts to attract, hire, and retain remote workers, global employers should work on nurturing a remote work culture that supports and encourages all the remote members of the team. 

This includes fostering open communication and collaboration through regular check-ins, team meetings, and social interactions. To maintain consistency, remote companies should utilise tools and platforms that facilitate real-time communication, virtual meetings, and co-working spaces.

Remote work can also impose a few unique challenges, such as the feeling of isolation and the lack of social interaction. Besides fostering regular communication, employers should also provide emotional support and resources to employees who face these challenges. This includes access to mental health resources, assistance programmes, and virtual support groups. 

Finally, employers who want to promote a supportive remote work culture should also invest in training and development to help their employees grow both professionally and personally. This can include virtual workshops, webinars, and online courses that address remote-specific skills. 

4. Leveraging technology for remote work success

As remote work settings rely on technology, global employers should leverage various platforms and channels to enhance the satisfaction of their remote employees. 

Hence, remote employers should provide their employees with reliable remote work tools and resources to support their work. This includes provisions such as high-speed internet, remote work software, collaboration platforms, and a variety of project management tools. 

Besides having access to quality remote work tools, remote employees should be proficient in using such technology. For this purpose, employers should provide resources, tutorials, and training sessions to help their team members navigate virtual workflows and communication, as well as handle technical issues when needed. 

Finally, remote employers must stay informed and up-to-date with technology trends and innovations that can enhance their organisation’s productivity and efficiency. Remote businesses should continuously evaluate and update their remote work technology and incorporate new tools and features to improve collaboration and work operations. 

To sum up

As more and more organisations are shifting to modern work trends such as remote working, the demand for quality talent is also on the rise. Global employers can attract quality remote workers by introducing and promoting quality and inclusive work environments, regardless of the employee’s physical location.

Besides making efforts to attract the right remote talent, global employers should also optimise their hiring and retaining processes by adopting a few practices, tips, and strategies that will elevate the organisation’s workflows, employee satisfaction, and reputation.

By nurturing an inclusive remote work culture and employee satisfaction, businesses can ensure that they’re working with the best talent on the market while promoting overall productivity within the organisation.