With the new norm of self-isolating and non-essential travel in place, remote recruiting, hiring and onboarding is the only way to go for non-essential workers to carry on business as usual.  

As recruitment experts we’ve pulled together some tips and tricks below on how to best help your new staff get onboarded.

 

  • Set Expectations from the Interview Process

The recruitment process is the beginning of the onboarding experience for the candidate, especially for remote employees. It’s really important that expectations are set from the interview stage. 

Be aware of the common struggles for remote workers and share your ideas for solutions to these problems. Managing workloads, ill-defined hours of work, and lack of accountability are always amongst remote workers’ top negative feedback. 

Be transparent and honest about workload, hours of work, and any key performance goals for their role. Defining these at an early stage will help you avoid confusion or conflict further down the line. 

  • Create a Process

Take some time to create a foolproof remote onboarding checklist. While you may already have one for new hires, be sure you have a seperate one for remote hires. While some points may remain the same, others won’t be relevant and others will have to be created especially.

You always want new staff to feel comfortable as soon as possible, so think about what tools and information they’ll need to get up to speed and always be as detailed as possible. If your office manager, or the employee themselves are responsible for fulfilling a checkpoint, they should know exactly what they need to do. Be clear about this so your employee can have a much better experience as a new-starter.

  • Make Them Feel Welcome

While some things like your company handbook, offer letter and contract can be sent digitally, others need some advanced planning. This is a great opportunity to also send a welcome package in the mail. Little things non-remote employees would have, such as branded hoodies, notepads and pens will help them feel appreciated in their new role from day one. It doesn’t have to be huge, but something a little extra that says ‘Welcome to the team!’ will make them feel included with your company.

  • Connect Your Team

Helping your new employee meet the team is easy when they’re in the office. This definitely is a little trickier with remote workers, but don’t let that be a reason to not do it. It’s a better experience for them to do this over video, so the new starter can still put faces to names. This will also help curb the feelings of isolation and nervousness about reaching out to others with questions, while also helping them get a sense of the company’s culture. 

Not feeling properly part of the business can be really disheartening for a new start, which in turn is likely to hinder their performance. So make sure they know the social calendar so they can join in on events, even if it is just on a video platform.

  • Ask what works for them, accommodate and adapt 

Take the time to ask your new hires about their preferences for things you are prepared to be flexible on as a company. This can be things from how they’d prefer to hear feedback, take meetings, or be issued tasks. Taking the time to hear their thoughts gives them confidence that as a company you’re prepared to listen to them and consider their specific needs. 

  • Keep Learning

Since remote onboarding is looking like it will become the new norm, make sure you continually nail your onboarding process. A great way to do this is by asking your new starters for feedback on how they found the onboarding process and if they have any suggestions on how to improve for future remote employees.

 

Looking for more tips and tricks on hiring new staff? Be sure to stay tuned and check in with the Discovered People blog.

If you need help finding new staff, be sure to contact us here

Video interviewing is by no means a new concept, however since COVID-19 they’ve become far more popular amongst hiring managers and recruitment agents. While more traditional face-to-face interviews are not possible right now, many companies have now realised just how convenient and time saving video interviewing is. 

We use industry-leading video software to make sure you have the best experience, but still know it can be a little intimidating to have your first interview over video. We’ve pulled together our top tips and a bit of background information on how to ensure you’re putting your best foot forward when the time comes for that first video interview!

Why is it so popular?

Video interviews are far more flexible than a typical on-site, face-to-face. There’s no traveling to and from involved and no time off work required. Simply open a link and you’re good to go. This means you can complete the video interview anywhere, anytime and on any device.

Types of Video Interviewing

There are a few different ways of conducting video interviews. The most common is a live, two-way video call. In this case, you’ll likely be sent a link which you simply click on to enter an online ‘interview room’. There you’ll come face-to-face with the interviewer(s) via a split-screen. The process of a live interview thereafter is exactly the same as it would be in person, only you’ve got a screen between you.

Another less common but increasingly popular method of video interviewing is known as a Solo Interview. The main difference is that instead of coming face-to-face when you enter the virtual room, you’ll be taken on a journey through a number of questions. The questions appear on screen for you to answer one by one and you’ll be able to review your finished responses before submitting it for the recruiter and client to watch back. 

While you can start over if you feel you didn’t give your best answers, we’d recommend keeping the attempts to a minimum as the more versions you do, the less natural you’ll come across. Also avoid writing all your answers out and reading them, as you’d never attend a face-to-face interview and read off answers.  


Preparing for an Interview 

Prepare for your video interview in the exact same way you would for a face-to-face interview. Think of quality answers for any and all situations, do your background research on the company and compile some questions to ask the interviewer at the end. 

Specifically for video, here’s some last minute checks to do beforehand. 

  • Set up – test that your microphone, speakers and camera all work properly.
  • Connection – check your internet connection, close-down unnecessary programs and web pages and make sure you aren’t downloading, installing or about to run updates.  
  • Surroundings – be mindful of your backdrop in terms of what’s in the frame. Consider your position and check your lighting. A plain background is ideal. 
  • Where to look – This can be a bit awkward, but look into your camera, rather than at the interviewer. This way it’ll appear like you are looking at them. 
  • Do not disturb – unlike in a face-to-face interview, you’ll likely be at home or even on your lunch break at work. It may seem obvious, but make sure people around you know not to disturb you. Ideally, find a place where you feel completely at ease and where you can speak freely and comfortably without fear of interruptions or distractions. 
  • Appearance – just because you’re at home doesn’t mean you don’t need to look the part. You should dress exactly as you would for an in-person interview. Psychologically, you’ll feel more ready too. 
  • Stay focused – Because you’re not face-to-face, it can be easier to become distracted and do things you wouldn’t do in a face-to-face setting. 
  • Notes – avoid reading off notes. It’s okay to refer to notes but don’t try to be sneaky about it. Equally, avoid taking excessive notes. And definitely do not try to Google during the interview, no matter how subtle you think you’re being they’ll definitely be able to see. 
  • Smile and engage – a tendency on video versus face-to-face is that candidates are less focused on being engaging and less aware of ensuring their personality comes across. Avoid falling into this trap and bring as much to the video as you would if you were sitting across from the interviewer. 

While video interviewing may be new to you, try and treat it like every other interview you’ve done before. While you may feel a little unnatural and out of your comfort zone, with these quick tips we’re sure it’s nothing you can’t overcome. 

Just like any normal interview, practice with friends and family or even just record yourself and rewatch it to get a feel for how you come across on video. As with anything else, the usual combination of research and advance prep will go a long way.  

Good luck! 

 

How many times have you had the exact same first interview? Explaining over and over what’s on your resume, some generic situation based questions and your career motivators. Depending on how long your job search is, it can get pretty repetitive. 

Rather than having this same first interview again and again, video interviewing is an increasingly popular way to showcase yourself as a candidate and skip this first interview step. 

With the rapid changes to how businesses use technology since COVID-19, it’s shown that video interviewing is just as effective, if not more effective than in-person interviewing. Given how much easier it is for both employers and candidates to now connect, we should really be questioning anybody who now insists on meeting in-person for a first interview. 

For any candidates searching for jobs, heres 5 reasons why video interviewing software is a huge benefit (and time saver!) for you. 

 

  • Interview From Anywhere

Apart from the obvious reason of minimising your risk of exposure to COVID-19, the fact is that taking the time to meet for interviews as a candidate can be difficult. Having to take time off work, schedule a fake doctors appointment or take leave can be frustrating, especially if you don’t get the role. 

Recruiting hasn’t stopped over this pandemic, it’s just changed to video interviews. This is really proved there’s no real need for face-to-face interviews anymore, which will ultimately save both the candidate and employer time.

  • Use Any Device

Not everyone owns a laptop, or only has access to a work device which may be a little awkward to use for an interview. With video interviewing you can easily meet and interview through your mobile phone or tablet, without any hindrance to the process.

  • Get Real Feedback 

Whether or not you get the first job you apply for, that interview can be used as an opportunity to give you valuable feedback to put you ahead of the competition next time. You can rewatch how you did, learn your strengths and improve where you need to next time. 

  • One Interview, Multiple Opportunities

Your one interview can be used multiple times for many different roles. Rather than waiting to hear if your CV made it to the top of the applicant pile, with video interviewing you either get an interview or valuable feedback to put you ahead of the competition next time. 

  • Skip the First Interview

With so many redundancies lately, it means there are hundreds of candidates’ CVs landing on recruiters desks. As some jobs are advertised by more than one recruitment agency and the client themselves, your CV can end up showing up on the hiring manager’s desk more than once.

If you’re successful, your video will be sent to top clients so you can skip that first interview stage. You can be moved to the second or even the final stage of the interview process. 

Sounds great right?

 

Looking for your next role? Get in contact with the Discovered team here.