In this post, we’ll be talking about how to hire remote workers, and we will go through the top 14 qualities to look for!
There are many incredible benefits to you with hiring remote workers. If it’s something you’ve been considering, it’s most certainly worth a trial run in your organization. It’s no accident that remote work has grown by 159% over the last 12 years, according to a survey done by Global Workplace Analytics and FlexJobs.
What’s the most significant benefit you get with hiring remote workers?
Getting to source talent beyond your city and opening yourself up to the world’s talent pool can have a huge impact on your business. Why would you settle for only being able to benefit from the skillsets available in your one community when there’s a world of potential out there?
Imagine a former colleague coming to you and saying that they had an opportunity to pick from an unlimited talent pool. All they had to do was put a little extra effort into the job search and be willing to try out a new way of doing things. Then imagine that they said they didn’t want to put in the little bit of extra research required and were happy with limited choices. Crazy, right? It is. The reason remote work is on the rise is that for both employees and employers, there are considerable benefits to be realized. Both sides get to pick the best possible fits for them from across the nation or even the world.
Picking the right people is vital!
Like with any position you need to fill, choosing the right candidate for remote work can be difficult. A key element in knowing how to hire remote workers is knowing what qualities to look for. Some people aren’t cut out for remote work, just like some aren’t cut out for working an office 9 to 5. Not to say that remote workers wouldn’t also make a good fit in an office setting, but certain types of people excel and go above and beyond while working as a remote worker. That’s who you are looking for. As you are thinking of how to hire remote workers, here are the top 14 qualities to look out for:
How To Hire Remote Workers: the Top 14 Qualities to Look For
1. Self-Motivated
Of all of the qualities on this list that should be the most important to you, being self-motivated is easily it. It is the most essential skillset and mindset a remote worker can have. In some ways, they are self-employed in that they set their hours, incremental deadlines, and daily workloads.
You need Rockstar’s who are going to treat your business like their own while caring for it as such. Getting up and not only doing the work but doing it well all on their own is something that you need to be able to count on. The greatest part of hiring remote staff is getting to take advantage of a workforce that does this, so don’t shortchange yourself and settle for less.
2. Results Oriented
At the end of the day, you care about deliverables. Being detail-oriented is very important, but if they aren’t bringing home the bacon, it won’t mean anything to you. You need someone who also lives for the end product and works their hardest and does whatever it takes to get you what you are expecting.
3. Reliable
Consistency is king. All of the attributes discussed so far are fantastic. They are excellent, but they don’t mean anything unless you can count on them regularly from your remote hire. Knowing they are going to show up to the table and deliver predictably is what you need.
4. Punctual
The last thing you need to worry about is if they are going to be late on a deadline. You need to know and be able to count on your hire to have what you needed from them when you asked for it. You won’t be able to get an idea of where they are at on a project or deadline just by passing by their office for a quick chat and seeing what they are up to. Knowing that your remote worker will have what you need on time will give you peace of mind.
5. Independent
One of the reasons you are interested in hiring a remote worker is likely because of the draw you feel to having someone on your team that you don’t have to worry about. Having someone working for your team that needs minimal oversight is a big plus for you in many ways, and saving you or your managers time by not requiring a great deal of oversight is a big win for everyone.
6. Proactive
A proactive mindset is characteristic that comes stock standard with many digital nomads. Having someone on your team that can connect the dots and does what needs to be done without you having to push them with a thousand emails is ideal.
7. Communicative
Having an employee who excels at communicating with you effectively helps build trust, rapport, and productivity. Waking up to a status report that you haven’t even asked for yet is a godsend when you have a million other things that are requiring your attention. You can sit back and relax when you know you aren’t going to be chasing down status updates with your remote hire. Having someone who can communicate concisely is also a considerable advantage. Who needs to read pages and pages worth of text when all you want is a 3-line update?
8. Flexible
Flexibility is going to be a big one for you, especially if you are just starting out with the hiring of remote workers. It will be a bit of an adjustment from how you traditionally manage your employees and having someone willing and able to adjust with you will really help. This is also where hiring a seasoned remote worker who is flexible will be an added advantage. Learning the ropes by yourself is fine, but having someone who can help walk you through the process and to act as a guide to you is going to save you a lot of time.
9. Confident
Your candidates must be able to demonstrate some level of confidence. No, I’m not talking about the annoying guy that thinks every single email he sends should come with a round of applause. The spirit you should be looking for is that they know they can do a job for you and do it well. Confidence lends itself greatly to a high quality of work, and I level of efficiency. Plus, the last thing you need is to bother with emails every day seeking your validation.
10. Organized
Remote work is fantastic for those who are organized. Operating outside of the traditional office environment can help them far exceed expectations by setting them free to live up to their potential. They can do this because quality remote workers are masters of keeping themselves and their work organized. You need to be open to new organizational behavior methods. Digital nomads are often the type of people who march to the beat of their own drum, and you need to be open and ready for this. It’s essential to be open to new methods. This is because though it may be a way you are not used to, it’s certainly a way that has provided a career path for the digital nomad.
11. Detail Oriented
Attention to detail is going to be an absolute must-have quality when you are searching for your remote worker. To be of any use to you, they need to possess this quality so you can send them their projects and trust that they will be reading the fine print. You need to trust they are not missing out on any critical details. As the saying goes, the devil is in the details.
12. Team Oriented
Being team-oriented may seem out of place on a list about remote work, but it’s essential. In fact, being team-oriented may be more important for your remote employee than an onsite employee. Unlike an employee who is at the office every day, a remote worker doesn’t have the luxury of building professional bonds over meetings and working with your staff closely. These bonds and being present for your meetings often help an in-house employee understand how they fit into the big picture. So, remote workers must be naturally team-oriented and understand how they fit within your team and how they can best contribute to the big picture.
13. Positive Attitude
You need to make sure that whoever you are considering is brimming with positivity. They won’t be in the office every day so you can’t count on a remote worker absorbing your positive workplace culture that’s been established. They need to show up on day one with enough positivity to go around. This is a relatively easy attribute to identify by paying careful attention to how they communicate with you initially. You don’t want to be wasting time emailing every week with someone who isn’t a pleasure to communicate with electronically.
14. Ambitious
When you’re looking at potential candidates, it’s a good idea to find those who want to make a name for their selves. If you are worried about hiring someone that is just looking to be lazy on the couch all day and collect a paycheck, hiring with this in mind fixes that problem. Look at their previous track record and listen for the kinds of questions they ask you in the interview process. Anyone who shows interest in the growth opportunities available in your organization isn’t likely to be spending their days vegging on the couch. They’re destined to be spending their days trying to impress you.
These Qualities Often Come Naturally To Digital Nomads!
The excellent news for you is that these qualities come naturally to most of the digital nomads out there. Phew! As you were looking through the list above, you might have gotten a little worried thinking of the difficulty involved in vetting candidates who could meet all of the criteria. Fear not. Digital nomads know that to be successful at remote work, they have to have these skills. Anyone looking into remote work, or those who have already been in it for a while, know that the qualities talked about here are absolutely crucial for any kind of success.
There won’t be too many people knocking on your door that don’t have at least a baseline understanding of this fact. This is excellent news for you because weeding through candidates that didn’t understand this would be a total pain! The nature of remote work draws people with these characteristics.
In the new work landscape, self-motivated, independent, and driven people finally have a calling beacon to gather around, and that’s being a digital nomad. It’s the type of work that naturally draws these types of people, and now you will get to reap the benefits. As you’re looking forward and preparing to take the plunge into hiring remote workers take some comfort in knowing what qualities you need to be on the watch out for. Take even more comfort knowing that, more often than not, the people that will be reaching out to you will come with many of these qualities built-in. They will be ready and willing to put them to work for you. This list is a fantastic starting point for what to look for when you are thinking about how to hire remote workers, but it is by no means all you need to think about.
Make sure to look through other articles on this website for some incredible pointers on what you should be considering when you are getting ready to reap the benefits of a remote workforce.
Hope you enjoyed this post on how to hire remote workers. Let us know if you have additions on what qualities to look for when hiring?
