Hiring remote talent in the world is no small feat. The last thing you want is to hire a great team whose members start to resign quickly one by one. Sometimes employers feel that by hiring remote talent, they can skimp on certain elements traditional employers find bothersome. In the case of office space, canteen options and parking spots, this may very well be the case.
But when it comes to the following elements, remote-first employers should actually be doubling down if they want to retain the world-class talent they have hired:
Transparency
In a remote-first working environment, there is no room for the “unspoken” or messages that are “read between the lines”. As an employer, it is important to cover all of the bases. These include everything from responsibilities to deliverables, deadlines, work policies and any imminent decisions facing the company. Keep discussions and decisions in public. Remote-first employers should not be thinking whether they are under or over-communicating, but rather whether they are communicating effectively asynchronously. Remote teams communicate asynchronously, and as an employer, it’s critical that you put in place the tools and processes necessary to facilitate this asynchronous communication with as much transparency as possible.
Training, Especially When Onboarding
Hiring from a global talent pool does not mean that you can put training on the backburner. In fact, hiring globally means that you need to place even more emphasis on training. This is especially true when it comes to your company’s policies, processes, mission and vision during onboarding. The talent you hire may bring much more to the table in terms of job-specific skills that are relevant today. However, they will not be in a working environment where they can put their job-specific skills to use for your company immediately. Without in-person interaction, new talent will not absorb the general direction of the company. This is why you have to double down on training when onboarding remote talent.
Culture
This may seem obvious, but it’s difficult to implement in the remote working environment. Everything we do is imbued with the company culture in an office – whether it’s intentional or not. However, without a strong cultural backbone, a remote-first company can quickly lose its foundational modus operandi. A strong employer brand will go a long way in preparing new employees for the culture they will be entering. Each additional remote employee will bring their own interpretation of the company’s culture, mission and vision to the fore. In a remote-first company, every employee has to be a culture carrier. This means that employers invest even more resources in communicating the culture they are seeking to build and maintain.
At Jobkast, we help remote-first employers build their international employer brand so that the right talent, no matter where they are, can find a company where they can grow. Sign up here and find out more about how Jobkast can help you find the right remote talent.
