Navigating the Virtual Workscape: Hiring and Managing Remote Talent

Understanding Remote Work

When employees can effectively do their job from home using an internet connection, that's remote work. Some employees can work from home entirely (fully remote), and sometimes they can work under a hybrid model, in which they work from home part-time and the office part-time.

The rise of freelancing has fueled the remote work trend in the past. After the pandemic in 2020, many companies discovered they could still operate with some or all of their employees working remotely, which presented significant cost savings and other benefits. Now that the trend has been proven viable, more companies are shifting to hiring and managing employees remotely.

Identifying Jobs Suitable for Remote Work

Some jobs inherently require the physical presence of employees at the workplace, such as retail or construction. Others, however, can be done remotely. Consider the types of jobs that your organization could turn into remote positions:

• Bookkeeping, accounting, HR
• Marketing, writing, editing, graphic design
• Software, some IT
  
  

Ask questions to determine whether certain jobs are suitable for remote work:

• Can an employee carry out these tasks independently?
• Is digital communication feasible for the position and this worker?
• Can the employee's effectiveness and results be easily evaluated?
  
  

Benefits of Remote Workers for Companies

Embracing a remote work model can allow companies to expand without needing a larger office space. On the flip side, they can reduce the size of needed office space by outsourcing more jobs to remote workers. Work-from-home employees may be more independent-minded and thus require less micromanaging to keep them on task. Being able to hire an employee who lives in a different city or region opens up a global talent pool for remote positions.

For some people, remote employment offers them a better work-life balance. If they don't have to contend with a daily commute to the office, it saves them a lot of time and money. Some workers are also more productive in a home office since fewer distractions exist than in a busy office space.

Hiring Remote Talent

Hiring remote workers has a lot of similarities to hiring on-site ones these days. Openings can be posted on various job sites to cast a wide net for interested remote workers.

You can also request that candidates submit a pre-recorded video with their initial application. After screening resumes, potential candidates can be interviewed online, so long as they have an internet connection and webcam. It's important to have a clear vision of your remote work policies and expectations and communicate that to candidates during the hiring process.

Onboarding and Integrating Remote Employees

The onboarding process for remote employees can be done entirely online. Companies should make it easy for new remote hires to access all the necessary employee handbooks, company policies, hiring paperwork, and orientation videos in a manner that is easily accessible and secure. Be sure to set meetings to introduce new remote employees to the on-site team to make them feel welcome. Walk new hires through reporting and management practices.

Managing Remote Teams

Virtual meetings are an important part of keeping remote workers engaged and feeling like they are part of a bigger team. Remember that rather than managing workers in the office, you will be managing the output of remote workers. Prompt feedback when remote workers complete projects is important for keeping them engaged and accountable. The key to maintaining company culture is finding the right balance between making your remote workers understand and believe they are part of the team without overburdening them with too many remote meetings.

Remote Work Policies and Legal Considerations

What hours of the day do you expect employees to be working and available for communication? If remote workers are in a different time zone, this may require some flexibility and compromise.

How often do you expect remote workers to be in communication with managers? Do you provide a secure platform for communications and data transfer? What are your expectations for the types of software and tools remote employees will need to use?

Another thing to remember when employing remote workers is that they might be in a different jurisdiction. Tax and withholding laws for their paychecks may differ from what's required for workers in your jurisdiction. Have a plan in place for managing payroll across different jurisdictions if you want to hire remote workers.

Tools and Resources for Remote Work

At Exact Payroll, we offer a variety of tools for managing a remote workforce. This includes handling your company's payroll, employee time tracking software, HR tasks, etc. All of this is done through a secure, custom interface. Taxes, accounting, worker compensation, and merchant card services are some of the additional tools and resources that we provide to help you streamline your remote workforce management.

Challenges of Remote Work and How to Overcome Them

Keeping employees on task and productive is one of the biggest challenges of remote work. Proper time tracking and attendance software can help overcome this hurdle.

Another thing to remember is that not all employees are suited to working remotely. If a worker's productivity drops, you may want to consider switching them to a hybrid model (if possible). They might be more productive when they're part of an on-site team. Some workers also require more direct management.

Let Exact Payroll Help You Manage a More Remote Workforce

Companies that effectively manage to shift to a remote workforce have some distinct advantages over their competitors. They have access to a global talent pool, for one thing, which can also significantly reduce operating costs. It's not without challenges, however, so be prepared for a learning curve that may require some compromises.

If you want to streamline your remote team's payroll, contact us at Exact Payroll today. We offer custom payroll solutions to help meet your needs!