Hiring Remotely - Wild West Edition.

Hiring the right people for your business can be tricky at the best of times.

With such a wide range of options for strong technologists, competition for talent is more fierce than ever.

So how do you get the person you want for your business to want you?

Engagement is everything right now. With all hiring being done remotely, candidates won't get to see your jazzy offices with the cool breakout areas, retro arcade machines and views of the river, that playing field has been levelled.

You have to make sure you're engaging candidates throughout your interview process and making sure there’s a clear value-proposition for them joining your business.

If they join you, what are they going to learn?

What does the career progression look like?

How are you maintaining your culture whilst everyone is working remotely?

It’s so much harder to engage people remotely - the firms that have hired the most successfully, not just in the 'lockdown months' but always, are the ones that really work hard to make sure their value proposition is clear.

When firms hire it’s to solve a problem. It could be that someone’s left and there’s a hole to be filled, or it could be simply to increase capacity as a business grows. Whatever the reason is, there’s always a temptation to look for that person who is going to ‘hit the ground running’, who’s going to come in and perfectly plug that gap or fit straight in with the current team.

What’s in it for that candidate?

One thing you can absolutely guarantee is that a strong candidate will have options. So why should they join your team?

Let's say you need someone with skills ABCD, you find them and they join your business. Then what? They’ve perfectly plugged that gap for you but what’s in it for them?

I’m sure it’s the same for all skillsets but particularly in development, the technical landscape advances so quickly that if you’re not learning something new, you’re probably being left behind. There has to be a progression pathway / a value proposition.

Hire someone with skills ABC and teach them D.

You don't need to get into a bidding war / gunfight / lasso'ing-type situation.

Value. Proposition.