Tips for Hiring and Team Building Remotely
1. Invest in your people first. From both a hiring and retention perspective, supporting your existing team is a strategic function of your business. Prioritize creating a positive experience for current and potential employees to attract the best new talent.
2. Utilize shared resources. If you’re hiring, reach out to relevant outlets to see how to add your company to these lists. It’s also important to personally connect with your community, whether that’s with your peer network, other companies in your city or checking out community boards. Doing this can help you crowdsource new resources, like opt-in layoff lists for talent, and give you an outlet to share challenges.
3. Acknowledge (and adapt to) the human toll of this moment. Studies on organizational transformation have found communication is the most important factor for success. Share regular updates with candidates and employees, early and often, even when you don’t have all the answers. Proactively share your organization’s policies, so candidates feel a greater sense of certainty about your business. Encourage two-way dialogue, empowering people to ask questions and share concerns.
4. Create new experiences tailored for virtual life. It’s impossible to fully recreate an in-person experience virtually, so it’s important to adjust accordingly. Experts are noticing heightened “video-call fatigue,” a feeling that virtual meetings are more exhausting than in-person meetings due to nonverbal overload. If you can extend your interview process over a few days to give interviewers a break, do it. Scheduling is easier now, as commute times and overbooked conference rooms have evaporated.
5. Connect with each other and share the laughs. For a new employee who’s never met the team in-person, creating an early sense of psychological safety is incredibly important. To assist with building that bond, prioritize opportunities to integrate new team members from day one. Consider implementing engagement opportunities like casual “working sessions” that replicate an in-office atmosphere.