Expanding Your Team While in the Remote Mode

We are in the middle of a global pandemic. It is all people can think and talk about. Thousands, if not millions, of workers are stuck at home working or simply self-isolating. Surely, it is going to take a huge toll on the well-being of some businesses, as not every company can let their employees work outside the office. Some have just stopped their workflow and are now waiting for this crisis to blow over. 

But there is a lucky bunch that can keep on operating practically without losing their pace. Moreover, there are companies that can even keep on hire and successfully onboard and train new workers. 

Yes, remote hiring is really important and one of the primary trends in the business world right now. And at times like we are facing today we thought we would share our experience on expanding our team and onboarding the newcomers remotely. 

Searching for the Best

Normally SupportYourApp searching process goes like this: 

We invite our candidates to the office for an interview to show them who we are and to see their attitude first-hand. It gives both sides the possibility to get acquainted and to see whether our collaboration is going to work out. At this point we check their soft and hard skills as well as tell them a little bit about ourselves. 

It may not seem so, but meeting up in the office makes the process so much easier, even if it takes up more of our and our candidate’s time. But, the current events are changing things all over the world. And we are just being a part of these changes. So…

How to Conduct Interviews While Away From the Office? 

As we have discovered, quarantine and self-isolation has not only NOT slowed down our pace, but has even accelerated the job-hunting among the potential candidates. A lot of people are coming back home after having worked from abroad. Some people are trying to use the quarantine as an opportunity to change jobs. Some are just out of the job because of the crisis in several segments of the job market. 

As a result we are seeing a stably high demand for our vacancies. This allows us to grow and add to our teams even when everyone is away from the office. We receive just as many resumes and conduct just as many meetings. They are just not in person. 

But What About the Interviews? 

While interviewing in the office is more comfortable and is giving us some insight into the person’s attitude, we are creating an almost similar experience while being remote. With the help of workable. It is an applicant tracking system that, among other features, allows our candidates to record video answers to our sets of questions whenever it is convenient for them. These little sessions ensure that we get the information we need and that the candidate is feeling comfortable when answering the questions. 

Good Old Remote Interviews

We cannot say that anything has changed for us. SupportYourApp has always been working with remote consultants, which means that we have adjusted to the process a long time ago. We know all the processes and go through all the procedures smoothly. The only thing that is different — our HR department is not working from the office right now.

Remote Onboarding — Challenges and How We Overcome Them

The main sense of onboarding is to tell the newcomers about SupportYourApp policies and company culture. It also gives them basic skills and knowledge that are going to help them in their future job. And the fact that we all are not working under the same roof doesn’t mean that we have to stop the process. Even in present circumstances we continue to onboard and train. 

What Are the Milestones of the Process? 

1. Talk and listen 👂

When starting remote onboarding we first rely on Skype. It allows us to talk, and what is evenly as important, see the person we talk to. Here seeing the person on the other line is crucial as we need to know that they are ready, and they are going to be fully submerged in the process. Plus, it allows for a good personal connection between our onboarding managers and the newest SupportYourAppers. We believe it makes the transition easier and more pleasurable. 

2. Our tools 🔧

What does a perfect remote onboarding look like? Well, it shouldn’t feel any different from the one taking place in the office. Nowadays, many businesses prefer to apply to onboarding services and delegate them all-things-onboarding, so businesses can focus on core activities. To make the process smooth, they usually use a huge arsenal of tools. In SupportYourApp, we try to implement all the tools in our disposal to make the new consultants feel: they are in the work environment. But how do we do that? With the help of all these nifty tools: 

• Gmail (personal and later corporate) — helps us stay in touch with the newcomer and send them important documents and links if needed.
• BambooHR — helps us track the progress of the new consultants during the onboarding process. We see the pace that they are doing their tasks in and what tasks are left for them to do. 
• Skype and later Slack — with their help we communicate and stay in touch with everyone in the onboarding process.
• Schoox — here we keep our learning materials like presentations, videos and tests, that are helping those training to get all the necessary and important information about the company. 
• Zoomshift — clock in and out system, allowing us to see whether the new consultants started their onboarding on time. 

Of course, all the tools that we are using to train the newest members of SupportYourApp are GDPR compliant. 

3. Why do we need it all? 🥰

Onboarding is an important part of our internal process. And the fact that we are out of the office doesn’t in any way diminish its importance. We are still giving the newbies a taste of our company culture. We still make them acquainted with our management and with their future responsibilities. We want them to feel welcome and cherished because they are. 

4. Communication is the key 💬

Even when not being able to sit in one room, our onboarding specialists claim that their communication doesn’t ever stop. They have each other’s back, and they talk and chat constantly. According to them, the main challenge of remote onboarding is the lack of control that they usually have. That is why it is even more important to be connected and talk to each other all the time to make sure that every newcomer is getting the best onboarding experience that we can provide them no matter whether we are doing it in person or over the Internet. 

Our experience goes to show that looking for the newest members and expanding your team IS possible while you and your team are out of the office. You can easily go on with the process if you play your cards right. The main point is to remember — while working from the office is important, your company culture is not disappearing if you have to work remotely. Stay calm, look for the right people and make sure your team is operating like a well-oiled mechanism. This is going to help you in the process. Just like washing your hands is going to help you stay healthy right now.

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