Challenge:
- Production is down because your staff just isn’t getting the hang of remote working yet.
- You’re still not there yet, with trusting that your staff is actually working while they’re at home.
- Not having the resources to “track” production.
- You’ve made yourself believe that recruiting can’t be done remotely either, as something gets “lost” in the experience of taking your potential candidates through the full life cycle process?
Solution:
Remote working isn’t for everyone.
- It’s hard enough for people who are experienced at it, having to ensure they have a room, with a door that can be closed to distractions and interruptions, and the internet speed capacity with everyone else at home as well.
- You might want to have the conversation with your employees and set boundaries as it relates to working remotely from home. Make sure they have the conversations with those at home with them, so they understand they are still at “work”, even though they’re working from home.
- And lastly, there’s still a job to get done. Helping them to understand this can be difficult, especially if they’re juggling a lot on the home front during the past 8 months. But at this point, everyone needs to come to the reality that everything we do is different now and it just might stay this way. So it’s important to get everyone on the same page moving forward.
Trust is a big thing between employees and management, and once it’s broken, it takes a lot to recover from it.
- Maybe remote working is the only option to keep your business running. Most employers fear that if they can’t “see” their people working, then they must not be (especially if they’re home working remotely). However, just because you used to see them sitting at their desk in the office, didn’t necessarily mean they were working either (it may have just looked that way).
- Especially if you don’t have a choice but to have them working remotely, at some point you have to trust that they are working. If it makes you feel better, which is probably something you should have implemented in the office as well, make sure that the work they’re doing is measurable. Do you have a way to track what it is that is actually getting done? This way it wouldn’t matter if they were working from home or working in the office.
- Just know that trust goes both ways. We’ve been in uncharted territory for 8 months now, you’d think this was old hat by now, but I think people keep sitting back waiting for things to go back to normal. At this point, you might want to err on the side of caution, and assume this is the new normal. Keep your people in the loop, let them know the hard decisions you’ve had to make and why. Be transparent with them and you might find them doing the same in kind.
When you don’t have the resources in place, from a technology perspective, this can make things frustrating all the way around when dealing with remote working conditions.
- Let’s start with systems. Are you using Microsoft Office or have you converted yet over to Google Suites? The reason I ask is that if you’re missing that instant communication, then you need to make sure that you get everyone on board and agree to a company wide instant messaging/chat mechanism. Using pieces of Microsoft Office and other apps only creates confusion and the potential for future tech issues.
- Google Suite’s Google Voice tool is the most all encompassing option that allows for chats, texts, voice calls, even voicemail. For our 8 years of being a remote working company, hands down Google Suite is the one stop “live” platform that meets the needs of a well organized remote working business.
- Google Suites uses all “live” documents. Meaning that you can see, in real time, who is working on what, and actually have the means to track production. Isn’t that what it is all about anyway, having the resources in place that actually can be used to measure productivity?
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard clients say, we need our recruiters on site, it’s all about the candidate experience, and yet it still goes back to staying where they’re comfortable. Well if you haven’t figured it out by now… you might as well get comfortable with being uncomfortable.
- Do you know what your competition is doing right now? They’re figuring out new ways to operate, to remain productive, and still keep their doors open for business. Isn’t it time you did the same?
- Do you know how many companies are doing interviews virtually, through video calls? You don’t have to lose that “personal touch” anywhere in the process. And why does it matter if the screening, sourcing, and phone screens are being done “offsite”? Recruiters are so much more productive when all they’re able to focus on is recruiting.
- Most of the time, the hiring managers don’t even work in the same location as the recruiting department, so again, why does it matter if recruiting is done remotely? As long as the hiring managers have someone guiding them through the process, keeping them up to date consistently on progress being made, actually seeing qualified candidates moving through the process, and better yet letting them know where there’s challenges and working through that with them as well.
When you’ve got the right recruiting “team” working for you, everything just falls into place. But when that team has always worked remotely (and didn’t have to try to “figure it all out” when COVID hit), that’s even better. Let’s talk about our Flex Recruiting Solution, the support you didn’t even realize you needed, until you were backed into a corner and forced to look at alternative options. And we don’t just fit the bill during trying times, we work with you during the ebbs and flows of your business. We’re here when you need us, at a fraction of the cost.