3 minute read
Human Factor
Remote Hiring
There’s a host of ways to attract a wide variety of sharp job candidates when in-person hiring has been put on hold. BY LAURIE KAHN
While it might seem daunting at first, recruiting staff members during remote working conditions can help with retention and open up the candidate base.
How can you recruit virtually? First and foremost, you need to have a strong, informative website that sells your opportunity. Your “about” page is a great place to include the company history, mission statement and strengths in reaching the community. Use your “career” page to highlight different positions, culture, offices, fun aspects of the job and how to attain more information.
Consider shooting a video that shows your offices, your employees and different staff activities. If your company turned to virtual events during the past year, include those so that potential candidates can see the creative ways that you handled the pandemic.
Share clips that illustrate how you have shown compassion and caring with your staff. Always include a variety of employees in these videos. By showing that you have a diverse staff, and one that includes members of the younger generation, you’ll attract a larger number of people. Federated Media provides an excellent example of this on its site, federatedmedia.com (under “our culture”).
It’s also helpful to use testimonials. Find happy employees who will share why they joined the company and what they like about working there. Video is the most effective means of conveying this, but a still picture with a short, written quote will work as well. Just be sure to monitor your site so that if someone you featured leaves you can replace their video with something else. The “careers” section of Entercomradio.com does a great job of showing employees from a several different departments.
If you are in the interviewing process, take or record a virtual tour of the station so that prospects can get an idea of where they would be working when offices are reopened. Include workspaces, meeting rooms, studios, break rooms and any outdoor areas open to staff members.
You could also share your sales and marketing materials. If this makes you uncomfortable, delete the pricing pages, but give them an idea of how you position your sale.
Always make clear what you do to help a new hire succeed. Cover the training and support with realistic expectations for performance. Be sure to explain what services or tools you subscribe to and any consultants that work with you.
If you are moving the person forward, introduce them to a few team members so they can have phone or video chats about what it’s like to work for you. Invite them to join a virtual department meeting so they can see how people interact.
Successful remote hiring also needs to include updated social media. Check your Glassdoor profile to confirm there are not negative comments posted. If there are, encourage happy employees to go on and share positive remarks. If there are several negative comments, you may need to find out what is going on and address the issues immediately.
Hiring managers should have updated LinkedIn profiles. Instead of just posting a title, include descriptive words about their management style. If they have promoted several past employees, share that information. Sell the reader on the idea that a manager can help them to succeed. Ask for recommendations from the manager’s direct reports. If the position you’re filling involves entertaining and you want to see how a prospect interacts in a social setting, do a virtual lunch or coffee appointment. Have a meal delivered and meet online while you enjoy the food. This can be awkward, so it may work best with more than just two people.
Along the way, observe how well a job candidate does on a remote call. If a job involves presentations, ask them to share their screen and provide one.
If a candidate you’d like to hire is interested in joining your team, send a package of station items to help them feel welcome. Host a happy hour for all to meet the new person. Set them up with a buddy or mentor to help them acclimate. When a new hire feels welcome, you’ll increase the likelihood of loyalty and retention.
Most importantly: be on time, have materials ready to share, know how to conduct an online meeting and be professional.
Laurie Kahn is president of Media Staffing Network, which helps media companies with all of their talent acquisition needs, including diversity planning. She can be reached at (480) 306-8930 or laurie@mediastaffingnetwork.com.
