The Future of Remote Work:
Recruitment Challenges and Solutions

Significant accomplishments aren’t achieved overnight. There are tons of emerging challenges that companies face when embracing a remote-work recruitment approach. Luckily, with the emergence of problems, there has been an ongoing discovery of problem-solving solutions as well. Join us as we dwell deeper into the ocean of insights and unravel the most common recruitment challenges faced and solutions devised by companies trying to be the future of remote work in India. 

Challenge- Scanning a large pool of applicants

When a company decides to hire remotely, it is opening its doors to candidates across the world. A company in Japan may find a potential candidate in India. A company in India may find a well-versed intern in Thailand. And then, the elements of diversity hiring also kick in, forcing HR managers to look at a wider pool of applicants. This is tiresome and time-consuming, to say the least. More candidates than ever before need to be screened by recruiters, often from across the world. Hiring teams could struggle to choose which candidates to interview if they are overloaded with possibilities. As a matter of fact, hiring teams could struggle to choose which candidates to interview if they are overloaded with possibilities. 

Solution

The best course of action for managing a surge in applications is to leverage intelligent recruiting technology.  To automatically screen and find the finest applicants, companies are now relying on various tools and practises. These include:

• AI and ML-based software. 
• Make sure that every job posting is as precise as possible to draw in just the best applicants. 
• Utilising an application tracking system (ATS) to stay in touch with your talent pool will make things more concrete. 
• Automating other repetitive chores that don’t require attention, such as fact-checking and maintaining reference checks. 

The future of remote work is all about a large set of talents and ways to access it efficiently. 

Challenge- Time zone

“Would you be okay working as per our country’s time zone?” This is perhaps one of the most common questions that recruiters ask while hiring remotely. And it’s there for a reason- no company wants delayed deadlines and waiting sessions in client meetings. Also, there is an increased number of applicants, which creates logistics difficulties for recruiters. On the flip side, it may be challenging for applicants in various time zones and places to timely attend screening calls or interviews. Additionally, back-and-forth emails or texts can be time-consuming when communicating remotely. 

Solution

The simple solution for companies is to use scheduling software to communicate with prospective workers who live in various time zones. To prevent misunderstandings, HR managers should prioritise notifying when they are available. This will allow others to organise meetings during unoccupied periods. Making the most of time zone overlaps to facilitate real-time communication is the key. In case any timing conflicts arise, recruiters can even employ interview technology that enables candidates to record their comments beforehand, enabling hiring teams to make well-informed choices. Such type of scheduling is one of the major aspects that the future of remote work beholds. 

Challenge- Skills assessment

An interviewer can put forward a myriad of complicated and challenging questions. However, he cannot imitate a real-world task scenario on calls or video conferences. This makes skill assessment a major challenge for the recruitment department. Evaluating applicants from a distance can be challenging. It can be particularly difficult for remote recruiters who have never evaluated hard and soft talents to do so. Evaluations in real time might not be feasible as well. Furthermore, some candidates could find technology too uncommon or complex to make a good impression.

Solution

The simple fix is to know exactly what you want before the interview process begins. Make it clear what qualifications are essential for prospective hires and then plan the interview process accordingly. Recruitment managers can identify the greatest talent by using test projects or skills surveys in addition to question banks, which are useful for accurately assessing applicants. As companies enter the future of remote work, they need to refine their interview procedure and nature of skills assessment to suit remote candidates, resulting in better talent acquisition. 

Challenge- Technical issues

How often do we come across bad signals, loss of voice or grainy videos during online meetings? Quite commonly. Right? Tech issues, such as sluggish internet, poor audio, or bad video, can be particularly troublesome when remote candidates interfere with phone conversations or video interviews. Not every candidate has access to the same workspaces or technology and interruptions in the discourse can cause misunderstandings or annoyance. And the irony strikes when there is no IT guy to help you out as it often happens in traditional offices. 

Solution 

The future of remote work remains in the hands of communication technology. And luckily, this technology is changing and improving rapidly. We have 5G data speeds now and everyone is connected through mobile, even on the go. This usually decreases the chances of bad communication for remote work. 

However, the situation may still turn awry sometimes. To deal with that, it’s critical for recruiters to follow these practises:

• Maintain flexibility and have a backup plan to permit rescheduling. 
• Use appropriate technologies and software to get ready for remote hiring and interviews. 
• Employ platforms designed especially for doing remote interviews and hiring rather than relying solely on the first video conferencing software on your device. 
• Using in-house software or communication
• Recording video calls and interviews for references

Challenge – Inflation

While the future of remote work in India is bright, it carries with it, a burden that is not going anywhere – Inflation. Inflation slowly eats up salaries and wages as more money is needed to make the same purchase. It can act as a major loophole in the recruitment process too. Inflation works as two-edged swords. Employees raise their salary demands as per the increasing expenses. And companies look for cost-cutting, hence minimising the possibility of affording full-time candidates with such higher demands. As a result, high inflation can be very destructive to an economy, causing businesses to close and unemployment to rise. The good sign is that there are some ways to fight inflation and one of them could be remote work, itself. 

Solution

Remote work can help businesses save money on overhead costs and help employees save money on commuting. In addition, working remotely can boost productivity by allowing people to work from wherever they are most comfortable and productive.  By recruiting remote workers, businesses don’t have to pay for office space, equipment, or other overhead costs. Additionally, remote work can help businesses access a global pool of talent, which can help keep wage costs down.