There is a multitude of reasons as to why so many businesses have adopted a flexible working mechanism. The work-life balance is improved, and employees are more productive, it’s cost-effective, and, of course, sometimes, as we recently discovered, it’s necessary – the only way to keep running a business.
Yet there are issues, and one of the biggest issues, assuming you are working on an entirely remote basis, is hiring and keeping flexible workers. This is especially true for executive personal assistants where flexibility and timeliness are paramount. You may not ever meet them ‘in the flesh’ and this can make it much harder to engage with them and for them to feel like part of the team. This is why there are some ideas you need to put in place when you are recruiting flexible workers. If you can do this, the task won’t be so difficult, and they should stay with you, which is better for everyone. Read on to find out more.
Get Recruitment Right
When it comes to hiring your remote workers, you need to get the recruitment process itself right. The absolute best possible thing you can do is to make the hiring process remote, as this will fit nicely with how you expect workers to communicate in the future and will give them an idea of what the work will be like, and you an idea of how well they are able to cope with the technology required. This also means that you can recruit from a much wider pool geographically, and not have to have any travel involved, which could put off many potential candidates.
This means having the exact right technology in place. You need to have remote interviewing software and you need to know how to use it, so make sure you practice in advance. The last thing you want is to show the candidate that you don’t know what you’re doing, as this will give them a bad impression of you.
The Onboarding Process
Every business, no matter what size it might be, must have an onboarding process. This is the process that happens after you have hired someone and they begin work. It’s the first thing they’ll do. Of course, this process will be different for every business, and it’s down to you to decide what to include. However, something that you won’t want to miss out is giving your new employees access to all the systems in place to help them do their job. They’ll need to read these and understand them.
One way to make this easier for everyone is to use specialist document control. Did you know that ETQ Reliance document control can help you track your documented processes securely and in one place, for example? By giving your new employee access to this one place, you can be sure they have everything they need to start working safely and confidently.
Have A Virtual Open Door Policy
Mental health is an issue that can affect everyone, and as a manager, it’s important that you look out for your employees and spot the signs of burnout, depression, anxiety, stress, and more. When you notice there is something wrong, you need to speak to the employee and give them any help they might need. When you have a remote workforce, this can be hard, as you won’t be seeing them physically every day, and an email or conversation on a chat system won’t give you the whole truth. The best thing to do is offer an open-door policy, meaning that you let everyone know they are able to come to you – virtually – whenever they need to and that you’ll listen. You can’t force people to ask for help, but you can offer that help all the same.
