Recruiting Remote Workers: Sought-After Traits and Best Practices

Talent is distributed, but until 2020 opportunity was tied to geography. With remote work talent and opportunity both got distributed, as tech has unbundled work and location. COVID was the “push” necessary to push all organizations and people in desk jobs remotely, solving the ‘coordination’ and ‘commitment’ problems of having everyone experience remote work concurrently. Civilization progresses in various ways, including by being induced ‘toward things’ by pandemics. Hence a 25x rise in remote job-seekers since 2020! This is a dramatic structural shift of where and how we work.

Remote work has become a fundamental shift in how almost all companies operate. As we embrace this new paradigm (we’re still figuring out communications and management remotely), the challenge of hiring the right remote workers has become increasingly critical. Drawing from research and interviews with leading recruiters from top remote companies, this post jumps into the issues and essential traits of recruiting remote workers that ‘fit’ the distributed work mode, as well as best practices for remote recruiting. 

Remote Recruitment is Nuanced 

The toughest part is that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to remote hiring! Consider this: 

1. Some remote companies are fully distributed and async. 
2. Some remote companies are truly global, spanning all continents and time zones, but have ways of checking in and working synchronously (eg. a 1hr window during the day).
3. Some teams inside remote companies are focused around geographies/jurisdictions (for whatever compliance or cultural bias reasons!). 
4. Some teams have to overlap in 1-4 hour windows each day (or some days) and require daily meetings /times to be available just in case a synchronous meeting is needed…
5. Some remote companies have teams that are ‘time-zone co-located’ eg. Customer Success and Sales are in the PST-EST (North America/Latin America) time-zones, but Engineering and Operations are in the GMT-CET (Europe/Africa) time-zones. And perhaps Customer Support is in the Philippines time-zone. 
6. And then there’s hybrid with a head office.. or multiple offices.. or hybrid + remote mixed setups (which is the ultimate managerial and recruitment shit-show of a headache — research shows these companies are by far the hardest to manage).  
7. And so forth the differences abound… 

However, it all boils down to:

• asynchronous vs synchronous work,
• fully distributed (remote) companies vs remote-first companies,
• time-zone and/or geographical [jurisdictional] ‘focus’,
• remote-first companies with multiple/all remote teams and various setups re. the above,
• hybrid with remote options for individuals / certain teams.

This poses major recruitment challenges in terms of coordination and screening of remote candidates, but certainly not talent access! This certainly poses challenges in management and communication. Hence, what works for one company may not work for another! The most successful remote employers continually refine their hiring processes, staying attuned to the changing needs of both their organization and the global workforce.

Desired Remote Worker Traits

The shift to remote work has brought about new challenges in team management and organizational development. In particular, the absolutely insane size of remote applicant volume for companies small and large has brought about new challenges in recruitment. Startups and growth companies like Ultra.io, Doist, Remote.com, Deel, and Publitas.com have been at the forefront of this change (note: most set up pre-COVID), developing innovative strategies to build and maintain high-performing remote teams.

When hiring for remote positions, certain traits and soft skills stand out as particularly important. Based on insights from several expert interviews, here are the key characteristics sought in remote workers. 

Competency: Proactivity / Initiative

Remote work requires individuals who can take initiative without constant supervision. Mathilde Kurzawa from Ultra.io emphasizes the importance of hiring people who are “self-driven” and “proactive.” These traits are crucial in an environment where direct oversight is limited.

Competency: Straightforwardness / Direct Communication 

In a remote setting, clear and effective communication becomes even more critical. The first screening filter at several companies often focuses on written communication, looking for candidates who are “straightforward and succinct.” This initial filter alone removes about 50% of applicants, underscoring the importance of this skill.

Competency: Adaptability 

Remote work environments are dynamic and require team members to adapt fast. Adaptability, curiosity and openness to change are key traits recruiters look for in candidates. This includes being comfortable with ambiguity and open to evolving processes and technologies.

Competency: Autonomy / Independence

Successful remote workers are very independent, autonomous people who can self-manage effectively. They cannot require hand-holding beyond onboarding, and have to be able to structure their work independently.

Competency: Growth Mindset

A growth mindset is crucial for thriving in a remote environment. Karina Watermeyer emphasizes this, stating that a “growth mindset vs. closed mindset” is a top priority in their hiring process. This trait indicates a candidate’s willingness to learn, adapt, and grow within the role.

Competency: Ownership / Self-Discipline 

It’s important that candidates who ownership of their work. And ownership/accountability goes hand-in-hand with self-discipline, as remote workers need to manage their time and responsibilities effectively without direct oversight.

Best Practices for Remote Hiring

Identifying these traits requires a well-structured hiring process. Here are some best practices remote recruiters have shared with us. 

1. Clearly define the job requirements

Remote work is done best around clearly set tasks as well as around remote work norms/rules and standards – each company has different ones. Thus, it’s worthwhile to clearly define not just the job responsibilities but also the remote work requirements. This includes specifying:

• Time zone preferences or requirements
• Expected working hours (if not asynchronous) 
• Necessary overlap with team or client hours 
• Geographical or jurisdictional restrictions (if any) 

There’s a ‘must’ of time zone alignment for teams that prefer to work synchronously. Being explicit about these requirements in job postings, using formats like “EMEA / North America / APAC or Paris +/- 2 hours” to indicate location preferences is helpful to getting more candidates that can fit these requirements, although it is still real hard of a process identifying who ‘fits’ these hard criteria. “Copy+pasting” jobs does not cut it.. 

2. Try remote job boards or LinkedIn to acquire candidates quickly

Traditional job boards fall short when it comes to remote hiring – the data they collect, how and where they post jobs is completely unsuitable to remote jobs (they stick to location and don’t cover multiple geographies). Using niche remote-specific job boards like RemoteOK, Remote.com, WeWorkRemotely, Remotive, Himalayas or FlexJobs is solid. These platforms are better equipped to handle the nuances of remote job listings, and have more of the right target audience – individuals with remote work experience and an understanding of ‘what it takes’ to perform in a distributed team. 

It is worth to note though that:

• not only are job boards behind the remote revolution – Google’s algorithms and SEO structural data is not oriented towards remote work, and because everyone’s designing job boards to “fit into” Google’s ‘format’ – we’re stuck in a sub-optimal status quo that is hurting remote job postings. 
• remote job boards produce a TON of applicants to filter through (CVs, ATS applications, written or self-recorded video screening filters). This is a major pain. And it’ll get bigger with GenAI as applicants use AI agent assistants to apply on their behalf.

3. A multi-stage, structured recruitment process

Run a comprehensive interview process:

a) Initial Screening: use written questions to assess written communication skills and the ‘remote mindset’. This can effectively filter out a significant portion of unsuitable candidates. CVs alone rarely make the cut in a ‘good enough’ way, plus it takes time to sift through hundreds or thousands of CVs per role (even for small companies doing remote recruitment). 

b) Skills task/projects, especially for technical roles: implement practical tasks or projects that simulate the actual work environment, eg. an asynchronous task to complete over a week. 

c) Cultural Fit and Values Alignment: include questions that assess the candidate’s alignment with your company’s culture and values. This is very nuanced and company specific, depends on your own company’s values and cultural norms. Check out Gyfted’s Culture Canvas 👋if this aligns with you. 

d) Interviews: 2 or more final interviews with team members to assess team fit and collaboration potential. During interviews it’s worth to use scenario-based questions to assess how candidates would handle typical remote work challenges. For example:

• “How do you prioritize tasks when working independently?”
• “Describe a situation where you had to solve a problem without direct supervision. How did you approach it?”
• “How do you ensure effective communication in a distributed team?”

Answers to these questions will help you parse out candidates who are unprepared for remote teamwork. 

4. Assess Remote Work Attitudes and Evaluate Communication

While prior remote work experience can be beneficial, it’s not always necessary. However, do assess the candidate’s understanding of remote work challenges and their readiness for this mode of work, especially an understanding of remote communication tools and practices; and strategies for maintaining work-life balance in a remote setting. In particular pay close attention to how candidates communicate throughout the hiring process. Communication is KEY in remote. Look for: 

• Promptness in responses 
• Clarity and conciseness in written communication 
• Ability to articulate thoughts effectively in video interviews 
• Attitude towards the use of appropriate communication channels (eg. written comms in Slack vs pushing for meetings) 

5. Implement a Trial Period or Project

Consider implementing a paid trial period or project. This allows both the company and the candidate to assess fit in a real work context. It’s an opportunity to evaluate:

• Ability to deliver quality work independently
• Communication and collaboration skills in practice
• Adaptability to the company’s remote work processes

Overcoming Remote Hiring Challenges

Remote hiring comes with its unique set of challenges. Here are some of the most common issues:

1. Extremely High Volume of Applicants

Remote positions attract an overwhelming number of applicants. To manage this:

• Use automated initial screening questions and/or personality, cognitive, remote fit assessments to filter out unqualified candidates – note: check out Gyfted’s Remote Work Assessments for this! 👋 
• Implement an applicant tracking system (ATS) to streamline the review process
• Consider using AI-powered tools to assist in initial candidate screening – try Gyfted 👋 

2. Assessing Cultural Fit Remotely

Evaluating cultural fit can be challenging in a remote setting. To address this:

• Communicate your company culture, values and work style in job postings (if the candidate’s don’t read them – that’s a different kind of negative signal.. 😉 
• Use situational questions that reflect your company’s culture and working style

3. Ensuring fair compensation is really hard!

With candidates potentially applying from various countries, ensuring fair compensation can be complex. Consider: 

• Implementing a transparent, location-based compensation model 
• Using tools and data to understand local market rates and cost of living 
• Post salary bands in job postings 

4. Onboarding Remote Employees

Effective onboarding is truly crucial for remote employee success. Create a really solid remote onboarding document and process that includes: 

• A core ‘onboarding document’ for every new teammate with the who / what / why / where – so they can guide themselves easily as they onboard 
• Provide a clear documentation of processes and expectations (can be part of the onboarding doc or separate depending on role/team) 
• Virtual meet-and-greets with team members 
• Regular check-ins during the first few months with a buddy 

Note: Legal and Compliance in remote recruitment is a smaller problem (but a necessary evil!)

Compliance/legal issues depend on if you’re hiring contractors, or actually “employing” people. As companies embrace global remote hiring, they face a complex web of international employment laws and regulations. Each country has its own set of rules governing employment, taxation, and labor practices, creating a headache for employers. This is why certain remote companies limit themselves to certain geographies /jurisdictions. For instance, some EU countries’ employees are entitled to a “13th month” salary bonus, while in others, there are strict regulations on working hours and overtime. Tax implications can be tricky; companies must navigate issues such as permanent establishment risk, where hiring in certain countries might inadvertently create a taxable presence for the company. Compliance with local labor laws can be a pain covering aspects like minimum wage, mandatory benefits, termination procedures, and employee classifications. 

These variations push remote companies to partner with Employers of Record (EOR). An EOR acts as the legal employer for a company’s distributed workforce, handling payroll, benefits administration, and legal compliance in various countries. This takes the headache off. For sure though, hiring contractors instead of employees takes a lot of compliance and pain off the table (and it the best route for startups for sure). The EOR arrangement allows companies to hire talent globally without establishing their own legal entities in each country, as EORs take on ensuring compliance with local employment laws, managing tax withholdings, and providing locally compliant employment contracts. This is particularly valuable for startups and mid-sized companies looking to hire employees or employees and contractors globally without the overhead of setting up international branches.

Remote recruiting best practices are just beginning to make a dent in hiring 

Remote work continues to evolve and so are the processes for recruiting remote workers. The key to success lies in adapting traditional hiring practices to the unique challenges and opportunities of the remote work environment. By focusing on the essential traits of successful remote workers and implementing best practices in the hiring process, companies can build strong, productive, and engaged remote teams.

As we look to the future, it’s clear that mastering the art of remote hiring will be a critical competency for businesses aiming to thrive in the digital age. By embracing these strategies and remaining flexible, companies can position themselves to attract and retain top talent in the increasingly competitive remote work landscape. 

Real big thanks for your time and openness to chat with me when researching remote worker competencies and recruitment best practices and issues — shout out to: 

• Mathilde Kurzawa – Head of Talent Acquisition (and Principle Sommelier:) at Ultra.io  
• Andrew Gobran – People Operations at Doist 
• Gillian O’Brien – Head of Remote Talent at Remote.com 
• Huw Sensier – Technical Talent Acquisition Manager at Deel 
• Karina Watermeyer – Recruitment Lead at Publitas.com 
• Michelle Coulson – Founder at Remote Rebellion 
• Mike Fauconnier-Bank – Founder at Underdog Accelerator 

Robert @ Gyfted.me