Learning & Development, Recruiting, Training

Remote Interview Tips to Determine Cultural Fit in Employees

Hiring the perfect employees for your team is a challenge for any business. It’s even tougher when you realize the right fit doesn’t just depend on a person’s skills and qualifications but his or her ability to resonate with your company culture, too.

remote interviewCompany culture isn’t just a buzzword anymore; it’s essential for any organization and ensures all of your team members are on the same page when it comes to business values and interpersonal relationships. Moreover, company culture also plays a crucial role in determining how likely your team members are to stay with your business for as long as possible.

In today’s age of remote work, determining cultural fit can be a lot more challenging, as it’s often difficult to develop human relationships with employees you don’t see face-to-face.

With that in mind, we’re providing these helpful remote interview tips designed to ensure you hire the right person.

Evaluate Your Company Culture Before the Interview

The first step in ensuring you hire a diverse team of people who share your company values is to determine what’s most important to your brand. You need a comprehensive and detailed view of your company culture to generate the best results. For instance, don’t just say you have a “collaborative” culture; define how you support collaboration through regular team bonding sessions, the use of videoconferencing meetings, and more.

Dive into your company culture by making a list of what matters most to your business. For instance, your company might prioritize honesty and punctuality. It’s worth asking your employees how they would describe your company culture, too, to make sure everyone is on the same page.

This is particularly important if you’re already working with remote agents, who might see your business differently than your in-office employees.

Collect Information to Share with Your Candidate

Being able to convey the core aspects of your company culture to a candidate during the hiring process is crucial. With a little luck, showcasing your company culture’s key elements in your job description and on your company’s social media will help you attract the right people. Additionally, discussing what matters most to your business during the interview will make it easier to determine which potential staff members are most excited about your company.

During interviews, openly discuss your company’s culture with the candidates, sharing insights from your employees and reviews other staff members have shared. Conducting the interview via a videoconferencing session will allow you to gauge your candidates’ responses. Pay attention to how passionate these potential employees are about your specific values and goals. Do the candidates seem uncomfortable when asked to explain how they would fit with your team?

Ask the Right Questions

If you’re hiring specifically with a focus on company culture, then the questions you ask should reflect that. After discussing the elements of your company culture with possible employees, ask them about how their personality makes them a good match for your team. The best way to determine whether someone is a good fit is by asking your candidates to explain how they would respond to specific situations with your company culture in mind.

For instance, if your business is all about improving customer experience, you can ask your candidates how they would deal with an unhappy customer making a complaint. When interviewing potential members of remote teams, make sure you check how comfortable these employees will be when it comes to representing your company independently. Remote employees won’t have a lot of direct supervision and support, but they’ll still need to adapt to expectations, so it’s important to determine whether they’ll live up to the challenge.

It’s also worth asking your possible employees if there’s anything about your company culture they feel uncomfortable with to identify any potential future problem areas. In light of the fact that 46% of employers think poor candidate fit is the primary reason an employee doesn’t work out for their business, this is a crucial step.

No matter how great an employee’s CV looks, the inability to fully adapt to the culture can cause serious problems.

Consider a Trial Period

Hiring remote team members is complicated because the impression you get over a video or phone interview isn’t always entirely representative of what people will be like on the job.

With this in mind, many companies are beginning to use trial periods to assess their potential employees. During the trial period, you can experiment with working with a new staff member for a set period of time, with a scheduled date when you’ll meet again and decide if you’re going to continue with the hire. A trial period can be a good way for companies to make sure the candidate is actually right for their team.

However, it’s important to ensure you give the new staff member enough time to adjust. It takes a little while for any employee to get used to a new workplace, and this is particularly true for remote employees, who need to figure out how to operate effectively remotely.

Get Employees to Help with Finding New Staff

Finally, if you’re struggling with finding employees who have the right characteristics for your company culture, try simplifying the process by getting your existing team members involved. Asking your existing staff for referrals can make it easier to find people with similar values.

However, keep in mind that, although it’s crucial that all your team members share similar values, it’s also vital to find employees from different backgrounds who have unique skills to bring more creativity and out-of-the-box thinking into your professional ecosystem.

Find the Right Remote Employees

Finding the right staff members for your team can be challenging, particularly when you’re building your remote workforce.

However, if you implement the tips above, you should be able to find employees who genuinely fit with your company culture.

Jen McKenzie is a content manager at the HR software company IVY Solutions and writes extensively on business and HR topics. When McKenzie is not working, you can usually find her hiking or taking road trips with her two dogs. You can reach her on Twitter or LinkedIn.

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