Within a matter of weeks, the entire world had shifted: more people are working remotely and the traditional in-person meetings we took for granted are no longer happening.
If you’re interviewing candidates for an open position or on-boarding new employees, there’s new criteria and challenges to be aware of. Below are some ideas to help you move forward with a successful interview and on-boarding process during these times.
Interviewing:
The in-person interview allows us to connect and access candidates in ways we can’t over the phone or video. It’s a key way we build relationships and an important step in the process but it’s also prone to personal bias, which can skew results. So what do we do when it’s taken away?
Limiting any process forces us to be more creative. Removing the in-person meeting, forces us to think differently about how we evaluate candidates. Perhaps it forces us to be more diligent or structured with our process (which is a good thing!).
Sure, you’ll be missing out on some data you’re used to getting in-person but it’s also an opportunity to build a more objective and thorough interview process, hopefully one that helps surface more qualified candidates.
Foundations and Approach:
Review and evaluate your interview process and criteria: What worked before, may not work now. This doesn’t have to be a rehaul, it may be as simple as making a few tweaks. If you have time, gather your team and review your process, interview questions and evaluation criteria. Pressure test old methods for this new environment and brainstorm new ideas. If you know what you’re looking for in a candidate, work backwards from your goals. For more thoughts on building a more objective interview process, check out this article from Lindsay Knight at Chicago Ventures.
Make sure your process and tech are ready to go: The infamous “can you hear me” has returned in full force as almost all meetings have shifted to video chat. If you are video conferencing for the first time, run tests internally to make sure you’ve tested features and any new additions to your interview process so the UX is good on both sides of the screen.
Prepare more than normal: Enter meetings a few minutes early, and make sure no one else is using your conference link! Have your notes ready, remember to mute all notifications and remove all distractions before the interview.
Eye contact and body language are still important: Like an in-person meeting, there are subtle personality traits you can observe via video. It may feel odd having a direct conversation while maintaining eye contact with the screen, but you’re making a first impression and establishing a connection. Make sure you’re not looking at your notes more than you're looking at the person you’re talking to. Ask permission to record conversations so you can be more present and don’t have to worry about taking as many notes.
Create a comfortable environment: Try to break any tension at the beginning of a call - have an icebreaker ready or an easy question to start things off. Keep things professional but remember to smile when you’re saying hello! This feels good and helps the candidate feel more at ease.
Be organized with your record keeping and process: Video calls are super efficient, which means you may be interviewing a higher volume of candidates. An applicant tracking system (ATS), like JazzHR, will help you automate certain parts of this process, track progress and ensure all your information is in one easily accessible place. This will help your team stay on the same page when it comes to who is involved, who is responsible, next steps, timelines and more.
Empower your candidates: With all the prep work you’ve done, don’t forget to share information and requirements with your candidates. The interview process is already nerve-racking on its own, so help set them up for success by sharing the information they’ll need to be prepared.
On-boarding:
How do you bring on a new candidate and welcome them to your team when everyone is remote? For some organizations, this is business as usual. For others, it’s brand new. Again, the limitations we experience force us to be more creative with how we achieve our desired outcomes. Because we can’t rely on the ease of the in-person office environment, we have to be even more organized and intentional with this process than we were before! Below are a few thoughts on this topic:
Creating a warm welcome and helping your new hire feel like part of the team: If you’re used to working in an office but now are 100% remote, it can be easy to forget about the nuances that go into team introductions. Putting together an employee roster with photos and information about your team will help the candidate “meet” your team and give them common ground to build rapport. Setup 1:1 video chats with team members and have an FAQ guide to help your new employee navigate.
Ask your employees for ideas on how to make new hires feel welcome. In addition to getting good ideas, this is a great way to engage employees who want to help and create ownership for this effort. Getting buy-in from your entire team can make a difference! Here’s some feedback from a new hire that started at one of our clients just last week , "Just wanted to say thank you to everyone for the warm welcomes the past few days. I was already very happy to have joined a new team so soon after my last job, but little did I know I was also joining a new family, so to speak.”
Pair them up with a buddy or mentor: This can be a teammate or if possible, a more senior team member in a similar role. Create a schedule for them to connect on a regular basis. The buddy system is a time tested model that works!
Schedule regular check in’s and have tasks for your new hire to do every day. It’s important that they feel engaged and productive in their first couple weeks. This can be as simple as providing information on what they should be learning, who they should be seeking out and creating simple orientation goals they need to accomplish every week.
Keep it simple: Don’t overwhelm with a ton of information at once. Break it up into parts and distribute it throughout the on-boarding process. As the folks at Redbooth point out, “Confusion and misunderstanding can interrupt workflow...When responsibilities are introduced gradually, they can be mastered more quickly, resulting in more efficiency and productivity.”
Ask for feedback and document your learnings along the way: If this is all new, you’ll inevitably make some mistakes. Be upfront, ask for feedback and be ready to pivot when needed. Getting honest feedback about the interview and on-boarding process, that will be the best way to improve!
Some additional resources: Here’s a handy checklist that we created to help you stay organized and keep track of all the things you’ll need to do over your new hire’s first 90 days.
If you don’t have a formal on-boarding practice or looking to improve your current one, here are some, here’s a useful guide from SHRM for creating a successful on-boarding process.
Keep in mind that creativity thrives when constraints are in place. When we can’t do the things we normally do, we’re forced to innovate and solve problems differently. For those of us interested in continuing to move things forward during these challenging and unknown times, keep this in mind and don’t be afraid to ask for assistance along the way.
If you have questions our team of HR professionals are here to help!