Recruit Smart! Flexible Workers.

According to research by our friends at Powwownow, 70% of workers say that offering smart working options makes a job more attractive to them. In fact, 40% of people would choose flexible working over a pay rise!

As the workforce continues to demand improvements in work-life balance, it’s vital to offer Smart options such as flexible, remote, hub and field working if you want to bag the best talent.

It’s good for society too, as it means that those in remote locations, with child care responsibilities, people with disabilities, carers or those who don’t want to commute are creating a rich, new seam of talent that organizations can now tap into.

A crucial element for Managers is the need to trust remote workers to manage their work while working away from the office. So during recruitment, we advise our member organisations to consider punctuality, self-discipline, motivation and personal work preferences as part of the interview process.

Before an offer is made, you will also want to test the technical skills required for the role.  Testing that the candidate has attention to detail, self discipline, ability to follow instructions and basic IT skills tests can all help build trust.

As an organisation, you should have clear communications systems , regular information sharing and a solid and proven process for feedback in place before your new starter begins. Make the Smart workers feel part of your business by keeping them informed.  Have an inclusive culture.

It is often thought that an introverted disposition will thrive in a remote role and yet our experience has been the opposite. Extroverts are better suited to working virtually. They get their energy and motivation from keeping in touch with people on social media platforms such as Slack, Yammer and video calls or going out and meeting with clients and have the confidence to reach out when they need to.

Finally, a straightforward (but really useful) tip for recruiting Remote Workers is to build an Internet Speed Test into your recruitment process that checks the candidate’s broadband.

To make it easy for our Clients, if a role is registered with us, we’ve already built one into the https://www.abodoo.com platform.

Ruth’s an expert in Smart Working.  Pick up the phone and have a chat about the methods we use to implement smart working at pace. We’ll help you increase productivity by 13%.