05 Jan 7 Ways Remote Working is Impacting Your Recruitment Strategy
It is hard to escape the debate about remote working, particularly in the world of HR and recruitment. Should you be offering remote working, if so, how often? Would it be a permanent arrangement, or are you looking at a hybrid working model which is part office and part home-based?
New Recruits
As a subject, remote working, often called teleworking, has been on the management agenda since before Covid. In fact, you’ve probably already seen plenty of blogs like this or even attended webinars on the topic. It might seem reasonably straightforward for existing employees, but what about new recruits? How is remote working affecting your recruitment strategy?
- If you are not offering a remote or hybrid working option in Luxembourg, it’s likely that your competitors are. Many candidates and jobseekers at all levels are now used to a hybrid working model and enjoy having the flexibility to work from home for at least a few days of the week. Luxembourg, along with Finland and Ireland, has the highest share of remote workers in Europe, with over 20 per cent of people in roles that at least offer the option of teleworking. In short, if your competitors are offering a working model that suits candidates, they will attract the best talent whilst you could miss out.
- Seemingly contradictory to the above point, if you make remote working mandatory, again you could be missing out on talented new colleagues. Flexibility is the watchword here. Whilst there is a voracious appetite for remote working, it doesn’t suit everyone. Keep in mind that not everyone has space to work comfortably from home. They might not have a suitable office or have too many distractions at home. Many industry experts have speculated that remote working has actually widened socio-economic disparities. This Forbes article makes a good point about the ‘pink recession’ where women have been more adversely affected by working arrangements since childcare usually falls to them. It’s worth saying again, flexibility is key – let potential new recruits know right from the start what you can offer.
- Take up of interviews might be lower – there is no reason not to offer video interviewing, especially early on in the recruitment process. First stage interviews can be carried out via the most basic of video calling platforms. This saves time for all parties involved in the recruitment process with no commuting required and less juggling of diaries needed. It also speeds up the recruitment process. The remote aspect of your recruitment strategy can start at the first stage interview allowing you to shortlist and move to second interviews and successful placement much more quickly. If you don’t offer video interviewing, you could see more instances of candidates dropping out of the recruitment process.
- Salary and Benefits – what are you offering new recruits to attract them to your business? Has it changed since you’ve started offering remote work? There have been well-documented news stories about the likes of Google and large global businesses looking to remunerate staff differently depending on where they are based, with lower salaries offered to remote workers. This is more applicable on a global scale, but if remote working has opened borders to you beyond Luxembourg, you will also need to look at your salary and benefits packages.
- Ensuring fair treatment – leading on from benefits, it is worth reiterating that remote and office-based workers should, as much as possible, be treated similarly and offered the same benefits. Much like treating full and part-time workers with the same rights, employment law extends to teleworking as well as office-based. From a recruitment and HR point of view, make sure you work with your employment law team to ensure you are approaching both the hiring and management of your teams appropriately. An extra nod here to businesses working in the financial sector to take note of the revised Financial Sector Supervisory Commission (CSSF) guidelines.
- Technology and office kit required – consider what hardware, software and office equipment your new recruits will need to keep them working comfortably as well as productively and securely. This might range from anti-virus software and secure server connections to basics like laptops and stationery. Particularly if you as a business are encouraging remote working, the onus is on you to provide the required equipment.
- Beyond recruitment, what training and development opportunities can you offer? As any seasoned recruiter knows, one of the biggest motivators and questions asked at interview is around training and career development. It has been too easy to put this on the back burner over the last 18 months or so, particularly with classroom training off the agenda. To ensure you are attracting the best talent, make sure your training strategy and recruitment strategy are aligned.
Flexibility is key
It is still challenging to navigate the world of recruitment and remote working but keep flexibility in mind, listen to what your candidates are asking for and communicate what you’re offering clearly in both your job adverts and to your recruitment consultant.
For advice about remote working and your recruitment strategy, contact the DO Recruitment team.
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