The rapid shift from the office to dynamic working models necessitated by the spread of COVID-19 has changed the job market for both employers and potential candidates. Empowering a dynamic workforce to function effectively from office, home, or on the move has proven benefits for businesses and workers alike. Access to a wider selection of qualified candidates while cutting costs makes building a dynamic workforce appealing to employers, and the flexibility and work-life balance that comes with dynamic working appeal to many potential candidates. Hiring the top dynamic workers requires a unique approach. You are not just evaluating a candidate’s job experience and technical skills; you are also assessing their ability to work productively from remote environments.
Traits of Effective Dynamic Workers
While it is essential for candidates to possess the required technical skills and experience, soft skills may be as important for determining whether a dynamic worker will ultimately be a good fit for a position and their values align with your corporate culture. The fundamental traits and qualities dynamic workers need to be successful working in challenging and rapidly-changing work environments include:
Results-Oriented: Effective dynamic workers can set clear goals, track progress against milestones, and meet tight deadlines. They have the confidence to follow instructions without direct supervision and solve complex problems independently.
Self-Disciplined: Dynamic workers are productive without close monitoring and direct oversight. They can organize and prioritize tasks to juggle the demands of social life, family, hobbies, personal interests, and commitments with their job responsibilities. They are dependable, reliable, and accountable.
Proactive: Dynamic workers should be self-starters. They should be able to make timely decisions that demonstrate good judgment, even when they lack information. Operating remotely often requires resourcefulness and creativity, so dynamic workers should be capable of taking the initiative to propose and pursue new opportunities that will sustain and grow your business.
Flexible and Adaptable: Effective dynamic workers are receptive to making changes based on evolving job needs. They know how to cope with unexpected disruptions and delays and reprioritize their schedule to take advantage of shifting circumstances.
Effective Communicator: Dynamic workers need effective verbal, visual, and written communication skills. They should be able to articulate their ideas and share feedback with coworkers across a wide range of communication channels. Excellent communication skills are essential for jobs that involve presenting to clients or leading virtual meetings.
Crafting Job Descriptions for Dynamic Workers
Job postings should be crafted to attract talented remote candidates. They should describe the required qualifications and day-to-day responsibilities while stressing the importance of the soft skills desired for the position. Your job description should explain just how remote the work will be. Terms such as “remote-friendly” and “flexible work” indicate varying levels of flexibility, while “telecommute” and “ remote-only” tend to imply working 100% of the time from home. The job description should also set expectations regarding time commitments and schedules.
Recruiting Dynamic Workers
Recruiting dynamic workers offers one big advantage over recruiting for in-office positions, namely a much wider pool of talent to choose from. The number of potential candidates expands exponentially when the position isn’t confined to workers willing to move within a 20-mile radius of your office. When location is not an issue, you can pitch job vacancies in places where top candidates are likely to live.
Your corporate website gives your organization credibility, and your career page is a great way to market your job openings to dynamic workers. Optimize your site for mobile use; a large percentage of remote candidates check for jobs daily via their mobile phones, and many of them will apply via their phone if given the option.
Posting opportunities on web sites like Indeed, Monster, and Glassdoor can get your job listings seen by millions of job seekers in dozens of countries. These cost-effective sites have different pricing models for posting jobs and links back to your organization’s career page. Some charge a flat fee for a set period of time, while others charge on a per-click basis. Most job sites support “remote work” tags on job posts to connect with dynamic workers.
Leveraging social media channels is also a can help you connect with large communities of skilled professionals. Social media platforms enable recruiters to connect directly with both active and passive job seekers through their shared interests and social networks. Social network platforms such as LinkedIn also offer job posting services. Strategies for using social media platforms to recruit dynamic workers include:
- Keep your organization’s social network profile up to date and inviting to dynamic workers. Your online reputation is important for creating an emotional connection with potential candidates.
- Add relevant hashtags to your job postings that dynamic workers are likely to follow. Using the appropriate hashtags will lead to greater engagement with dynamic workers.
- Encourage your employees to “Like” your job postings on social media sites and “Share” them with their contacts. Shares, likes, and comments help increase visibility and get more followers.
Evaluating Candidates for a Dynamic Workforce
Hiring dynamic workers can be more of an art than a science. Determining whether candidates possess the “soft skills” needed to be productive dynamic workers is generally more difficult than assessing their technical skills. Certificates, college degrees, and even past work experience won’t tell you if a candidate will be a good fit in your organization’s culture.
One strategy for evaluating soft skills is requiring candidates to submit a short video with their resume. Ask them to use the video to introduce themselves and share examples demonstrating their soft skills, such as drive, discipline, and flexibility. In addition to the insight you gain into their soft skills, the video offers an excellent opportunity to evaluate the candidate’s poise, professionalism, and verbal communication skills.
Interviewing Candidates Remotely
Remote video interviews are becoming increasingly more common and accepted by both employers and candidates. They enable organizations to connect with dynamic workers to discover their knowledge and skills while saving the time and expense of travel. Two common methods for conducting remote video interviews are one-way video interviews that candidates can complete at their convenience and live video interviews in real-time.
One-way, a.k.a. on-demand, video interviews are an efficient method of narrowing down the pool of candidates to a shortlist. There are dozens of one-way interview solutions that enable interviewers to send candidates an invitation with a list of questions and watch the self-recorded video responses. One-way video interviews lack the spontaneity of real-time interviews. They allow candidates to think through the questions and polish their answers before they respond. However, they can help organizations gain insight into more candidates in a fraction of the time it takes for full interviews.
Real-time video interviews using modern video conferencing solutions, high-speed broadband, high-def video cameras, and big screen monitors help bridge the distance between interviewers and remote candidates. Real-time video interviews require special considerations; however, when done right, they make it possible to read body language and gauge facial expressions to help create a strong personal connection with remote candidates.
A strong understanding of your goals and the requirements for the position are essential for preparing a list of relevant questions that will reveal the candidate’s interests, qualifications, and soft skills. Using the traits of effective dynamic workers described above and your job description as guides, you can tailor questions based on the skills and experiences listed on the candidate’s resume. Be prepared to provide specific examples of the opportunities the position offers, the benefits of working for your organization, and your expectations for dynamic workers.
Preparing for Video Interviews
Taking a few minutes to prepare your surroundings provides a strong foundation for a successful online interview. Set up a quiet, well-lit environment with an appropriate background, hang out the do not disturb sign, and turn off text messaging and on-screen notifications to minimize distractions.
Check your technology to ensure everything is working correctly, including your camera, microphone, speakers or headphones, and connection speed. Technological glitches will derail an interview and make your organization appear unprofessional. Get familiar with your collaboration tools and get comfortable with being on video. Practicing interviews with coworkers can help to master using a webcam and managing remote conversations. Reliable tools and technology acumen are especially important when interviewing dynamic workers considering their reliance on technology and their high expectations for collaborating effectively with coworkers.
Your invitation to interview should include instructions enabling candidates to download, install, and use your online video meeting solution. Offer candidates an avenue for asking questions about the solution or getting tech support, even if it is just a link to a FAQ. In case all else fails, provide the candidate with a phone number where you can be reached.
Interviewing Dynamic Workers
While lacking the insight conveyed by the initial eye contact and handshake of traditional face-to-face interviews, advanced video technology can enable interviewers to read subtle verbal and visual cues crucial for establishing a connection with dynamic workers. Besides gauging a candidate’s ability to organize and articulate their thoughts, live video interviews show off their interpersonal communication skills, poise, and confidence. Video enables interviewers to evaluate a candidate’s active listening skills and the non-verbal clues revealed by their body language.
Tips for leveraging video technology for remotely interviewing dynamic workers include:
- Allow a few extra seconds after asking questions to give the interviewee time to compose a response and compensate for lags or delays in the video signal.
- Avoid looking away from the camera for extended periods, if possible. Develop a rapport with the candidate to keep them engaged and humanize the conversation.
- Be prepared to sell your company and the position. The interview is your opportunity to make an outstanding first impression and create a strong connection with dynamic workers.
- Dig deeper into their soft skills by asking questions about how they handled various of situations while working remotely. If they are new to remote work, ask them about hypothetical dynamic working scenarios likely to happen on the job.
- Ask candidates if it is OK to record the interview and share it with other stakeholders to get their feedback. By recording the interview, you can refer back to specific answers and confer with other members of the hiring team to make better decisions.
- Be sure to partner with your human resources team to develop guidelines for interviewing dynamic workers remotely; there may be legal and other issues involved.
Are You Ready?
Is your organization ready for the future of dynamic work? With unprecedented demands for bandwidth, new security concerns, and increasing desire to enable workers to access corporate data from anywhere on any device, technology has never played a greater role. Making the transition to a dynamic workforce requires re-imagining and redesigning your technology environment. Cerium can help your organization navigate through these uncertain times. Take our Dynamic Worker Self-Assessment to see how prepared your organization is for keeping your dynamic workers productive and your business secure.
