Remote working has been picking up in many companies thanks to the improvements in technology for the past couple of years. Employers see how productive their employees become if they are in a conducive environment. They also get access to a larger talent pool which can supplement tasks which are not available in the regular job pool.
However, remote working is not for everyone as some people find themselves burned out from the job. Others don’t fit in with the rest of your workers and may even feel that they are unwanted or isolated.
If you are considering hiring remote employees for your business, here are the interview questions that you should ask to see which one of them will be perfect for the position:
(PS. these interview questions are to watch out for if you happen to be the interviewee!)
Have you done remote work before?
This question is important because there is no guarantee that someone who has not done remote work will be able to do the work perfectly. He or she may be an excellent worker in the workplace but that does not mean that the same performance can be duplicate with remote working.
In fact, many find themselves easily doubled their time working from home than working in the office, due to distractions and lack of discipline.
What is your opinion or thoughts about doing remote work and why did you apply to be a full-time remote employee?
In this question, you will find out more about their job goals and how much they have thought about working remotely and if it will fit their working style.
Especially if they have not done it before, ask them about their intentions and why would remote work help them with their goals. You should also ask them why they should be considered for this type of job.
How will you coordinate with your colleagues while doing remote work? How did you do it in your past position?
This question will help you see if this worker supports collaboration and if they have the right skills to do this perfectly while working remotely.
Have them cite examples where they are required to collaborate with others in order to successfully complete a project. Or you can throw them a situation and see how well they are able to communicate the idea back to you.
Which online collaboration programs or tools are you familiar with?
Whether they have worked remotely or not, they should be able to use new technologies to do their work. They must be able to adapt to any platform you will use for your business and contact their fellow employees through it.
The more apps they know, the lesser training you need to do. If they have worked remotely before, the very least they should know how to use Skype, Google Drive, Google Hangout, Whatsapp and Telegram.
Do you have the perfect space in your home to do work?
In remote work, workers must have the right workplace setup at home to help them work productively at home.
Do they have a separate room/ area to work in? Are they able to jump on a call anytime during working hours?
Read More: How to Find A Conducive Working Environment Outside of Your Office
Not only having space to do your work is important, check on the version of their laptops and the speed of their internet. I have encountered employees who wouldn’t able to submit their work on time or attend important video meetings because of computer breakdown or lagging internet connectivity. If this happens once or twice, it isn’t so bad but it can be extremely frustrating to yourself and the rest of the team members who have to work with him if such incidents becomes regular.
Are there any challenges which may cause problems for you to complete your work? How do you plan to tackle it?
Since remote work also has its setbacks, your applicant must be able to list down any problems they think may affect their work and how they can solve them.
This question is to help to identify who in your candidate selection pool is able to foresee problems before it happen as well as have the right mindset to take initiative and creativity to tackle the problem on his own while having the common sense (which is not at all common, by the way) to keep well within the company’s guidelines.
Are there any things that you will need from me (your team leader/boss) to be able to work remotely without problems?
If you think the candidate you are interviewing is good to go, this question will help you sort out any other issues that may arise that will prevent them from working efficiently.
This question will also help you to identify leadership and ownership qualities in your candidate. For remote workers, you want someone who can be responsible for their own actions, dependable to produce results without micromanaging and without coming to you or his supervisor to solve every single problem he encounter.
Read More: Guest Post: Why you should stop blaming your boss
While handholding for the first week is natural, a competent employee who be able to find out answers himself and being a remote worker, it is much harder because you just can’t turn to your colleague sitting next to you for help.
Conclusion
Remote working is here to stay, especially now that every industry is turning their attention online. However, it is crucial that you are able to hire the right people for the job because they may help you breakthrough the competitive market now going online. With these questions, you can be reassured that they can help you reach your business goals.
For more tips on how to make remote working work for you, here are the articles:
7 Ways to Spot the Traits of Effective Remote Employees
How to Make the Most of Your Day When Working Remotely
7 Productivity Apps for Working from Home
Can’t get enough of MiddleMe? You can find me sharing my thoughts here as well:
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LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/kallytay
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I work remotely so this was quite interesting to read. The only question I was asked was “Have you ever done any remote work before” 🙂 Have a great weekend Kally and stay safe
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Thank you so much and have an amazing weekend. Stay safe and smiling.
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Thank you!! You toooooo
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Thank you for this very interesting posting, Kally! I am actually not in the situatioin of need, but good to have it for later. Have a beautiful weekend. Michael
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You’re welcome, Michael. Thank you for taking time to drop by, your presence is always warmly welcome. Have a good one.
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Thank you very much, Kally!Very kind of you. Enjoy your weekend too. Michael 🙂
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Weird, I used to be able to go to your website to read your post. Somehow, I am barred.
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Sorry Kally, i had to privatizise in 2018, because some cookies of wp are not defined, and i am always in the middle of the fire of some “special friends” of mine. But you can read all blogged and reblogged postings @EslarnerZeitung (Twitter). Best wishes, Michael
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Got it, Michael! It’s a shame, your blog was absolutely wonderful. I’ll search out for you on Twitter.
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Thank you Kally! I will try to invite you to the blog too. Enjoy your day, and stay save. Michael
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Do you have a facebook page for your blog ?
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Glad you ask, you can find me here: https://www.facebook.com/middleme.net
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I love the fact that you do the work to produce posts that have meaning and application in the world. Thank you for all that work!
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Thank you so much, Bryan. That’s why the birth of MiddleMe, the purpose is to share what I know and to gain knowledge from others like yourself.
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Kally dear friend, this IS beyond excellent, because it comes from your own vast-personal experience.
Thank you so very much for sharing a bit more of “Kally Wisdom!”
God Bless you,
Patrick
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I love sharing! I believe knowledge gained is to be shared freely out so everyone can gain the same knowledge or deduce to add on to that knowledge.
Thank you, Patrick and godspeed to you and your loved ones.
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At the end of the day a good employee it´s he and he, it´s all on you to do the correct thing in whatever job you are working so don´t blame the boss even when he or she is an A-hole. Just deal with it and maneuver and keep on going. Learned that quite early, never blame others. It´s on you.
Very interesting tips, you are too smart Kally. I feel like a real dummy commenting on your blog but hey, it´s me, again, very interesting post and thank you for sharing it with us.
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Ah you’re never the dummy. I love exchanging ideas with you. You probably show me the other angle of life that I hadn’t explore yet.
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There are probably a lot of angles in life that you have not gone through like me. And that is good since it means you made the correct choices for a better life. So you really don´t need the other angles, you are doing good and that is what is important.
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Thank you for your advice. I see every ups and downs in my life as an epic adventure. We learned from our choices, good or bad and most importantly, we pass the knowledge on. 😊
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Interesting read!!
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Thank you!
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It’s definitely important to ask questions like these before assigning someone to remote work. It’s not for everyone, though those who are prepared and temperamentally suited to it might be more productive when remote than they would be in an office.
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I agree that remote working isn’t for everyone. I know of friends who hated remote working when they are told to work from home due to the lockdown.
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interesting. Do you really think remote work is not going away? I feel after Covid companies are going to grab all the chicks back and huddle close.
Stay well and laugh
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Haha! I’m pretty sure that remote work is not going away so soon, at least not this year. Hmm.. if only the office has chicks. Roosters, can?
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I agree Kally, remote working is here to stay. Companies can now see that this method works, and will start to downsize on things like office space, equipment, and utilities, reducing costs all round.
Your questions are both informative and thought-provoking, as well as helpful. Well done Kally x
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Hopefully, many companies will continue with remote working even after the pandemic ends. Thank you, Caz.
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Informative post! Thank you for sharing.
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Thank you so much.
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Hi Kally! I hope you are doing great. I nominated you for The Ideal Inspiration Blogger Award. Please check out my blog Netty for Nominations for more details.
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Thank you so much for nominating me. I am so honored and you are so generous.
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An informative post.
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Thank you and welcome to MiddleMe!
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Timely read. So many needed jobs and getting all the help to get back is highly appreciated. Thanks 🙏
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Thank you. I hope to come up with many more articles to help people cope with this bad economy.
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Thanks
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Very insightful.
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Thank you, Anna.
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This was wonderful. 😀
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Thank you so much!
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