In a global economy, there is no need to confine your hiring efforts to the local area. Many companies have been known to hire people from all over the world. These individuals can be a great benefit as they are typically motivated, willing to work hard, and will often stay with your company as long as they are allowed to continue learning and developing. However, you should know that some traits will work better than others in a remote setting:

Communication skills

Many people assume this means they need someone good at communicating via email and online collaboration tools such as Slack. While those things help, it's also essential to factor in how well your candidate can express themselves. Great communication skills include:

Receptiveness to Coaching and Feedback

You will often need to comment on an email, document, or other work the candidate has sent your way. You will need to provide them with feedback and coaching on how they can do better next time.

The best candidates are receptive to suggestions about improving their communication skills for you both to be more successful. They should also welcome constructive criticism and not view it as a personal attack.

Good Listening

It is helpful for your candidate to listen well to understand what you are asking them and how they can meet the requirements of their job description. They should also be good at listening beyond just hearing your words but understanding the meaning behind them as well.

Candidates who pay attention when you speak will also process what you say and know how they can respond best. This way, they can have a productive conversation with you whenever necessary.

Asking the Right Questions

Candidates should also ask questions about the job requirements if anything is unclear instead of guessing or speculating on their understanding. This will show that they have a desire to learn more about the position for them to succeed.

A good article should also ask questions about the company's values and its vision. This can help them get a sense of where they will be working and make sure that their goals align with the organization's.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the questions asked to show a lot about an individual. If they ask too many off-topic or irrelevant questions, then it can be hard for them to succeed because their priorities are elsewhere and not on the job itself.

Fast Response

You don't want a telling silence every time you send an email or message. It would help if you had someone who would be able to respond quickly. If you are someone who has a lot of messages that need responses, then they need to get back to you in less than 24 hours.

A good rule of thumb is that if they take longer than two days to respond, they probably won't make the cut for any serious team. Either they are too preoccupied with other things or don't care enough about your business to keep up with their responsibilities.

Other Traits

Apart from communication, other traits make a candidate an excellent fit for your business. These traits include:

Reliability

Remote working in itself can be challenging. It would be best if you had someone who is reliable and will always do what they say they are going to do when they said they were going to do it. With tight deadlines and a lot of pressure, you don't have time for people who can't take responsibility and meet their obligations.

Self-Motivation

Some people are naturally self-driven, while others need more hand-holding when managing their tasks and projects. Remote workers should benefit from support and direction without becoming overly reliant on managers for day-to-day motivation.

For instance, if you have a team member who needs regular check-ins to stay on task with their work, that indicates poor self-motivation. People in this category may wilt without frequent praise and encouragement, which is an additional burden when you don't benefit from in-person interactions.

Respect

Without respect for yourself and others, it isn't easy to build trust or to value anyone. And when respect is lacking between teams or team members, that can affect the bottom line because you're not working towards a common goal.

Respect in remote work environments requires even more effort. One way to show respect and appreciation is to say "thank you" when appropriate or apologize when you make a mistake.

Collaboration

Collaboration is the act of working together for mutual benefit. In remote work environments, collaboration is vital to the overall project goal and for team morale and engagement, which can influence your bottom line. Engaged employees are more likely to recommend products or services.

A candidate with a pleasant and friendly attitude will be more likely to build a strong rapport with their co-workers and supervisors, which increases the chances of being a good team player.

Finding Support for Your Remote Team

You will be working with people you've never met in person, so communication tools like audio conferencing, chat tools and email will be crucial to your team's success.

If you are working in a distributed office environment with employees located worldwide, an effective communication tool can help foster virtual friendships that establish trust among colleagues, leading to better collaboration.

At Conference Call, we understand the unique needs and challenges of distributed teams. With this in mind, we've developed several valuable features that will help you enhance your conference calls with remote team members, including the ability to hold an unlimited number of callers.

Coupled with free call recording and the echo cancellation features, you won't have to worry about losing any details of your conversations. With Conference Call, you can also schedule, host and record virtual meetings for free. Contact us today to see what we can do for you.