Leanne believes that nowadays employees are becoming more selective about who they work for, and this, coupled with a large increase in positions that can be worked remotely, means that finding and securing the right talent is more competitive than ever.

To stay ahead of the game, employers need to have an effective recruitment process in place. Without this, they risk wasting time and resources falling into familiar traps such as running confusing or unclear job adverts that appeal to the wrong audience or grappling with a large number of completely unsuitable applications.

So what’s the right way to recruit remote workers? “Over the last 14 years, I’ve helped multiple organisations create successful recruitment campaigns,” Leanne says. “And they all start with one key step: establishing the role itself.” 

1. While it’s tempting to jump straight into writing an advertisement, it’s important to pause, and make sure the role is right first. Leanne recommends asking yourself and your team three important questions:
2. How does this role fit into the organisation? Who do they report to? What team(s) will they be working with? What are the tasks & responsibilities? What is the role worth in terms of salary and benefits?
3. How does this role contribute to the success of the organisation? What would a successful person be doing to make a difference?
4. What knowledge, skills and/or experience must a candidate have? Think about that perfect candidate and list their competencies.

This more organised approach can have unexpected benefits too, Leanne says: “In some cases, by going through this process, clients of ours have discovered that the perfect candidate already works in the organisation, saving them thousands on recruitment costs.”

Even if you have to recruit outside your workplace, spending a bit of time considering these questions will help you create a better job description (and therefore an effective advert) as well as a set of competencies you can assess during the process. You’ll also find that you can communicate the position better to the individual, which is critical to attracting top talent.

“It’s also important to remember that remote workers often evaluate jobs using different criteria – when it comes to benefits, for example, a big one for remote workers is a comprehensive international health plan.” Leanne reminds us. “Allianz Partners offers great policies specifically for digital nomads and global expats, which can be easily tailored to specific needs with optional extras that give both the employer and remote employees complete peace of mind.”

As a global insurer of small, medium and large enterprises, we understand that the world of work is changing at a rapid pace. We’re here to support our community with resources, advice and expert insight from professionals like Leanne. In next week’s edition of this three-part series, we’ll learn how to build an effective recruitment assessment process – from the ground up.