What Makes A Great Remote Worker?

Most leaders probably didn’t head into the great work-from-home experiment of 2020, assuming we didn’t know anything about hiring people remotely. 

In fact, most leaders struggled with the opposite issues when the initial economic downturn began. But now, as organizations stand out from the beginning of the pandemic and continue adjusting to the “work from anywhere” world we’re now living in, more and more leaders are finding they have to make hiring decisions about candidates they’ve never met—to work on teams that will rarely meet in person.

In addition to the normal methods we use to screen job candidates and the tactics to judge whether those candidates are fit for the organization, those same leaders have found that hiring remote workers and setting them up for success requires candidates to be evaluated for more than just their knowledge, skills, abilities, and experience.

In this article, we’ll review the three biggest questions leaders need to answer when evaluating potential new hires. Beyond just “Can they do the job?” These questions answer the even bigger question of “Can they do the job remotely?”

Are They Collaborators?

The first question we need to answer when evaluating potential new teammates is, “Are they collaborators?” You might think that collaboration isn’t all that important in remote teams, but the truth is collaboration is actually very important. 

Talent flows from teams. Individual performance is almost always most influenced by the team a performer is on and the organization’s resources and information. Just because your people are working remotely doesn’t mean they’re working alone. 

They will still need access to those same resources and the ability to collaborate with the team to get work done. These teams’ remote, asynchronous nature means they’ll need to find a cadence to their collaboration even more quickly.

We can assess whether someone is a good collaborator in various ways. We want to invite as many people on the current team to the interview process as possible. If you’re working with the new hire, you should probably have a say in who gets hired. 

Many teams and organizations go even further and invite potential candidates to work with the team on a trial basis—like an internship but for more than just university students. 

If you can’t go that far, then you can at least ask questions about how they collaborated on past teams, such as what it was like to work with a team that collaborated well and maybe even one that collaborated poorly, as well as what the differences are. 

If you’re assessing collaboration through questions, remember that there are no “right” answers to these questions—just answers that indicate whether a potential new hire has the same collaboration style as the existing team.

Are They Communicators?

The second question we must answer when evaluating potential new teammates is, “Are they communicators?” Or rather, are they great communicators—because everyone communicates and, even on a remote team, you cannot not communicate. 

Communication is the oxygen of any relationship, especially someone’s relationship with a team. Your ability to collaborate and coordinate work will depend on your ability to communicate with everyone on the team—including any new hires. 

That doesn’t just mean communicating synchronously, like on an audio or video call—it also means written communication in long and short form.

If we’re looking to assess someone’s communication ability across a variety of mediums, then we need to conduct the selection process. Not every interview should be a video call. Some will need to be audio-only; some might even be done through text chat. 

It’s also worth noting that the need to assess communication brings new importance to an old relic of the hiring process: the cover letter. A cover letter attached to a resume or CV is literally an example of how well a candidate can express themselves clearly and concisely and make an argument—the argument for why they should be hired. 

Clear writing is clear thinking, and you want to find a new teammate with both. However, just as with collaboration, it doesn’t matter if a candidate is skilled in grammar rules, as much as it matters that her communication style matches the existing team.

Are They Self-Motivated?

The last question we must answer when evaluating potential new teammates is, “Are they self-motivated?” ItThis might seem like the most important question, and it should have been the first. But remote work isn’t just work done alone—it’s work done together. 

Still, being self-motivated is a necessary quality because of that alone part. We want to know how well potential new teammates can get themselves up and focused on work without the threat of a boss waiting by their cubicles to see if they arrived on time. 

They don’t need to stay focused and engaged from 9-5 on Monday through Friday—there’s freedom and flexibility to remote work. However, that freedom can easily be a liability unless employees are self-motivated.

Fortunately, there are several places we can examine job candidates’ levels of self-motivation beyond just asking the easily-gamed question, “Are you self-motivated?” Past work experience is a major indicator. Suppose they worked remotely before (especially before we all got forced to work remotely) and performed well (or at least performed for the same company for multiple years). In that case, that’s an indicator that they have the skills to stay motivated alone. 

But also if their work history includes time as a freelancer or solopreneur. Just because that didn’t work out and they’re looking to be employees doesn’t mean they weren’t self-motivated. It actually provides them a space to ask questions about how they got themselves working when they were alone. 

If their work history includes neither, we can still ask about their hobbies or other activities. For example, if they’re training for an Ironman triathlon alone, that’s a strong indicator that they are self-motivated, even if they’ve never worked remotely.

If you take the answers to these three questions together—and especially if you compare candidates’ answers to how your existing team would answer—you can get a pretty good picture of how well someone will fit on your remote team. 

You’ll know whether they are great remote workers and whether they are your new remote teammate.

Is Your Team Adaptable?

Adaptability is one of the most important elements for a remote team to succeed. The remote work environment is quite unpredictable, so workers must set their priorities clearly and repeatedly deal with unexpected technical issues.

Then, there are so many changes in team structures and the need to adapt quickly to new tools, and with these changes, a cooperative and adaptable team is essential for success.

The more adaptable your team is, the more proactive it will be in finding solutions to problems and keeping a positive attitude even when things don’t go as planned.

Moreover, they will be inclined to learn and improve their skills continuously. This is a very important trait for remote workers, who must be self-reliant.

How do you assess the adaptability of your team? There are some ways to do that.

You can assess the adaptability even during the interview phase. One way to do that is to ask the candidates to describe situations where they faced unexpected challenges. 

Also, look for experienced employees who have faced challenging situations and adapted to them.

You can also give them hypothetical scenarios to check their remote work handling skills. Like you can ask them to consider a situation where a team member suddenly becomes unavailable, and there is an urgent project timeline.

Look at how they respond and their approach to solving the problem.

Are They Accountable?

Accountability is the foundation of trust. Remote teams must work without supervision, so they must take ownership of their responsibilities, tasks, and mistakes.

When team members are accountable, they don’t just meet your expectations; they exceed them by communicating progress, overcoming obstacles, and finding out-of-the-box solutions.

Accountability also means self-discipline. Remote workers must independently manage themselves, their time, and their priorities and ensure that their contribution is the priority. This is very important, especially when we work across different time zones.

Are They Culturally Aligned?

When hiring a candidate, you need to find someone whose communication styles and values align with those of your team and organization. 

Remote workers who are culturally aligned are likely to work towards the company’s vision while adhering to the policies. They help you build and maintain a positive work environment where everyone feels welcomed and shows respect and understanding for different perspectives and cultures, reducing conflict.

You can ask people about their understanding of your company mission and vision and see how well they can gel with it. Ask what excites you about working for the organization or how you see yourself contributing to the culture and see if their responses align with your goals.

Wrap Up

When expanding your hiring criteria, you can consider elements like accountability, adaptability, and cultural alignment to view the situation holistically.

This way, you can check out your potential employees’ traits and technical skills and see how the candidate will work or stand out in the remote team and work towards the collaborative virtual environment. 

Remember that you need to hire someone who doesn’t just do the job but can do it remotely, collaboratively, and sustainably. With the right questions, you can find the right person for the role.