Every small business owner or eager entrepreneur knows that hiring outstanding employees requires plenty of diligent work, strategy, and patience. Between creating concise yet detailed job descriptions and sifting through piles or cover letters and resumes, there’s plenty to consider before heading into the hiring process. However, when you’re hiring remote employees, the process can become a bit more involved and a lot more complicated if you don’t take the right steps.

Knowing there’s a chance that you may never see this employee face to face alters the hiring process in more ways than one. There are a number of added caveats to keep in mind before diving into your remote hiring operation, and we’re here to shed light on those discrepancies.

Using this step-by-step guide, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about hiring a remote employee and how to ensure you’re setting your workforce and business up for years of success.

Step 1: Determine your needs and goals

If you’re looking to hire a remote employee that can fulfill your exact needs, you first need to have a firm grasp on what your needs and goals look like. Carefully outlining your business goals and budget is the first step to narrowing this down. Next, you need to define the skills and level of work you expect from your future remote employee. With these considerations at the forefront of your mind, you’ll be better positioned to create a job description that attracts the type of talent you need.

Step 2: Create an effective job description

Your job description is the first interaction jobseekers will have with your company, so it’s important to make a great first impression. Creating a job description that is clear, concise, and covers every base of the job’s responsibilities will ensure those who apply are well-suited for the position.

With remote work comes a larger pool of applicants, and there are few things more frustrating than dealing with applicants who have no qualifications or real interest in your job. The more detailed you’re able to make your job description, the better.

Not sure how to begin tackling your job listing? Here are a few tidbits of information we recommended:

• Overview of qualifications
• Roles & responsibilities
• Information about company culture & benefits
• Directions on how to apply

In addition to these key points, you may need to include legal disclaimers on your job listing to stay perfectly aligned with your legal responsibilities. Your HR representative is an excellent resource to utilize to ensure you’re covering all of your bases early on in the hiring process.

Step 3: Post the job on a reputable site

Searching through job boards for remote employees takes plenty of time that most small business owners simply don’t have. However, it’s those same job boards that can make a world of difference during your hiring process. Rather than opting for general sites like Craigslist and ZipRecruiter, post your job listing on more reputable classified sites like LinkedIn, Indeed, and Glassdoor.

Step 4: Pre-screen to get a feel for your remote employee

Once you finally have a decent-sized pool of potential hires, you’ll need to scale it down even more. Before you put all of your eggs into one basket with one or two outstanding resumes, consider pre-screening your most likable applicants with a quick phone call or email. This will help you gauge their interest and gain a more in-depth perspective on who the person behind the resume really is.

Step 5: Fine-tune your interview tactics

If you don’t know how to conduct a phone interview, now’s the time to educate yourself and brush up on your interrogation skills. Naturally, you don’t want to intimidate your potential remote hire, but it’s important to establish that you mean business and despite the job allowing them to work from home, you expect your needs and goals to be met.

Before stepping into an interview, set up a meeting with your internal team to develop a list of your company’s top priorities and necessary qualities that your perfect candidate must have. Next, come up with a list of stellar interview questions that tell you about the applicant’s employment history, work ethic, and more.

With these five steps, you’ll be well on your way toward hiring the perfect remote employee for your job. Did we miss anything? Let us know what tips you use to ensure you’re hiring the best employees for the job in the comments down below!