build and manage a great remote recruiting team

September 2013

Leading virtual recruiting teams to success


Introductions

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Meredith DubrowRecruiting Leader, US PwC

Advisory Products and Services Industries

Miranda KalinowskiRecruiting leader, US PwC


Who are the key stakeholders in a virtual work scenario?

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RecruitersRecruiting

Managers/Leaders

Hiring Managers/Clients

Candidates


Benefits for the company, candidate and the individual

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Get the best recruiters, irrespective of location

Afford greater flexibility

• Adaptable schedules mean improved work-life balance

• Recruiters flex their schedules to fit with candidates‟ availability leading to higher candidate satisfaction

Higher recruiter engagement

• Leads to more passionate advocacy for the company which recruiters pass on to candidates

• Higher rates of engagement drive higher retention for those afforded flexibility reducing cost of turnover

Increased productivity

• Eliminates commute time

• Less distractions leading to sharper, more sustained focus


Listen to our recruiters

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“I can get more done without the distraction of „drive by‟ traffic!”

“I enjoy the flexibility and the choice…I appreciate working virtually so that I can better achieve balance.”


Challenges with working virtually – from the recruiter‟s perspective

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Separation between work and home

• Setting boundaries for shutting down

• Discipline to focus on work

Social connectivity

• Lack of networking with other recruiters and clients or new hires

• Not as easy to collaborate on group projects

• Securing interviewers is difficult when I cannot “walk the floor”

• Not being available for “drive bys‟ in the office means I miss out on relationship building opportunities

How do I stand out from the crowd professionally - when I am out of sight –am I out of mind?

How do I compensate for my gap in learning opportunities given that I am virtual?

Can I really gain the complete trust of my clients if we have never met?

“You never leave work if you work from home!”


Challenges with working virtually – from the Recruiting Leader‟s perspective

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Not every recruiter is „built for‟ working virtually

Everyday coaching is tougher in a virtual environment

Keeping up the team energy and drive, virtually, is more difficult

Choosing the right communication mechanism is critical

Establishing and maintaining camaraderie virtually takes more creativity

How can recruiters live the firm culture remotely (as they are responsible for „selling‟ this culture to candidates?)

How do you establish the same level of trust and confidence in a “virtual worker” as you do with someone you see on a regular basis?


Challenges with working virtually – from the Hiring Manager/Client‟s perspective

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Concerns about the recruiter understanding the type of individual the hiring manager is looking to hire if remote from the team

Ability to include recruiter in impromptu meetings to discuss hiring needs

Trusting the recruiter sees the need as high of a priority as the hiring manager

Confidence recruiter is embedded in firm‟s culture well enough to sell to candidates

Tendency to speak with the recruiter you see in the office versus the one to which you are assigned


Key Learnings around leading a successful virtual team of recruiters.

Recognize that not everyone is made

for recruiting virtually

Put yourself in their shoes

Establish and gain agreement around

virtual working guidelines

Cultivate a high energy, virtual

learning environment

Demonstrate mutual respect -

always

Live out the Firm Culture - wherever

you are

Provide the infrastructure

needed to ensure effective

connectivity

Seek continuous feedback

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Not every recruiter is „built for‟ working virtually

Characteristics of successful virtual recruiters:

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Adeptness with virtual technology

Well-developed self-management behaviors

Effective communication skills

Respectful

Cultural dexterity

Past performance as a predictor for virtual success


Provide the infrastructure to enable effective connectivity - Tools

Phone

Text

Email

Message boards

Instant messaging

Conferencing – tele; video and virtual online meetings

Webcast

Info transfer and storage

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Establish and gain agreement around virtual working guidelines.

Setting guidelines help performance of a virtual team of recruiters by:

• Building trust among team members• Preventing behavior-related issues• Fostering teamwork and collaboration• Enabling the demonstration of mutual respect• Recognizing and rewarding successes• Taking advantage of opportunities to learn from

missteps

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Establish and gain agreement around virtual working guidelines.

Fact that you are working remotely needs to be invisible to your client

Establish and agree upon metrics that yield successful outcomes

Effective communication

Setting standards for communications via email

Specifying methods for document distribution and control

Setting up systems for one-to-one communication

Real time feedback

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Think „outside the box‟ to create virtual camaraderie!

•Establishing camaraderie – virtual lunches, learning about team members

• Team profile book

• Send lunches to home office when team is meeting f2face and virtual member cannot join

• Celebrate milestones with deliveries, singing birthday gram

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Create a high energy, virtual learning environment.

Learning by osmosis in office does not exist in a virtual environment and we need to compensate by creating and offering extra or different training and development opportunities:

• Webcast/videoconference training for remote team members

• Recruiters should consider dialing a team member into a discussion they are having with colleagues

• Reach out to the virtual team member to ask his/her opinion on a topic

• Actively engage the virtual team member in conversations being held in the office using the form of communication that works best for him/her

• Nominate the team member to participate in special projects/initiatives

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In Summary….

• Recognize that not everyone is made for recruiting virtually

• Put yourself in the shoes of the virtual recruiter

• Establish and gain agreement around virtual working guidelines

• Cultivate a high energy, virtual learning environment

• Demonstrate mutual respect - always

• Live out the Firm Culture - wherever you are

• Provide the infrastructure needed to ensure effective connectivity

• Seek continuous feedback

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pwc.com/campus

Questions?

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build and manage a great remote recruiting team

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