Agustina Guerreiro, Human Resources Director, Making Sense, explains the factors the IT sector must be aware of when hiring remote staff.
When society was forced to adapt to remote work, the IT industry had already gone down this path. Distributed work was popular and, in this context, this methodology became the most used but it does not mean that there were no challenges.
On the contrary, the staff turnover and the constant need for new talent have raised the issue of how to transmit the organizational culture to those who have never worked physically at the organization or those that will never do.
All the rules used to say that good onboarding starts with getting to know the team, developing bonds and trust.
In the previous model, culture was something that was spread from the moment you arrived in the building, through the receptionist who greeted you when you entered, the colleagues with whom you shared the elevator or the croissants, the ergonomic furniture (or not) and even whether the bosses had offices or lunch together. All of this was also a familiar environment for HR.
But how can we convey the same without face-to-face contact? In distributed work, the key to building the employer’s brand is people. The correct equipment is essential so that what previously occurred naturally continues to be transmitted remotely to those who have never been in the office corridors and elevators.
It is quite a challenge even though it is possible to shape the brand. In the beginning, it requires efforts directed from the company to ‘motivate’ those bonds that before occurred. Also, it is necessary to emphasize culture and values in more concrete ways than before.
It is worth encouraging parties, virtual celebrations of the company’s milestones and achievements, ways to give 360° recognition, training of all kinds or team building activities using applications that randomly cross people who are not from the same team for them to meet.
Company culture is transmitted on a daily basis and leaders are fundamental to this. Unlike those who were bosses during the era of 100% face-to-face work, those who lead distributed teams cannot neglect this aspect and expect that the bonds and culture will be learned by employees on their own.
The leaders are the ones who operate based on trust rather than control, who listen carefully to what is said (and what is not said as well), creating spaces for informal exchanges or, better yet, who encourage the team itself to do so.
A good leader for this new paradigm will also be protective to ensure that this daily dynamic also occurs with new members who are virtually present.
Errors and successes of remote incorporation
It is necessary to avoid the situation where the team bears the burden of incorporating ‘new standards’ and for these procedures not only is a leader needed but everything needs to be well documented with information easy to find.
This will allow new people to self-manage to a certain extent. The worst thing that can happen is someone getting stuck on a task until someone can pay attention to it. The circulation of information must be transparent.
It is also important to assign a colleague who can follow you in the onboarding process. Anticipating this need is always convenient to hire talent with a mentoring vocation. Failing these two steps will only result in the leader being overloaded.
Another big mistake would be to put a person into a project on day one. Onboarding should be staggered and accompanied by people, introducing colleagues from other areas or projects with whom they will not necessarily share the normal routine.
The future is distributed
If we have already converted traditional offices into voluntary meeting spaces – I don’t think that being compulsory is something that is going to return at least in the IT industry – the final change must be about our culture.
Turnover is something we are going to continue to deal with in the IT industry. We have to find ways to make joining a company and also leaving 100% remotely not so ‘painful’, assuming this new paradigm is the key to the future of the sector.
It has been proven that those who have the most difficulty in adopting this model are the most senior and hierarchical ranks. In the long term this resistance can be deadly for the organization because the future is distributed.
Talents who have not started in the labor market or have done so without going to the office, do not feel uncomfortable or nostalgic about building relationships through technology. They have been doing it since they were kids, even with their closest friends. Their way of life is remote.
People gained three to four hours per day for their personal lives with the end of face-to-face work and today our statistics show that ideally, they would not return to the office more than once a month. Why would those who have never experienced this model want to come to the company in person? To accept these challenges today is to pave the way to continue adding value to our future talent.
About Making Sense
Cesar D’Onofrio, CEO, Making Sense, said: “Making Sense is an organization with a strong focus on people. We always seek to accompany and develop our employees so that together with them we can build the future of the business.
“Guerreiro’s arrival excites us because we know that from her role we will be able to further enhance talent management, impacting our evolution as a team and consequently fulfilling the objective of supporting clients on their path to Digital Transformation in our market.”
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