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Writer's pictureSAMUEL CHIBUNNA
Aug 6, 20204 min read

Interview Questions to Ask Remote Employees

Remote working has been picking up in many companies thanks to the improvements in technology for the past couple of years. Employers see how productive their employees become if they are in a conducive environment. They also get access to a larger talent pool which can supplement tasks which are not available in the regular job pool.

However, remote working is not for everyone as some people find themselves burned out from the job. Others don’t fit in with the rest of your workers and may even feel that they are unwanted or isolated.

If you are considering hiring remote employees for your business, here are the interview questions that you should ask to see which one of them will be perfect for the position:

(PS. these interview questions are to watch out for if you happen to be the interviewee!)

Have you done remote work before?

This question is important because there is no guarantee that someone who has not done remote work will be able to do the work perfectly. He or she may be an excellent worker in the workplace but that does not mean that the same performance can be duplicate with remote working.

In fact, many find themselves easily doubled their time working from home than working in the office, due to distractions and lack of discipline.

What is your opinion or thoughts about doing remote work and why did you apply to be a full-time remote employee?

In this question, you will find out more about their job goals and how much they have thought about working remotely and if it will fit their working style.

Especially if they have not done it before, ask them about their intentions and why would remote work help them with their goals. You should also ask them why they should be considered for this type of job.

How will you coordinate with your colleagues while doing remote work? How did you do it in your past position?

This question will help you see if this worker supports collaboration and if they have the right skills to do this perfectly while working remotely.

Have them cite examples where they are required to collaborate with others in order to successfully complete a project. Or you can throw them a situation and see how well they are able to communicate the idea back to you.

Which online collaboration programs or tools are you familiar with?

Whether they have worked remotely or not, they should be able to use new technologies to do their work. They must be able to adapt to any platform you will use for your business and contact their fellow employees through it.

The more apps they know, the lesser training you need to do. If they have worked remotely before, the very least they should know how to use Skype, Google Drive, Google Hangout, Whatsapp and Telegram.

Do you have the perfect space in your home to do work?

In remote work, workers must have the right workplace setup at home to help them work productively at home.

Do they have a separate room/ area to work in? Are they able to jump on a call anytime during working hours?

Not only having space to do your work is important, check on the version of their laptops and the speed of their internet. I have encountered employees who wouldn’t able to submit their work on time or attend important video meetings because of computer breakdown or lagging internet connectivity. If this happens once or twice, it isn’t so bad but it can be extremely frustrating to yourself and the rest of the team members who have to work with him if such incidents becomes regular.

Are there any challenges which may cause problems for you to complete your work? How do you plan to tackle it?

Since remote work also has its setbacks, your applicant must be able to list down any problems they think may affect their work and how they can solve them.

This question is to help to identify who in your candidate selection pool is able to foresee problems before it happen as well as have the right mindset to take initiative and creativity to tackle the problem on his own while having the common sense (which is not at all common, by the way) to keep well within the company’s guidelines.

Are there any things that you will need from me (your team leader/boss) to be able to work remotely without problems?

If you think the candidate you are interviewing is good to go, this question will help you sort out any other issues that may arise that will prevent them from working efficiently.

This question will also help you to identify leadership and ownership qualities in your candidate. For remote workers, you want someone who can be responsible for their own actions, dependable to produce results without micromanaging and without coming to you or his supervisor to solve every single problem he encounter.

While handholding for the first week is natural, a competent employee who be able to find out answers himself and being a remote worker, it is much harder because you just can’t turn to your colleague sitting next to you for help.

Conclusion

Remote working is here to stay, especially now that every industry is turning their attention online. However, it is crucial that you are able to hire the right people for the job because they may help you breakthrough the competitive market now going online. With these questions, you can be reassured that they can help you reach your business goals.

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