Remote hiring and onboarding: our approach

The first few weeks of the official Covid-19 lockdown have already been pretty tough for businesses. Thankfully at TransferGo, we can continue to move forward with further expansion and growth despite the ongoing Covid-19 crisis. With this comes remote hiring and onboarding.

Since we’re unable to get together physically, we’re taking the following approach to acquiring new hires and getting them quickly up to speed.

Getting hired remotely

Our hiring process is based on constant communication. That’s why almost all the recruitment process steps are held on-site—whether it be a face-to-face interview or a trial day in the office. We believe that human connection helps our candidates to better feel who we are and how we operate.

But what do we do when getting someone into the office is not an option? Well, the answer is… do it remotely! With the initial phone screen and technical interview, not much has changed—it’s done in the same way as it was before the quarantine, just using online tools such as Zoom or Google Hangouts. However, process steps such as trial days require a more complex approach.

Carrying out trial days, remotely 

Trial days are usually the last process step for all our engineering hires. Usually, we ask a candidate to come into the office for the best part of the day, meet the team, carry out the technical task and share their solutions with the team. It’s very important for us to see how the person can communicate and collaborate with their potential future colleagues. It’s also a great way to test their technical skills in our environment.

Our new approach is therefore to ask the candidate to do a technical task and have 2-4 short meetings with ‘soon-to-be’ co-workers and stakeholders. These meetings help candidates meet as many people as possible. From our side, we’ve noticed that when candidates are in their home surroundings, they’re more relaxed and open to communication. Therefore, it’s rather easy to carry on the process remotely. But the hiring process doesn’t end there!

Onboarding—a crucial time for new joiners

Even though remote onboarding is a completely new process for our team, many of us were quick to help out. Introductions, team meetings, trainings and the usual processes involved in onboarding were flawlessly organised using video conferencing tools. We can go into a lot more detail, but what’s important right now is the feedback we’ve received from our new joiners. 

So, here’s what our new hires had to say…

Helen: “I joined TransferGo on 9th March and my onboarding has been done remotely. I’ve found the process very smooth. The support from the People teams, my manager, my peers and my direct reports has been invaluable.

I was provided with an effective onboarding plan and have had many opportunities to meet with others via Zoom and Google Hangouts meetings. I feel I’m in the same position that I would have been had I been onboarded in the office!”

Jolanta: “My journey at TransferGo started from the comfort of my own couch. But to be honest I never felt alone or abandoned; I received a number of kind messages asking how I was and if I needed anything. Despite being on maternity leave, Ruta was always around to help. She’s a superstar!

Starting a job during quarantine has been a unique opportunity and challenge. But everyone is just a phone call or message away.”

Paulius: “I started at TransferGo on the first day of quarantine. Three weeks in, I can comfortably say that the team is really helpful and HR have been great. That’s exactly what a new person (in this case, me) needs to get going.

Thank you to all Transfernauts who are trying their best to make us feel welcome and warm in situations like this.”

Mihaela: “Under the current circumstances, I couldn’t have found a better company to work for. Everyone has been so welcoming and supportive. The interview and onboarding processes were smooth. And thanks to all the remote facilities that we have, I now know everyone I work with. It really feels like I’ve been a part of the team for a long time.

From setting up software to receiving quality training, the team at TransferGo has provided me with all the help I need.”

Reflecting on the process

Since we’re always online, it’s much easier to keep the communication flawless with new hires and other candidates. Working at TransferGo is always about collaboration—it’s not very hard when everyone is just a message away.

So, as you can see, we’ve managed to adapt to the situation very quickly. This is all thanks to our team, who are always prepared for anything that might happen. 

If you want to get the experience first-hand and join our always growing team, drop by our career site and check out our open positions.

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