Today I wanted to answer a question sent to our eSupport about which recruitment process outsourcing system is best when looking for virtual team members. I have preferred outsourcing processes I use, but picking the right one really depends on your situation, which means you’ll need to weigh up the pros and cons of each system.
Let me take you through the four ways I find virtual staff, in order of preference: recruiting staff you’ve used in the past, running job ads, paying a finder’s fee, or using a company who does the whole thing for you.
For me personally, the first step I take is scanning any temporary team members I’m currently using or those I’ve worked with in the past for once-off jobs. For example, I’ve posted jobs on V-Worker or Elance (or similar sites) to hire someone to do a little bit of work for me here & there. Because I’ve used them already, I’m confident in their capabilities and the quality of their work. And since they ‘know their stuff’, meaning they’re familiar with how we work and our processes, there’s less of a learning curve for them when they do come on board. This option makes is really easy for me to offer a full-time position because both of us know what we’re getting into. If I can find a person this way, meaning hire somebody who I’ve got a preexisting relationship with, then that’s ideally where I like to start.
Make sure to recruit A-Players.
Let’s say though, I can’t find a suitable person from the pool of people I’ve worked with in the past. Then the next step for me is to run a job advertisement. Depending on where I’m looking to hire from, I’ll use a website like Jobstreet or similar. Once I know which job site I’m going to use, I’ll place the position information and go through the entire recruitment process, from wording the advertisement to applicant screening. Because I’m after A-Players for my team, I find this is the second best way for me to employ someone. So, I’ll handle the whole arrangement from start to finish.
But there are occasions when I don’t have the time to look over all the resumes that come flooding in from a job ad, so that’s when this third option becomes really valuable. When time is scarce, I use a service like Virtual Staff Finder, who will do the recruiting for me. They place the job ad and scan the resumes on my behalf, then only supply applicant details which meet my criteria. I then choose who and how to interview, and then ultimately hire from there. For a once-off fee, this service can save hours of my time, so it can make the employment process much easier. After I pay their “finder’s fee”, the team member comes over to my business and works directly under me.
When you’re tied up, a full service recruiter can help.
Being a busy entrepreneur, sometimes I don’t even have the time to do what’s required as I outlined above. And it’s during those really hectic times in my schedule where I”ll go through a complete recruitment process outsourcing company. A good example of a full service company would be Remote Staff. They make the entire thing really easy because they look at what I need, recruit the staff for the job, as well as manage them. They end up taking a slice out of each hour the person works, so there’s nothing for me to do expect pay wages for completed work. Of course, there’s less flexibility in this option because I don’t get to pick who I want to use. But the trade-off is not having to do anything.
So those are the four ways I like to recruit virtual staff, and in order of preference. But When you think about it, these options can and will alter depending on what my needs are at the time, how much it costs it, and how quickly I need to hire. The rule of thumb generally is: the easier I need the service to be, the more expensive it is.
Typically speaking, I always go for option 1 and 2 because I like to select my A-Players; but, I can confidently recommend options 3 and 4 for those out there who don’t have the time and resources to go through a longer recruitment process.
Hopefully that information helps those seeking good ways to outsource. If you’re looking for more tips likes these, check out the Outsource Profit Machine, and depending on when you’re reading this, there might even be a recording available from our Outsourcing Profit Machine 2 workshop, which you can learn more about by clicking here.