What are some of the most common remote work challenges?  

• Different time zones: When teams are distributed all over the country, sometimes the world, one of the biggest challenges is to make sure that team members are communicating often enough and in-depth enough to work together effectively.  
• Creating a team culture: It can be hard for distributed employees to feel like they’re part of the “team.” Every team is different in how it should be accomplished, but every team needs some team building structure to reinforce that everyone is on the same page working towards the same goals.  
• Inconsistent or confusing communication: Even the best remote work tools aren’t the same thing as being in the office with the same group of people week after week. Some people do better communicating via chat and are uncomfortable over video calls; some people only need weekly check-ins to feel connected, while other employees will benefit from shorter daily conversations. Finding out what’s best for your employees is key.  

What are the best ways to overcome remote work issues?  

• Use the right remote team software: As a manager, you might not have control of the software implementation that your company chooses. But you can be a champion for your remote programming team by learning what the best tools are and making a business case for them. The right tools help you connect consistently via web and video calls, help you track and manage projects, and have robust feedback and collaboration features.  

• Be clear about expectations: One of the main reasons that consistent and regular communication is so important is because it helps your employees know what to expect. The most productive employees – remote and otherwise – know what they need to focus on to be successful on their projects and know what metrics their managers are looking at to define their success.  

If you’re looking for help hiring for your team – remote or otherwise – we can help. Our recruitment experts ensure that they match the right candidates to your positions so that you can feel confident that you’re hiring the right people who meet your requirements and can support your business. Give us a call today to help you find the best talent faster.  

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At Open Systems (OSI), our company differentiator is our recruiting methodology and efficient process. With over 20 years experience in recruiting, our senior recruiting advisors are integrated members of the industries they place in.

We help our clients get top talent faster through our proven process, here’s why clients and candidates win when partnering with us.

OSI Certified 5-Step Recruitment Process

With OSI as your technical recruiting agency, we have a proven method of finding top talent faster, we will only present to your organization 100 percent vetted candidates.
Our candidate validation includes:

1. Skill evaluation
2. Reference checks
3. Right to represent
4. Negotiated salary rate
5. Social profile verification

A Human Approach With a Technical Twist

We continually recruit top talent in the fields of information technology, engineering, and technical/technician. Our electrical, IT and technical recruiters are integrated and involved in these fields and the industries that demand top talent.

OSI also uses multiple solutions based on technology, job boards, and artificial intelligence to reach a wide range of candidates in various career levels and industries. Here are a few of the technologies we employ:

1. Resume Parsing
2. Cognitive Computing
3. Artificial  Intelligence (AI)
4. Social Recruiting
5. Handshake (aka Human Intelligence)

Partners for Growth

With OSI as your company’s technical recruiting agency, you will be able to quickly scale your business operations to meet hiring demands, whether it be for staff augmentation, contingent workers or hard to find, permanent placement for top talent.

When OSI manages your recruitment, you can focus on the business needs that help your company grow. We focus on specific areas and industries to ensure each of our clients receives expert advice.

Are you ready to learn how OSI can help your company hire better talent faster? Then reach out to one of our experienced recruiters.

The post How Open Systems Will Help Hire Better Talent Faster appeared first on Open Systems Inc..

Yes! Reference Checks Are Important.

As the one, last final step before presenting a job offer to a candidate, checking references shouldn’t be overlooked.

References checks offer additional insights about the candidate, other than what is discussed at the interview. This is an opportunity to corroborate prior responses, verify roles,  learn how they worked with others, and understand their career goals.

4 Things You can Learn from a Reference Check:

Corroborate  Prior Responses – It’s an unfortunate truth that people exaggerate and mislead during the interview process. During a reference check, now is the time to verify the candidate’s prior responses, such as a role as project leader, accomplishments, and questions on supervision.

Verify Roles  – This seems like common sense, but at Open Systems we have found that verifying job titles, responsibilities, and dates of employment is best done with a triple-check methodology.

✓ Check the resume, confirm with the candidate
✓ Check social media profiles
✓ Check with references

How they Worked with Others – Perspective matters when considering how the candidates works with others. The candidate will tell you how they got along with others. It is in your company’s best interest to ask the candidates manager and direct reports how they interacted with the candidate.

What are their career goals – Candidates have the answer to this question practiced to perfection. But when you ask a former colleague or supervisor this question about a candidate it’s not expected and you can find out if the candidate may be a short hire, instead of a long-term investment.

The Best Way to Conduct Reference Checks

If your company is waiting until just before the final offer to conduct a reference check, you are too late. If the candidate’s social profile or references have variations from the interview process you could be back at square one. Reference checks, social profile verification, skill verification and salary alignment need to occur prior to in-person interviews to ensure you have a quality candidate.

Moving Forward

Working with Open Systems for your professional recruitment needs will streamline your recruiting process, and save you time and money by ensuring only candidates with the skills and approved salary range are being considered. Let’s talk about how Open Systems can streamline your hiring process today.

The post 4 Important Things You Can Learn From Reference Checks, and the Best Way to Conduct Them. appeared first on Open Systems Inc..