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Hiring into any position can be a tricky combination of finding the right person at the right salary who also has the knowledge, skills, and experience to meet the position’s demands. Complicating matters, personality also plays a large role in whether or not a candidate will be a good fit for your company’s culture.  

Today, many businesses are looking to cut costs by hiring remote workers. Unfortunately, not everyone is cut out to work remotely, and t’s more important than ever to find candidates who have the right combination of skills and can handle the pressures and expectations of working remotely.  

What Are Soft Skills? 

When we talk about a worker’s skills, we generally divide them into two categories: Hard skills and soft skills. 

Hard skills are generally easy to quantify. They are the concrete things an employee knows how to do. Using a specific software package, such as Microsoft Office, is a hard skill. Knowing HTML, CSS, JavaScript, etc. are all hard skills that a company might require when hiring a website developer.  

Soft skills, on the other hand, are not technical skills and are often harder to quantify. These can include things like time management, people and communications skills, creativity, etc.  

That said, here are a few top soft skills that every remote worker should have.  

Independence 

The top skill any remote worker needs to have is the ability to work independently. They need to be able to take an assignment, ask any pertinent questions, and then get the work done. They need to be able to do this without having a manager constantly check on them to make sure they are progressing.  

Collaboration 

Remote work often takes a certain level of collaboration with peers and supervisors. This might seem like the opposite of being independent, but no one person has all the answers. While remote workers need to be able to get their work done without a lot of supervision, they must also be able to work constructively with peers to solve problems. 

Service Oriented 

This skill refers to how well candidates can identify or anticipate people’s needs, and then work towards meeting them. Another term that might be used here is a “can-do attitude,” meaning that remote workers should always be looking for ways to get work done rather than reasons not to do something.  

Proactive Problem Solving 

Of course, this skill applies to both remote and in-person workers, but it’s likely even more crucial for those who work remotely. When an employee encounters an obstacle to completing a task, it’s important for them to try to resolve the issue first before escalating it to a supervisor. Being able to spot challenges on the horizon—and working to mitigate them before they become a real issue—is a key trait needed for remote work.  

Looking for remote workers? Thankz has you covered! Thankz can help you find teams of remote workers, and we can even manage them for you. Contact us to learn more about how Thankz can help you grow your team while also cutting costs.