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Virtual Hiring that Works · The Science of Leading

• 0:00
  Hey everyone-welcome back to The Science of Leading.
• 0:02
  I'm Claire Monroe, and as always...
• 0:04
  I'm joined by the one and only Edwin Carrington.
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  Edwin, how's it going?
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  Doing well,
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  Claire-glad to be here.
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  This is one of those topics I've been itching to get into.
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  Virtual hiring?
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  It's not just some temporary phase anymore.
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  It's the new default-and honestly,
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  a lot of companies are still missing the mark.
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  Yeah,
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  totally.
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  And like-it blows my mind how many places just...
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  take their old in-person process and slap it on Zoom.
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  I remember this one remote job I interviewed for,
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  a few years back, and...
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  it was just this really flat video call.
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  No intro, no vibe, nothing to make it feel real.
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  I actually sat there wondering if they even remembered my name by the
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  end.
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  You're not alone.
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  That kind of experience happens all the time.
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  And it's not just about awkward Zoom calls.
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  When companies treat remote hiring like a copy-paste of what worked in
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  person...
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  they miss the stuff that actually matters.
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  Digital presence, self-management,
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  how someone communicates online-it all changes in a virtual setup.
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  If you're still focused on firm handshakes or reading body language?
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  Yeah, you're gonna miss out on a lot of great people.
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  Right-and it's not
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  just about who you hire, it's also the experience you create.
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  If it feels...
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  robotic or forgettable, people check out.
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  Or worse-they take the job, realize it's nothing like what they expected,
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  and bounce a few months later.
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  I think we talked about that in our retention episode?
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  Like, how that very first impression can kinda set the whole tone?
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  Exactly.
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  And we've seen the numbers to back that up.
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  Companies that don't evolve their hiring for remote?
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  Higher turnover, lower engagement,
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  more friction.
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  The fix isn't to make remote hiring feel like the old way-it's to design
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  it around what actually works now.
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  That takes new thinking, better tools...
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  and a shift in how you define what a great hire even looks like.
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  So if
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  you're listening right now thinking,
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  "Why isn't this working for us?"-you're not alone.
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  But the upside is...
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  there are real ways to fix it.
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  And that's what we're gonna get into next.
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  Alright Edwin,
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  so...
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  what does a great virtual hiring experience actually look like?
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  I keep hearing this phrase-"candidate-centric"-but like,
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  what does that mean when you're starting from scratch?
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  It starts way before
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  the interview.
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  The journey begins the moment someone stumbles across your company-maybe
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  through a job ad, maybe just Googling your brand.
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  The top companies?
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  They're using things like personalized intro videos,
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  short digital culture decks, even little "day-in-the-life" videos to
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  give people a feel for what it's really like to work there.
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  It's not about listing values-it's about showing them.
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  Oh yeah!
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  I've seen a few do that-like, little clips from the team or even a quick
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  peek inside their Slack channels.
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  It's a small thing, but it's like-"Hey,
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  we're not robots.
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  Come meet the humans."Exactly.
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  Then once you're into the interview stage,
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  you've got to move past the basic Q&A.
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  Bring in some interaction-whiteboarding,
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  team challenges, live problem-solving.
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  These aren't gimmicks.
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  They actually show you how someone thinks,
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  how they collaborate remotely.
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  One of my favorites?
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  Ask candidates to walk you through their ideal remote workday,
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  or co-solve something with your team in real time.
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  That's where you see things like adaptability and self-direction shine
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  through.
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  I love that.
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  And I mean-it also just feels fairer,
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  right?
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  Like, if you're only screening resumes or trusting your gut,
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  you're probably missing some rockstars who just...
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  don't shine on paper.
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  What about assessments, though?
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  I know OAD's got those behavioral tools-how do they fit into all this?
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  Behavioral
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  assessments are huge.
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  They measure things like preferred work style,
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  communication habits, even how someone deals with ambiguity or feedback.
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  And when you pair that data with real tasks?
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  You don't just get a profile-you get a full picture.
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  It's not about replacing your instinct-it's about backing it up with
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  real insight.
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  Okay, so if I'm a hiring manager listening to this,
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  I'm thinking: "Cool-I need to show off my culture,
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  make interviews interactive, and add data-driven tools." But how do I
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  make sure the human part doesn't get lost?
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  Like...
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  how do I make sure people actually feel seen?
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  That's where communication
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  comes in.
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  Quick updates, setting clear expectations,
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  even just a short note after the interview-it all matters.
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  People want to feel like they're not in a black hole.
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  Respect and clarity go a long way.
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  And when you do it well, you're already standing out from the crowd.
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  Totally.
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  And like-it's not hard!
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  It's just about being thoughtful.
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  Okay, so we've covered the "before" and "during" parts of hiring.
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  But after the offer...
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  I feel like that's where things really fall apart.
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  You nailed it,
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  Claire.
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  Onboarding is where the rubber meets the road.
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  Too often, it's an afterthought-especially when it's virtual.
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  But those first few days?
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  That's where new hires figure out whether they belong,
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  whether they're supported, and whether this new job actually works for
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  them.
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  So what makes great onboarding,
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  like, actually great?
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  I've heard about stuff like virtual welcome tours or those "First Week
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  Success Plans." But...
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  what does that even look like in real life?
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  Let me give you a quick example.
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  I worked with this startup last year-they were hiring across three time
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  zones, all remote.
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  Instead of just an email, they did a virtual open house before the official
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  start date.
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  The new folks got to meet the team,
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  ask questions, tour the tools they'd be using.
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  It wasn't about checklists-it was about connection.
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  Then on day one, they had this "First Week Success Plan"-simple goals,
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  intro meetings, and a buddy system.
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  What happened?
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  People ramped up faster and actually felt like part of the team.
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  That's
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  so cool.
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  And I guess tech plays a role here too,
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  right?
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  Like, using a solid ATS or chat tools or even a bot to answer those "Hey,
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  where do I find X?" questions.
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  It's not about replacing people-it's about reducing friction.
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  Exactly.
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  The tech should support the human side-not replace it.
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  Whether it's automated messages,
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  a shared checklist, or just a welcome video-when it's done well,
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  people feel informed, confident,
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  and, most importantly, connected.
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  Add in a feedback loop during the first week?
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  That's where the magic happens.
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  Yeah,
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  feedback loops are such a good call.
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  Like, onboarding isn't just a welcome party-it's your first shot at long-term
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  retention.
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  And if you fumble it...
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  it's hard to recover.
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  We've definitely touched on that before-day one matters way more than
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  day ninety.
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  Absolutely.
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  The best teams treat hiring and onboarding as one continuous experience.
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  They test, tweak, and never stop improving.
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  That's how you build a remote culture that actually works-and lasts.
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  Okay,
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  I feel like that's a perfect place to land today.
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  So-if you're listening and thinking,
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  "We've got work to do"-you're not wrong.
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  But it's totally doable.
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  Just rethink each step.
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  Make it intentional.
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  Edwin, thanks for dropping all this wisdom-seriously.
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  Always a pleasure,
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  Claire.
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  And for everyone out there-keep questioning your old habits...
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  and keep building better teams.
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  Talk soon.
• 7:04
  Thanks so much for tuning in to The Science of Leading.
• 7:08
  If you want to see what these strategies look like in action,
• 7:11
  check out o-a-d-dot-a-i.
• 7:13
  You can check the tools our for free and get a taste of how behavioral
• 7:16
  science can actually make hiring smoother.
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  'Til next time-take care!