In his second article for Production°360, Ben Swanton – founder and CEO of 808 Talent – explores the challenges of remote hiring in global broadcast media and sports technology.
For the past four years, the media, broadcast and sports technology industries have seen ongoing debates over the effectiveness of remote, hybrid and in-office work models. These discussions mirror the parallel arguments surrounding technology infrastructure as companies weigh the benefits of cloud, on-prem and hybrid solutions in adopting new technologies.
While many larger companies are championing a return back to the office, for the majority of smaller organisations remote recruitment remains crucial for growth. More than just a logistical choice, remote hiring is often a necessity that opens up access to global talent and gives businesses the flexibility to compete in a dynamic industry.
Recruiting remote employees has tremendous potential to reshape your organisation by offering a diverse talent pool, flexibility, and expanded capabilities that traditional hiring may not. However, it also presents specific challenges that I will look to address below – highlighting the most common pitfalls and outlining practical steps to help you achieve a successful outcome.
- 1. Align business objectives and expectations
Before starting the hiring process, it’s crucial to align your remote recruitment strategy with your company’s broader goals. Clarify the purpose of the role and define your objectives, ensuring all stakeholders involved understand these elements. This alignment will help maintain consistent messaging throughout the hiring process, creating a clear and compelling narrative for potential candidates and increasing the chance for success.
- Pitfall: Diving into remote hiring without setting clear expectations can result in disorganisation, miscommunication and missed goals. This can also lead to long, drawn-out recruitment processes and poor candidate experiences which can tarnish your employer branding.
- Solution: Start by defining clearly why you’re hiring remotely and what specific goals these roles will help you achieve. Is the aim to access a broader talent pool, improve diversity, or bring in expertise from different regions (or a combination of these)? Share these objectives with all stakeholders, define the resources needed, and establish the metrics for success. Once you’re clear on this, recruiting becomes more purposeful and effective.
- 2. Prioritising talent over budget
The vast majority of remote hiring can be for revenue-critical and/or strategically important roles. In these instances, prioritising the quality of talent is essential, which can be incongruent with the initial set budgets for recruitment. Therefore, being flexible with the budget to ensure that the ultimate business objectives are achieved can be key to a successful hire.
- Pitfall: Focusing on recruiting within a budget at all costs, and not having flexibility, can lead to short-term savings, but ultimately result in lower performance and costly turnover. The wrong hire can set your organisation back significantly. So it’s wise to match your expectations of the budget with the talent that is available within that budget.
- Solution: Be prepared to adjust your budget where it makes strategic sense. For example, if you’re hiring sales roles in regions like the US, understand that top talent will command competitive salaries. Look at these roles as an investment; having the right people in the right positions will drive long-term growth and stability.
- 3. Avoiding confirmation bias
Perhaps the most common pitfall in all recruitment is confirmation bias, but even more so when it comes to hiring talent that is remotely-based. Confirmation bias is our natural tendency to focus on and look for evidence that confirms our existing beliefs, rather than information that refutes it. Human nature dictates that we tend to hire people from familiar companies, competitors or partner networks, assuming they will integrate easily due to similar industry experience. However, this approach can lead to a lack of diversity and stagnation in perspective.
- Pitfall: Defaulting to familiar backgrounds, rather than thoroughly assessing each candidate, can limit innovation and diversity within your team.
- Solution: Implement an unbiased, data-driven hiring process. Avoid leading questions and instead use competency-based evaluations that measure skills, experience and cultural fit objectively. Partnering with specialised recruitment agencies or headhunters can broaden your reach and introduce candidates who may bring new, valuable perspectives to your organisation.
- 4. Consider implementing psychometric testing
Understanding candidates’ personalities and motivations is important in remote work, where traits like self-motivation and adaptability are essential. Psychometric assessments provide insights that go beyond résumés and skills, helping you understand how candidates will fit into the team dynamics and remote environment.
- Pitfall: Skipping psychometric testing may mean missing out on important traits that could influence long-term success in a remote role.
- Solution: Incorporate psychometric or culture-fit assessments in the recruitment process. These tests help ensure you hire the right person while also giving you a sense of how best to support them once they’re on board. This data can be particularly useful in tailoring management approaches and ensuring productive work relationships.
- 5. Creating a comprehensive onboarding process
Effective onboarding is even more critical for remote employees, who can easily feel isolated or unclear about their roles without in-person guidance. A structured onboarding process helps new hires feel welcomed, supported, and prepared to succeed.
- Pitfall: Lack of structure in onboarding can leave remote employees feeling disconnected and uncertain about expectations.
- Solution: Design an onboarding plan that includes online training and, if possible, a visit to your HQ to meet the team. Outline their responsibilities and provide essential tools, along with regular check-ins to make sure they’re supported in their early days. A good onboarding process helps bridge the physical gap and strengthens connections. Share this plan before they join the business and also ensure all IT (and mobile) systems are set up for them on Day 1.
- 6. Establishing a communication cadence
Regular and intentional communication is essential to remote work success, especially when working across different time zones. Without structured communication, remote employees may feel out of the loop, which can lead to disengagement.
- Pitfall: Infrequent or inconsistent communication can leave remote employees feeling isolated and disconnected from the company’s goals.
- Solution: Set a consistent communication cadence that includes regular team meetings, personal check-ins and collaboration sessions. Weekly business reviews and monthly team meetings can ensure everyone is aligned on key goals. Encouraging team members to share their challenges and ideas fosters inclusivity and keeps remote employees engaged.
For remote hires to succeed, it’s crucial to outline what’s expected of them from day one. This helps employees focus on measurable goals and avoid frustration or confusion about their role. Clearly define the goals for remote employees, covering their first six months, 12 months, and beyond. Regular performance reviews provide opportunities to adjust targets and keep the conversation open, allowing employees to share insights or challenges and ensuring everyone remains aligned.
By thoughtfully navigating the complexities of remote hiring, companies in the broadcast media and sports technology industries can leverage global talent and drive substantial growth. Prioritising clear goals, investing in onboarding, and maintaining an open, structured communication rhythm aren’t just best practices – they are essential to creating an environment where remote employees can thrive and contribute meaningfully.
As the industry continues to evolve, those who proactively implement these strategies will be best-positioned to build a resilient, engaged, and high-performing remote team, ready to meet the unique challenges and opportunities of a highly dynamic and competitive market.
Single page full-screen view link for mobile devices
https://bit.ly/Production360-V1-2
Double-page full-screen view link
https://bit.ly/Production-360-V1-2