A Guide to Remote Employees

3 INTRODUCTION Hiring Remotely? Here’s How

4 PART ONE Recruiting and Interviewing

7 PART TWO Managing Remote Employees

9 PART THREE Keeping Compliant

15 CONCLUSION Justworks Can Help

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Table of Contents

BENEFITS & PERKS

HIRING & ONBOARDING

MANAGING YOUR TEAM

KEEPING COMPLIANT

RUNNING A BUSINESS 101

A Guide to Remote Employees

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Recruiting, Hiring, and Managing Your Startup’s Distributed Workforce

INTRODUCTION

Managing remote workers has never been more essential in today’s workplace. As telecommuters grow in the workforce and companies place greater importance on distributing their teams, it’s essential to understand recruitment, hiring, and effective management of workers outside your office.

It’s also essential to know the compliance and legalities of hiring such employees. Discussing the modern workplace in a 2013 interview, Miami Real Estate billionaire Wilbur Ross stated that “the internet has changed the meaning of location.” Forbes declared: “Telecommuting is the future of work.”

Workers list a wide range of reasons for working remotely. Some cite safety concerns or the additional time and resources required for daily commuting.

Many remote workers cite the surging real estate prices in the metro areas with the best potential for employment.

While the reasons may vary, telecommuting is a fact of life, business, and especially the world of startups. The core elements of remote management has never been more essential.

Ben Yoskovitz is the Vice President of product at VarageSale, an award-winning startup geared toward organizing local commerce. While scanning resumes, Yoskovitz says he looks for social media presence, foreign work experience, an interest in personal projects, and creativity.

“This is pretty obvious, but generally you want to stay away from people who have worked exclusively at large corporations,” says Yoskovitz. “They’re just not likely to have the right mindset or interest in working at a startup.”

When it comes to researching the right candidate, there’s a lot of overlap between the commuting world and the remote. LinkedIn and Google are good places to start, but a more thorough search is essential before an interview.

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Recruiting and Interviewing The Right Remote Worker

PART ONE

“Generally you want to stay away from people who have

worked exclusively at large corporations.”

BEN YOSKOVITZ

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Three Tips For Remote Recruiting

Choose Experience

A candidate with remote experience has a better understanding of what it takes to work and communicate away from a workplace, and requires less of an adjustment than a new remote worker.

Look for Creativity

Since a candidate won’t be part of your immediate office environment, their creative energy and ability to adapt in different work situations is essential. Looking for signs of creativity (different work experiences, side projects) is a good screening process to weed out those accustomed to single tasks and a traditional office setting.

Have a rigorous process

No single set of rules applies to every startup, so put in the extra time to find the right person. Never settle.

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Related article:

A remote candidate’s creative energy and ability to adapt in different work

situations is essential.

Take These 6 Steps When Defining Your Company Values

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Ask The Right Interview Questions

Interviewing is the final stage of the screening process before this person goes from job candidate to your coworker. Be sure to ask the right questions.

Discuss your previous remote working experiences

Get a feel for how well they know the remote world of work, of if they just have experience with email and teleconferencing.

Determine the pros and cons of remote work

A smart worker will be able to identify, acknowledge, and discuss both the perks and challenging aspects of a remote workplace.

Identify how the candidate would stay involved

Likewise, a good remote worker will know the natural barriers that come with telecommuting. What is their plan to stay involved?

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“In addition to gauging job-related competencies and cultural fit, it’s also

critical to dig into communications style.”

ISAAC OATES

A candidate’s talents, competency, and approach to working with others are all important things to observe while interviewing, as well as how they will remotely interact with co-workers.

“In addition to gauging job-related competencies and cultural fit, it’s also critical to dig into communications style,” said Isaac Oates, CEO of Justworks. “How do they use email? How are they on the phone? Or on Skype? Or Slack?”

A former Army Ranger and Etsy VP, Oates added that hiring a remote worker doesn’t always have to mean a remote interview. In fact, it makes the face-to-face meeting an essential part of the hiring process. “Meeting a candidate in person prior to offering them a job is still very important,” Oates added. “Even if you are hiring them for a remote position, it is hard to compare a remote interview to an in-person meeting, where you can easily read body language, tone-of-voice, and things you wouldn’t see otherwise.”

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Managing Remote EmployeesPART TWO

“Making each employee feel like they’re part of

the circle is essential to a functioning workplace.”

ISAAC OATES

Infiltration

Once the candidate has passed the screening process, infiltrating them into your workforce is the next step. This can mean more work since the new hire simply won’t be interacting with coworkers around the office.

“Making each employee feel like they’re part of the circle is essential to a functioning workplace,” said Oates. “There are great collaboration tools to make this possible. Classic tools like conference and video calls are good, but more modern technologies like whiteboarding software and distributed screen sharing.”

Management

Managing a distributed workforce is undeniably different from managing a concentrated one, mainly due to the lack of human interaction.

While this approach was previously met with skepticism, telecommuting has risen 79% since 2005, according to the New York Times, making remote communication more essential than ever.

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More and more managers and company owners believe this is essential for both the company and the brand. Yet, overseeing telecommuters often means greater effort on the part of management.

“Managing remotely requires rigorous and disciplined communication,” says Oates, who acknowledges both the importance of a widely distributed workforce and the difficulties that come with maintaining a positive work environment. “It requires a commitment from all members of the team to make it work.”

Distributed teams, Oates says, should get together in person. Isolated employees should work harder to maintain a constant relationship with coworkers. When it comes to handling reviews and feedback (both positive and negative), a remote manager’s job means more time and effort.

“Managers must let employees know that they’re aware,” said Oates. “Aware of the quality of a remote employee’s work and what they’re doing while at work, even remotely. Sometimes reviews should be even more thorough, especially if improvements need to be made.”

Remote workers face a natural division from their office co-workers. Therefore, the right platforms are essential for good remote communication, good work, and good business. Here’s a list of platforms popular in the startup community.

How to Have Better Remote Communication

Slack: A combined messaging-archive-search function that groups everything together. A favorite of Justworks founder Isaac Oates.

The Best Whiteboard Software: Like the recruitment process, it all depends. Does your office use PCs or Macs? Is everyone on the same computer? Try BaiBoard for Mac or Digital Whiteboard for PC.

Google Hangouts: A chat/talk/video/emoji platform for two or more people. There’s also a Google Hangouts app that works on any device.

Screen-Sharing Software: Once again, it’s all relative. What is your workforce sharing? Mac’s OS X has a good program. For PC’s try Remote Assistance.

The legal requirements for conducting business vary on a state-by-state basis. Employers of remote employees must always be mindful of the state and local laws where their remote employees reside and determine which employment laws apply to their remote employees.

Keeping Compliant PART THREE

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Your remote worker will be considered an employee in his or her state of residence, not the state where your company is based. Start by registering with each applicable state’s Department of Labor and become familiar with their employment requirements.

While we’d like to break down each state's employment requirements, there’s just too much to cover. However, there are several key items you’ll want to review for compliance in any state. Although this is not an exhaustive list, the topics outlined below should help to get you started.

Your remote worker will be considered an employee in his or her state of residence, not the state where your company is based.

Payroll

Different states have different income tax requirements. You'll need to stay on top of each state's filing deadlines, tax rates, and tax changes.

Consider finding a company that can help you manage processing payroll. For example, Justworks is authorized to operate as a Professional Employer Organization in all 50 states and D.C., and can help companies with respect to payroll.

Wage & Hour Requirements

The Fair Labor Standards Act, or FLSA, is a federal law that regulates minimum wage, overtime, equal pay, recordkeeping, and child labor. The FLSA generally requires employers to pay employees at least the minimum wage for all hours worked and overtime pay at a rate of 1.5 times the employee’s regular rate of pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek.

Work being performed remotely counts as time worked. Compensate remote nonexempt employees for all hours worked, including work performed at home or another remote location, under the FLSA.

Be sure to check state wage and hour laws for additional requirements, particularly around record keeping, overtime, minimum wage, exemptions, pay frequency and pay statements.

The Fair Labor Standards Act, or FLSA,

is a federal law that regulates minimum

wage, overtime, equal pay, recordkeeping,

and child labor.

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Posting Requirements Many federal, state and local labor laws require employers to display posters in the workplace outlining the employee’s rights. Of course, this is a little tough with remote employees who don’t come to your workplace each day.

When permitted, you can provide these employees notice electronically, post them on a company intranet site, or mail them hard copies that they can post at their remote worksite. Again, check all applicable laws to ensure compliance on posting requirements.

Immigration Does your new hire have valid work authorization? You’ll need to complete an I-9 form, a federally-mandated form that verifies employment eligibility.

Employers are required to use Form I-9 to verify the identity and employment authorization of each new employee hired after November 6, 1986 to work in the US for wages or other remuneration. Justworks helps streamline the I-9 process for our customers, allowing them to complete electronic I-9s in the Justworks platform.

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According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, “Form I-9 is the core of E-Verify.” In sum, E-Verify compares Form I-9 information to government records online, in order to confirm an employee is authorized to work in the US.

Completing Form I-9 is legally required for all employers, whereas participation in E-Verify is voluntary for most employers. Federal contractors and their subcontractors with qualifying contracts that contain the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) E-Verify clause are required to use E-Verify. In addition, some states have E-Verify requirements.

For example, states like Arizona and Mississippi require all employers to use E-Verify, and states like Colorado, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma require all public contractors to use E-Verify.

Employers should also be familiar with any state laws governing electronic signatures where the remote employee resides, or where the employer operates, that may apply.

Other Requirements As mentioned in the top of this post, we can’t cover everything you need to know in this overview. At the end of the day, you’ll need to carefully review which state and local employment laws apply to your remote employees to make sure you’re compliant.

You may need to withhold for state disability insurance, depending on the state where your remote employee works. If you have remote employees in California, Hawaii, New Jersey, New York, or Rhode Island, there are state-mandated disability insurance requirements.

Some states and local laws require that employers provide commuter benefits. For example, New York City has a law that mandates that businesses with 20 or more full-time employees must offer pre-tax commuter benefits. By signing up for the program, their employees save money on commuting.

Additionally, look for any laws around hiring requirements, vacation, paid sick leave and other leaves of absence, meal and rest breaks, and required disclosures.

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New York City has a law that mandates that

businesses with 20 or more full-time employees

must offer pre-tax commuter benefits.

Once you make the decision to hire a remote employee, make sure you set them up for success. This checklist will help you make sure all your bases are covered.

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New Hire Checklist

NEW HIRE PAPERWORK

Provide an offer letter and job description. Congrats! Now that your candidate has accepted the job offer, send a letter that includes the key terms and conditions of employment for him or her to sign. Don’t forget to include a description of essential functions of the position that the employee must be able to perform, whether that is with or without reasonable accommodation.

Submit an I-9 Form/E-Verify. Regardless of whether your company uses E-Verify, all employees are required to complete Form I-9. They also have to give documentation verifying their identity and authorization to work in the U.S.

Distribute the employee handbook and get an acknowledgement of receipt. Offering an employee handbook helps new employees understand what the company expects of them, and vice versa. After employees receive a copy of the handbook, have them sign an acknowledgment of receipt. Provide wage notices. More than a dozen states require employers to provide employees with written notices regarding wages. Find out what the applicable state and local laws require.

Complete tax withholding forms. Most employees should complete a Form W-4, which designates the appropriate amount of federal tax withholding. And, if applicable, they may also need to fill out a state tax withholding form.

Notify employees of available benefits. Employees should receive a health insurance exchange notice. That information includes whether or not you offer group health insurance benefits. If you do offer benefits give employees benefits enrollment paperwork, which includes additional required notices.

Check for additional state and local laws. Many states and local jurisdictions will require you to distribute additional forms and notices to new hires.

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PAY PRACTICES Classify employees as exempt or non-exempt. Determine whether the position should be classified as exempt or non-exempt. Exempt employees are exempt from applicable minimum wage and overtime requirements, including applicable federal, state, and local laws.

Establish pay schedules and report wages. Your company should have established workweeks and regular pay days, as well as systems for employees to record work time and time off. Make sure to also have systems for wage payments and distribution of wage statements as required by the FLSA and applicable state law.

BENEFITS Determine mandatory benefits. Determine which benefits you’re required to provide, such as workers’ compensation and, unemployment insurance. Some states require disability benefits as well.

Give details on benefits and leave policies. Explain benefit offerings to your new hires, including any relevant vacation and paid sick leave policies.

Provide benefits notices. Provide appropriate benefits notices as explained above.

PAGE 2 OF 2New Hire Checklist

Creating a distributed workforce a greater investment of time and energy, but it’s becoming more and more essential in today’s working world. For a company and its brand, a dispersed workforce simply reaches places a centralized one simply can’t.

Complying with state and federal regulations is often challenging, and approximately one-third of businesses still face fines for failure to meet all fling requirements. Justworks not only takes care of much of this employment-related compliance for you, but also helps you provide healthcare for your employees.

Remote hiring requires effort, but it’s worth it. And Justworks can help.

Justworks frees entrepreneurs to focus on what matters: building their business and their team. Its intuitive platform handles payroll, benefits, and compliance – all within an HR-friendly dashboard. Manage team workflow, employee documents, paid time off, and more for employees near or far.

Justworks Can HelpCONCLUSION

13 WANT TO GET STARTED? CALL: (844) 749-7785 EMAIL: HELLO@JUSTWORKS.COM VISIT: JUSTWORKS.COM

Justworks does not provide tax or legal advice and these do not represent all the

nonprofit requirements, only some of them. Be sure to consult with a tax advisor and

legal counsel to ensure compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.