With a population of almost 100 million, Vietnam is emerging as a go-to location for hiring Remote Employees that are exceptional talented. And with many Vietnamese professionals moving overseas, hiring offshore will enable companies access to a much larger talent pool while saving up on the hiring process. The COVID-19 pandemic has also forced many businesses to develop the infrastructure to transition into remote work as a longterm solution. This article will provide you advice and tips on the remote working recruitment process and remote management in Vietnam. 

Why should employers consider recruiting remote working employees in Vietnam

To start with, a flexible schedule allows employees to save time travelling while maintaining work-life balance. Employees do not have to show up at 8:00AM after suffering from heavy traffic in Vietnam, only to get stuck in a traffic jam for another 30-60 minutes when coming back home. This in turn increases productivity and work performance. 

Remote employment also allows employers access to a wider talent pool, especially given that high-skilled labour in Vietnam is usually concentrated in major cities such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. With office-based work, it is compulsory for the employees to be physically at work which restricts their availability in terms of geographical areas. The ability to attract and retain top talent is the key that makes businesses more competitive.

Having fewer staff in the office also means less money spent on a traditional office space and other office-related costs. Not only do organizations save money, but employees can also cut costs by reducing spendings on transportation and childcare.

Another reason why employers should reconsider remote recruitment is that many Vietnamese professionals are returning home and this has emerged as a viable alternative for firms looking to overcome the talent shortage by employing them offshore. By working remotely employees can live and work in their own country and foreign companies not only gain talented employees and cut back on the cost of employment. 

READ MORE: How Viettonkin Consulting help you build remote working culture.

Recruitment Process and Management

1. Vietnam labor laws and regulations

Before launching your recruitment campaign, it is important to grasp the basic laws and regulations that will help you maximize your recruitment process. In Vietnam, employment contracts are classified into seasonal, definite or indefinite labor contracts. The seasonal contracts are the shortest ones, only lasting for about a year or less. Definite term labor contracts are between 1 to 3 years, while the indefinite term contracts tend to have a more erratic employment period but are advisable and advantageous for some industries such as event-related agencies.

Before you are able to hire remote workers, your contracts must clearly state the following: (1) employee insurance for your staff, (2) specific job description and (3) a certain amount of salary. The minimum wage of Vietnamese workers ranges between VND 1,600,000 to VND 4,420,000 per month. Converted, that is roughly between $68 to $190. However, remote workers are mostly skilled individuals; hence, employers should expect this number to bloat up as they go up the corporate echelon as well.

Income tax and social security are also strictly implemented in Vietnam. Personal income tax ranges from as low as 5% to as much as 35%. As for their social security, Vietnamese employees are required to contribute an average of 8% of their income. Their employer counterparts are then mandated to cover the remaining 17.5%. Employers shall also be charged 3% for health insurance and 1% for unemployment insurance. This taxation scheme is designed primarily for Vietnamese workers but at the same time employer’s rights are also protected.

And finally  as with any country where you are planning to hire remotely, bonuses, benefits, and leaves are imposed on employers so that they can fairly provide for their Vietnamese staff.

2. Tips on recruiting and managing remote employees

Before listing a position for remote employees, there are several simple preparation steps that can improve your search.

• Prospecting for potential employees ahead of time to improve your chances of finding good fits, especially for niche industries that require specialized talents. 
• Use your existing network for potential referrals or start building your network in your target country. This includes connecting with universities and institutions or employee referral programs.
• Keep an eye on online places that potential employees will engage such as Github, Stack Overflow or Reddit. 
• Build an employment brand before you commence your search. Companies in a new environment can suffer from a lack of credibility, especially in Asian cultures. 

These strategies will definitely serve you better in the long run than last-minute tweaking your ad or fine-tuning your hiring channel. Then, once you are reading to hire remote employees, there are several important practices to keep in mind that will improve your selection process. 

• Look at the local competition to make sure your offer is competitive. What employee benefits are they offering? What titles do they use to describe their roles?
• Have multiple people involved in the hiring process. As each individual will have specific biases, it is easier to identify potential problems amongst your candidates by working together. 
• Have structured interview and test technical ability to improve hiring effectiveness. CVs can provide a good starting point but do not suffice. Experiential interviews are also a good recommendation.
• Involve your current team members. Considering getting shortlisted applicants to meet your current team members to see whether your new hire will fit into the team. Even if this is an online environment, not all candidates will fit in. It is important to let the candidates decide on their own whether they can effectively collaborate with other members to avoid future conflicts or reduced productivity. 

Once you have had your perfect hires, it is key that you be able to keep them. Below are various approaches that will help you manage your remote team:

• Communicate openly about your expectations. Since the potential employee will not be present at the workplace, it is hard to know whether they fit in the culture and the company’s values. Thus, it is important to communicate to them clearly about your company’s values from the start to avoid any confusion. 
• Engage with your new team members: remote staff will need to feel part of the team. Spending time together seriously reduces turnover and can increase the speed at which the new staff fits into your team. 
• Get new staff to start meaningful work quickly. If your team has barriers (like poor management or work allocation), you are running an increased risk of losing that staff member.

Remote working guidelines

Anticipate short-term problems. To start with, with employees working remotely, connectivity and other related issues are expected to arise. Ensuring your IT staff are always at hand and maintaining access to IT resources extra hours can mitigate the problems. If you have corporate communication tools that can be used effectively in Vietnam, ensure your Vietnam-based staff have sufficient guidance to use them and know that they need to be logged-on. Consider requiring employees to download the apps (Teams / Sharepoint Online etc.) onto their mobile phones as well. Setting up a clear and regular communication schedule for senior resources during the coming weeks is also important when people doing the remote working.

Communication is key. Communicate clearly with your remote working employees. If possible, use visual communication techniques such as video conferencing; share your screen during meetings; use screenshots or diagrams in your emails to better explain what you want them to do; use chat platforms when talking about work as a group.

Encourage collaboration. Have a document management system in place for sharing documents and files. Tools like Google Drive and Dropbox are great for this. Don’t rely on emails for sharing files because they might get lost and people can have a hard time tracking the latest version and the changes made. Give them the tools they need to work efficiently and make sure everyone is on board with these. There are also many other free tools available for virtual teams.

Set clear expectations. Every week make status meetings with your remote working employees. Walkthrough the tasks expected from him/her. Set his/her goals. Establish a timeline. Give feedback about his/her progress. Have a formal process for reviewing his/her performance. If your remote working employee doesn’t know how s/he is performing, then s/he cannot motivate him/herself for doing better.

Implement a tracking system. Instead of micromanaging your remote working employee, you should give them the flexibility to do their work efficiently, but do not leave them entirely to their own devices either. You can ask them to put in their work hours if they are getting paid based on hours and you can track if they really work these many hours using a time tracking software.

Finally, make them feel part of the team. Send them newsletters about what is going on within the company. Show that you remember and care about them. Establish rapport with them and try to get to know them on a personal level. Send them gifts during the holidays. If possible, invite them to the main office once a year and get together as a big team.

The remote working team is common today because the business model is not fixed in an office context. Coworking space and virtual business have led to new forms of working which is a remote team. A remote team includes members who do not work close together yet work online. While an in-house team works together in an office, members can directly exchange ideas face-to-face, remote team members can work anywhere, perhaps at a coffee shop, at a library, and exchange ideas online. Therefore, to a team leader, managing a remote team may not be an effortless task. How to manage a remote working team? This article will help answer this question!

It is a likelihood that to manage a remote working team well, besides the management skills of managers, team members should have good commitments. Hence, before suggesting ways to manage the team, the required characteristics of remote team members will be presented. 

Characteristics of effective remote team members

First, a team member working remotely should be well-disciplined and self-motivated. Setting a timetable and a neat working space will boost your internal motivation for working. Because remote members do not work at a fixed office, it is advised to force yourselves to build discipline with a view to avoiding distraction in case your working environment is not really quiet and peaceful.  

Second, a remote member can work successfully if he/she has a good organizational habit. The detailed working plan may not be essential; however, a to-do list for a working day should be mapped out so that required tasks will not be missed and affect the working flow of other days. Besides a list of to-do things, time management skills are also significant while you are working remotely. Obviously, a small task should be done in a short period of time, then you can invest much effort and time in more challenging projects. To avoid time imbalance between tasks, you can estimate how much time you spend on completing task 1 and task 2. 

Third, a remote member should have good commitments and communication with other team members. As you are working in distance, keeping contact with each other frequently will help you feel that you are part of a team. A harmonious relationship is such a great catalyst for a “want-to-contribute” working attitude. 

How to manage a remote working team for a team leader

Based on a profound article published by McKinsey, some skills to manage a remote working team are definitely useful for team leaders. 

Build an effective and logic working structure and flow

A team should work under a clear guideline and set ultimate goals to motivate team members to achieve that goal. The structure includes the deadline of each task, working flows between members and the communication tools. Furthermore, when hiring new employees, you can decide their working style, whether they are suitable for working remotely with credible qualities or they would like to work in the office or they grow faster in a close-knit group. Such a clear working procedure will certainly help members follow better while they do not work in front of you. 

Lead from distance and nurture caring culture

Management is not a simple skill, especially when you have to manage those who are in a home-working environment. Therefore, having a well-defined vision and practical outlook can encourage members to contribute to the benefits of the team. Leaders had better energize team members, foster them to reach the results.

Additionally, nurturing good and caring communication is useful to understand your team members and fill the void of physical interaction. Actually, remote working may have pressure on workers, for example, work and take care of children simultaneously. As a result, listening, expressing sympathy, and giving advice to your staff would create a sense of community and be a part of that. The psychological safety generated by continuous interaction and caring is an intrinsic motivation for remote workers. 

Diversify ways of communication

Communication is crucial for anyone working in a team or an organization. When team members do not gather in a specific place, communication is more important and is a thread to connect people. According to the article “A blueprint for remote working: Lessons from China” published by McKinsey, there are five communication channels for remote working. 

Communication channels are matters and leaders should choose the suitable one. A private call is the best choice for individual catch-ups and sensitive discussion. A leader and a member having a private call can easily build a harmonious relationship as they may discuss secret topics. Video conference is perfect for exchanging ideas on difficult themes with a large number of participants.

Leaders can choose video conferences as weekly meetings, project reports or training sessions. Chat is a common communication channel in which social team talk or urgent questions or guidance will be mentioned there. Video captures and voice notes are best for tutorials, especially for team members working from home while email is a form of formal communication inside and outside the company. 

Take the advantages of technology

Choosing the suitable communication tools, so which tool will help you to communicate effectively with your members? Nowadays, communication apps and gadgets are created to fit with each type of communication tool. To make the best use of these gadgets, first effective remote leaders and employees require external factors namely fast and stable internet connection, then let ensure that wifi or Internet module is working well. 

Some example tools are suggested in the article published by McKinsey. For video conferences, Zoom, Google hangout, Ding Talk, Webex, Tencent Conference are suggested meanwhile We Chat Business, Slack, Rocketchat, Hipchat, Basecamp, Microsoft Teams are frequently used for channel-based communication. Trello and Asana are the two best tools for leaders to manage the tasks and progress of each project. 

Regardless of the communication tools you use, the most important thing is the technological security of remote working. Besides, approaching technology to boost productivity, managing data confidentiality is also significant. 

Have learn-and-test attitude

The situation constantly changes. Knowledge is continuously updated. If a leader does not learn, share ideas frequently, it is not easy for him/ her to guide the team to follow the trend of the market. In addition to management skills, learning attitude is crucial for any leader. 

Besides acquiring knowledge about management skills for a remote team, you should also understand how an enterprise is established in Vietnam.

In conclusion, the remote working team is popular today, especially in the context of the Covid-19. Manage a remote working team may require a team leader to have a little bit different method to connect members. However, regardless of the way of management and where you work, both leader and team members should ensure the effectiveness and commitment to their tasks.