How to recruit (well) in full remote?

This week, we have the pleasure to discuss with Jean-Florian Chevalier, Head of Talent Acquisition at BoondManager.
This ERP, leader of the ESN and consulting companies, presents two great particularities: a full remote policy since 2009, coupled with the doubling of its staff in 1 year!

Check out our exchange 👇

Nice to meet you, Jean-Florian! Can you introduce yourself for our readers ?

Hi Skeelz, I'm the recruiter for BoondManager. I'm in charge of all recruitment, for both technical and non-technical profiles, as well as HR and employee onboarding. It's been 18 months since I joined the Boond adventure, a fully remote ERP solution designed for consulting and engineering firms, particularly ESNs. Quite simply, we've been doing remote for 13 years 🙂

If you had to summarize your company culture, in 3 words?

I would choose benevolence, proximity and challenge. Benevolence is often overused in the professional world, but at Boond, it is really put into practice on a daily basis. We are very close to each other, regardless of the hierarchy. Everyone helps each other and challenges each other to grow the company together. We have doubled our workforce in 18 months, from 30 to 70 people, while preserving our entrepreneurial spirit. We hope to reach 80 to 85 people by the end of the year, but we will continue to work on the common values that have made our success so far.

What is BoondManager's "special touch" to attract candidates?

We have a strong corporate culture and we specialize in full remote, which allows us to offer a unique work experience. We offer customized onboarding, full remote (the real thing). We have also doubled all our teams in order to conquer new international markets, which offers a real challenge to our employees and a great challenge to our candidates!

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👉 Learn more about BoondManager 👈

Precisely, how do you manage this full remote?

We have a solid structure that was put in place from the start of the company, which has never actually had an office. We offer personalized supportto our employees to enable them to work effectively in remote locations, with online activities such as meditation, yoga, fitness, Wednesday afternoon snack, an internal radio so that everyone can speak, one/one interviews once a month to get to know their colleague better and 3 seminars to create convivial moments together.

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We believe that full remote offers a unique working experience to our employees, who can work from anywhere while benefiting from a tailored support. 

We operate by promulgating the OKR system, which allows us to effectively measure the skill growth of our new Boonders. 

What does a recruitment process made in Boond look like?

It takes place in three stages:

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1. The first interview is a structured interview that I created and implemented at Boond. The objective is to train the teams, especially the hiring managers, in this method. During this interview, we define the position and the required skills precisely, and then we identify the hard and soft skills of the candidates. This allows us to objectively assess all candidates through behavioral and situational questions. This approach avoids cognitive bias and allows us to evaluate all candidates on an equal footing. This interview also includes a situational interview with technical questions to evaluate the candidates' skills.

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2. The second interview is more technical and takes place with the hiring manager. Prior to this interview, candidates complete a use case that will be used during the discussion. The hiring manager and I review the use case and ask structured questions to assess the candidate's suitability for the position and the team.

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3. Finally, the last exchange is a culture fit interview with one of the company founders. This interview is generally less technical and focuses more on the company's culture and the candidate's compatibility with the team. One of the 3 founders is present, and potentially other team members to give their opinion. However, it is always one of the three founders who conducts this interview.

How is the onboarding going, in full remote?

This onboarding starts at the preboardingone week after the contract is signed. Thomas, who is in charge of mentoring at Boond, talks to the new recruit to assign him or her a buddy in the team. This "buddy" helps the newcomer with the questions that he or she does not dare to ask his or her boss during the first few weeks.

In addition, we implement several actions to properly integrate new employees. Here are the main steps of our integration process:

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1. Announce the arrival of the new employee to the team.
2. Invite new Boonders to seminars during their notice period or on the day they arrive if possible. 
3. Prepare the administrative part and the necessary tools before the arrival of the person.
4. Provide a welcome book and agenda, which the new employee reviews with a team member a few days before arrival.
5. Organize meetings with all Boond teams, as well as company rituals such as meditation, fitness and yoga.
6. Present the vision, strategy, objectives and internal functioning of the company by Anthony, one of the 3 founders of BoondManager. 
7. Explain the telework and computer charters, the presentation of the sector and the ESN (Entreprises de Services du Numérique) to meet the expectations of employees.
8. Train our recruits on our tool for 5 weeks. 
9. Set up regular follow-up points, such as the monthly managerial point, the HR onboarding point and the sponsorship to accompany new employees.

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This integration process takes place over several weeks until the new employee validates his or her trial period, ensuring a successful integration and a good start at Boond.

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Thank you, Jean-Florian 🦊

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