Hiring Remote Developers? Here’s What to Look For

As the world dealt with the Covid 19 pandemic, many more people came to know about a new work model commonly known as remote working. Although this paradigm was already in use in the IT industry, many other businesses were not familiar with it. With people staying at home much more, remote working became the new norm.

There is one thing for sure; remote working is here to stay. Businesses across the board that adopted this model are now enjoying the benefits that it offers. For the IT industry, remote working is comparatively more feasible as it provides them many potential advantages in a lucrative yet extremely competitive market.

Businesses now have the option to easily hire remote developers from any part of the world. But before you begin creating your own remote team, there are a few things that need to be taken into consideration.

In a high competition market, finding a quality remote developer can be a challenging task. So, to help out, we shall walk you through the fundamentals of recruiting remote developers. By the end of this article, you should be clear about the process of hiring a remote developer and the benefits you may avail.

Why Should You Hire Remote Developers?

Hiring a remote team can give you a competitive advantage over others. You can have an agile team that is scalable as per your business needs. Below are just a few benefits that may be availed by utilizing a team of remote developers.

– Low cost: The hiring cost of a remote development team is much lower than hiring onsite developers. Companies can save thousands of dollars in office rent, utilities, and other operating costs that are considered normal in a typical work setting. Also, those businesses that use contractual remote workers and agencies may avoid insurance and similar expenditures.

– Access to a global pool of talent: This is probably the most attractive aspect of a remote team. It gives you the flexibility to access a global pool of talent. Since you are hiring from a remote location, you can choose to hire anyone from anywhere. You can decide to hire a developer from a different city, state, or even country. There are no geographical boundaries to cause potential obstacles. Therefore, you can cherry-pick the skills and talent that are required.

– Scalability: As mentioned earlier, it is comparatively much easier to scale up – or scale down – the remote team as per your requirements. In addition, if you feel that a particular team is not suitable, you can easily hire another one. It is quicker and more economical to change a remote team than an onsite employee.

Obstacles in Hiring a Remote Team

You may want to begin right away and hire a remote team. But before you do that, we would advise that you familiarize yourself with the potential obstacles that may be faced along the way. These obstacles are possibly why many companies are still hesitant about the idea of remote work teams.

At the top of the list is the screening and interviewing process. One would have to go through several profiles and portfolios to find the right person. It may be from different time zones, so you would have to manage that also. This can be a difficult task, especially if you are looking to fill a position quickly.

There is also a very good chance that you might be looking for developers from platforms like Fiverr or Upwork. The issue with these platforms is that most people there are looking for short-term projects. If you hire those with a higher rating, you might pay the same amount as for an onsite employee.

Once you get through the selection process and bring the employees on board, there are few obstacles that you would need to deal with as well. Protecting your sensitive data and intellectual property may become a challenge. Moreover, tracking the progress of the employees is a tedious task.

But no need to worry. In the section below, we shall guide you about the relevant steps you need to take to solve these challenges.

Steps to Hire a Remote Team

To enjoy success with remote developers, you should follow these steps.

• 1. Be Transparent About Your Goals

This is critical; if you are not clear about your own goals and project scope, you would not know what type of remote developer team is needed.

In addition, you need to be sure about what programming languages are required for your project. Then find and shortlist candidates who can work on those specific programming languages. If you are not sure about the exact language, try finding a developer with expertise in major languages.

• 2. Check Communication Skills

As an employer or hiring manager, you also need to assess each candidate’s communication skills. These skills are critical for successful remote supervision. Moreover, they need to be a team player as coordination and collaboration with their team will be essential.

It would also be much better if they are familiar with project management tools like Jira. The ideal applicant should have the required technical skills, as well as the ability to function efficiently with minimal supervision.

• 3. Testing the Skills of Your Applicants

After the initial interviewing and screening process, it is time to judge an applicant’s technical skills. This is a crucial part of hiring remote employees; a proper test would be required to help you evaluate the right people for the job.

You would have to verify the developer’s technical skills and match capabilities against the pace, precision, and performance required for the project. It is also crucial to check their troubleshooting skills; issues during and after development do occur, and the developer will need to solve them.

Conclusion

As a business, it is time to consider remote working as a viable option. This is not just a fly-by-night trend; it is possibly the new style of work for many companies. It is being utilized by major companies like Twitter which has allowed its employees to work from home permanently.

By integrating remote work into your business plan, you might be able to gain an edge over your competition. With the diversity of benefits and flexibility possible, it can help you take your business to the next level.

If you are still hesitant about adopting the remote work model, let an expert like Aspired be of assistance. Aspired is a specialized remote hiring agency that can help you build an agile and robust team of developers in a very short time. A long list of satisfied clients should make their value addition very clear.

Feel free to contact them or visit their website to learn more.