Despite the series of layoffs in the tech industry (bringing many professionals into the job market), Deloitte found getting talent is still the most prominent challenge for the tech industry. The problem is even bigger for roles requiring specialised skills like AI, ML, automation, cloud security, cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity, etc.
While recruiting remains an uphill battle, remote work has opened doors to a new talent pool that doesn’t reside within 30 miles of your office. The canvas got bigger. And that’s not the only reason to look for remote tech talent. In this blog post, we will look at how to hire remote developers, its benefits, the top challenges in the hiring process and how to solve them.
Benefits of Hiring Remote Developers for Business
Before getting into the how part, let's find out why you should consider hiring remote developers for your business.
1. Allows Access to the Global Talent Pool
The first and most obvious benefit is getting access to a global talent pool. Companies are already taking advantage of it. 80% of organisations have implemented some form of remote work policy and 34% of organisations are already using remote work as a key talent strategy to draw from an extended talent pool. The number of workers expecting remote work is also increasing.
2. Saves Money
Remote work also significantly reduces the overhead costs of having employees in the office, mainly the cost of maintaining office spaces and utilities. Then, you can also hire from any location with lower labour costs and salary expectations, so you still get skilled employees on smaller budgets.
Average salary of software developer based on country
Source: Glassdoor (as of 22nd December 2023)
3. Boosts Productivity
Software, an automated engineering platform, analysed data from 300k developers. 64% said they were more productive working remotely. Companies with flexible work policies have also outperformed others in terms of revenue growth.
4. Attracts Talent
Jobs allowing remote or hybrid attract seven times more applicants than those with restrictive in-office policies. Flexibility remains the top priority for job candidates. Last year, 33% of candidates turned down a job because it didn’t offer flexible or remote work options.
5. Provides Flexibility and an Ease to Scale
You get the flexibility to hire from anywhere, regardless whether that place still has an office yet. Jack Altman, co-founder and CEO at Lattice, a people management platform, shared the growth story of his startup to Fast Company. He said that during COVID, they grew to 500 employees, which was more than four times their headcount pre-pandemic. This growth would have felt chaotic if they had worked from the office. They had to suddenly get office space for new employees, who were way more than existing employees. But as they were working from home, the scalability went at ease. Flexible working helped them survive the hyper-growth phase.
6. Promotes Diversity
Women, especially mothers with young children, continue to look for flexibility at work. More people of colour in the US prefer a hybrid or fully remote work arrangement. Flexible work arrangements and schedules also help neurodivergent and differently-abled employees develop careers while working remotely. Remote work provides the required flexibility to attract or facilitate the needs of a diverse workforce.
7. Increases Worker Retention
64% of employees say that they would consider looking for a new job if their employer wanted them back in the office full-time. 98% of remote workers would like to continue working remotely, at least some of the time or for the rest of their careers. Getting the option to work remotely is a strong motivation to stay in a job.
How to Hire Remote Developers
1. Define Requirements
The first step before beginning the hiring journey is finalising internally the requirements below:
- Education
- Technical skills and proficiency levels
- Work experience
- Professional licence and certifications
- Soft skills
- Domain knowledge
- Budget
- Availability in any timezone
- Languages.
2. Write a Detailed Job Description
The next step is summarising the requirements in a job description correctly so that it attracts the ideal candidates. Important components of a job description are:
- Job title and description
- Reporting line of the job
- Overall responsibilities of the job
- Education
- Relevant experience required
- Technical skills
- Soft skills
- Language
- Certifications or licences
- Domain knowledge
- Job responsibilities and tasks
- Salary Range
- Benefits
- Company overview and culture
- Application instructions
- Contact information
- Necessary travel
- Extended or uncommon working hours.
3. Promote Job Listings
Writing a great job description is not enough if it doesn't reach the right candidates. You can promote the posting on popular job boards like below:
- Hubstaff Talent
- We Work Remotely
- CareerBuilder
- ZipRecruiter
- FlexJobs
- SimplyHired
4. Shortlist Candidates
After the job applications are in, it's time to start shortlisting applicants from the pools of candidates. You can scan resumes/cover letters and shortlist candidates with relevant experience.
5. Screen Candidates
Now comes the real litmus test: interviews. For interviewing technical talent, three ideal steps would be:
- Initial screening via telephone or video call
- Technical interviews or coding challenges using platforms like Hackerrank, Testgorilla, Devrank, etc.
- Managerial round followed by HR discussion.
6. Send Offer Letter
Once you have found the ideal candidate, you can negotiate employment terms, including salary and benefits. You can release the formal offer letter after reaching a mutual consensus on the terms.
7. Complete the Preboarding Process
Sending an offer letter is not enough. You must keep the communication line open with candidates and complete the preboarding process. The preboarding step is the list of tasks to be done between the time period when an employee accepts their job offer and their first day of joining. Preboarding can vary from company to company. Typical list of tasks include:
- Completing paperwork or filling out forms (if any)
- Sending welcome package
- Holding an introductory discussion
- Conducting background checks.
Challenges of Hiring Remote Developers (And Solutions)
1. Finding the Right Talent
Technical roles get an average of 108 applications in week one alone, followed by 30-40 applications per week till week 10. Scanning so many resumes and finding the perfect fit, even for the initial rounds, is a task in itself.
Solution: You can use an Applicant Tracking System (ATS). It manages the hiring process by keeping track of job postings, respective applications and the progress of each application. Nowadays, ATS also provides AI-based integrations that can parse resumes based on education, experience, etc. For example, Greenhouse provides AI integration that can parse resumes based on criteria you define.
2. Complexity in End-to-end Job Hiring Process
The hiring process is extensive, from finalising requirements to onboarding an employee. It takes 44 days on average to hire for a position. Time would be even higher if the candidate currently works in a company demanding a longer notice period. It takes considerable time for the HR team to convert a potential candidate into a new hire.
Solution: You can connect with recruitment agencies or HR consulting companies who can own the entire hiring process.
3. Communication and Collaboration Issues
Poor communication is the biggest red flag for candidates in the hiring process, followed by negative interview experience. But is it easy for HR to keep a tab on the communication process when hiring is in bulk?
Solution: Again, ATS can be a big help in this case. You get a centralised system for HR to keep candidate details. Also, ATS provides automated communications for applicants to get notifications on the application status.
4. Maintaining Company Culture
Remote developers working from a different location can feel disconnected from company culture and values. Gallup did a study on US workers and found only 28% of remote workers strongly agree they feel connected to their organisation’s mission and purpose.
Solution: Have an HR team to communicate with remote workers so they get to understand the company culture and also get a forum to discuss their issues. Also, conduct virtual team-building activities to improve communication between team members.
5. Ensuring Compliance
Compliance is another ballgame. Every country has its own set of laws related to labour, taxes, payroll, benefits, etc. There is a learning curve for the HR team and it can leave room for lapses. An important point to note is every lapse can bring legal (and financial) trouble.
Solution: Work with a legal team well-versed in the labour laws and regulations of the country you are hiring from.
India Has a Thriving Tech Talent Pool
India is your best option if you want to expand and build a remote offshore team. Let's see why.
1. Huge STEM talent pool: India produces over 2.5 million science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) graduates every year
2. Timezone advantage: India's time zone is convenient for collaboration with European and North American companies.
3. Cost-effective: India, with a lower cost of living, has skilled technical talent with lower salary expectations.
4. High developer population: India is predicted to take over the United States as the country with the highest software developer population by 2024, with 5.2 million software developers.
5. Top IT provider: India is the world’s prime destination for IT outsourcing.
6. Diverse population: India, known for its unity in diversity, brings skilled and diverse employees with different perspectives.
Expand Tech Team in India With Rapid
We discussed the top challenges of hiring remote developers and their solutions. What if you could solve all these issues in one go (at least while hiring in India)? Rapid is an employer of record (EOR) with deep expertise in India. We onboard tech talent on your behalf so you don't have to go through the entire process, which is riddled with legal complexities.
Using Rapid, you can:
✅ Find the right tech talent by getting in touch with recruiters from our marketplace
✅ Create locally compliant contracts by just filling in a few employee details
✅ Complete background checks of employees through our trusted partners
✅ Finish onboarding of employees in as little as 5 minutes through a self-serve platform
✅ Manage payroll and taxes
✅ Maintain company culture by creating holiday tracker as per India and provide HR support to employees
✅ Get compliance assistance throughout the entire employee's lifecycle.
Make hiring from India easy (and rapid). Book a demo now.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Why hire remote developers over freelance developers?
Remote developers work as per your company guidelines and are readily available for communication. On the other hand, freelancers define their own processes and work schedules and may not be that prompt with communication. So, for critical projects requiring cross-functional collaboration, it makes sense to hire remote developers over freelancers.
2. Why should I choose Rapid for hiring remote developers in India?
Rapid is an EOR with deep expertise in India. We help you onboard remote employees in India compliantly and handle the entire employee lifecycle from onboarding to onboarding.
3. How long does it take to hire a remote developer?
It takes 44 days on average to hire for any position. Time would be even higher if the candidate currently works in a company demanding a longer notice period.
4. Is it cheaper or expensive to hire a remote developer?
Hiring remote developers is cost-effective as you save on overhead expenses related to having an employee in the office. Also, you can hire from countries with lower labour costs to reduce costs further.
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