It might sound cliché, but times have changed when it comes to working on new software development projects. Driven by the pandemic, there's a greater demand for digital transformation for businesses. As a result, organizations need more developers to drive said digital transformation.
The pandemic had another compelling side effect because it drove developers out of the office, inducing a talent shortage in some cases. Further exacerbating the problem, "Developers aren't planning to go back to the office," says Liam Tung at ZDNet. And according to GitHub's 2021 State of the Octoverse report, of the 41% of developers that worked in the office, part- or full-time, only about 11% plan to go back.
So today, to complete more software development projects and drive digital transformation, the place to seek developers is outside the traditional office space by hiring remote developers to fill the void.
Why hire remote developers?
The pandemic and its effect on businesses' need for digital transformation are today's driving factors for you to seek outside help, of course. You might not have much choice. Besides necessity, however, there are benefits to hiring remote software developers. The most important benefits for hiring remote developers include:
Larger talent pool
Because of the current work climate, in-office positions at your company can be challenging to fill right now. It's why you need to think outside of the cube and maybe even outside of your region.
When you hire remotely, you can cast a broader net to seek talent to find talent that you didn't have access to before. Alex Kalinovsky at Forbes says in "Remote Is The New In-House" that the three ways you can find new talent are to:
Look across the US for experienced developers.
Consider college grads and juniors.
Engage talent outside the US in friendly or different time zones.
Less overhead costs
If you hire a remote team then you can substantially cut down the cost of an office building, and potentially eliminate it all together. Providing an office space adds to your expense line in many ways, including:
Furniture costs
Cleaning services
Office supplies
Remote workers don't require any of these, and some might even be willing to take a pay cut. Moreover, according to Glassdoor's survey, 30% of employees would forego a pay raise for remote work. That’s a win-win for both you and your future remote team.
Increased productivity
Believe it or not, remote workers get more done. Working away from the office helps most teleworkers avoid distractions that a traditional office environment enables, from office noise to colleagues dropping by their workspace.
Also, working from home allows remote employees to get work done when they're most productive, even if it means working outside regular business hours. Work should be flexible for the employee to set them up for success and not confine them to the same standard as everyone else.
Read more: "The Drawbacks of Hiring In-House Developers."
How to hire remote developers: A quick step-by-step guide
The hiring process doesn't need to be a difficult task. If you prepare ahead of time, remote hiring can be a positive experience for everyone. All you need is a little organization, a personal computer, and some patience.
Here are the steps to hire a remote developer:
1. Write a job description
Job descriptions should provide the following details:
Job title: Use direct, descriptive professional titles, such as QA Tester, DevOps Engineer, etc.
Job description: Outline your expectations, the job's high-level tasks, and what your offer is in terms of salary and benefits.
Requirements: List the role's responsibilities and skill sets needed in simple, straightforward terms.
Company mission: Describe your company's goals and purpose. Explain why the candidate should be excited about applying and possibly joining your team.
2. Post your job listings
To attract talent, you should use more than one channel to post your job listing. You can use remote job boards, freelance marketplaces, referrals, and more. Some common places to find and hire remote developers are:
Outsourcing agencies
Remote.co
LinkedIn
Indeed
Flexjobs
RemoteOK
3. Review the applications
While you review the applications you receive, keep an eye out for cover letters, resumés, and CVs that stand out. You're going to look for the skills and qualities you and your company desire. Then, select the top three to five candidates for the interview stage.
You might have your own list of qualities to look for, but we also recommend the following when you hire developers and programmers:
Possesses relevant technical skills (obviously)
Highly organized and able to work autonomously
Evident communication skills
Takes initiative
Lives outside of work for a good work-life balance
4. Conduct interviews
Conducting interviews for remote candidates isn't much different than running them in person. The main difference is you'll meet your candidates online using an app like Zoom, Webex, or another video meeting tool.
During the interview, assess your candidates. This interview process might involve testing and evaluating their technical abilities and communication skills. Be thorough because you want to be sure you hire the right candidate the first time.
5. Choose the best candidate(s)
After you've conducted the interviews, take some time to huddle with stakeholders and get everyone's perspective. Then, choose your candidate, and offer them a competitive compensation package. Otherwise, you will have gone through a lot of trouble for your candidate to decline.
Congratulations, you've found your new remote developer! All that's left to do is begin the onboarding process.
In-house vs. freelance vs. DevSquad developers
Not quite ready to hire a remote developer yet? Maybe you're unsure whether you should seek an in-house team member or outsource the work to a freelancer, or agency like DevSquad. If this is the case, let's talk about the differences in these options to help you make the best decision.
In-house
If you can afford a full-time hire and are able to choose the right candidates through your interview process, in-house developers might be ideal for your needs. They will focus solely on your company's needs because your success is their success. Also, they often won't juggle multiple projects because you're their priority.
Alternatively, in-house employees come with a higher price tag. You're responsible for their salaries, benefits, office space (if they aren’t working remotely), and more. Moreover, the skills and abilities you have access to are limited to those your team has. In other words, should you need new or additional skills for a new project, you'll need to train them or hire more help, costing more money.
Freelance
Freelance developers work on a contractual basis, often for a short period of time , and you can generally find them on marketplace sites like Freelancer, Toptal, and Upwork. The benefit of using these sites is that freelancers typically qualify their skills through the sites' evaluation system, so you know beforehand what they're capable of. And you can find remote workers of all sorts to fit the needs of your project, from project managers to software engineers or even designers.
However, a downside to hiring a freelance developer is that sometimes they will only work on projects based on fixed bids. Fixed bids, unfortunately, can cost you more in the long run, and you might receive less than you desire because developers might be tempted to cut corners to meet deadlines and budgets.
DevSquad
DevSquad is the best of both worlds because we can provide in-house-level talent with freelance flexibility. Whether you need MVP, SaaS, web app, or mobile app development, we can provide experts with skills in:
Angular
API development
Electron
Laravel
Node.js
React
Vue.js
And more
Overall, DevSquad can help you:
1. Lower costs
Outsourcing development work can cost less than hiring an in-house team. While you still pay for quality work, you'll only pay for the labor that produces it. An in-house team requires the extra costs of providing benefits, a manager, and payroll on top of their salaries.
2. Save time
It takes time (lots of it) to create a reliable development team that can produce quality code quickly. If you use an outside development company—like DevSquad—to hire remote workers, you'll spend less time vetting new employees and more time creating software.
You'll also save time because you won't need to manage this external team. We'll manage your teams with our own supervisors that you won't need to hire.
3. Remain agile
Software development is unpredictable, and as is sometimes the case, a new project's complexity can snowball into an unmanageable job requiring extra hands. As a result, you might need to hire more developers regardless of having an in-house development team.
What's great about DevSquad is we offer a flexible subscription model to bridge your talent and skills gaps, no matter how much your project needs to expand or contract.
Read more: "4 Reasons Hiring an Outside Development Team Actually Makes You Smarter."
Let's talk about your remote hiring needs
We think talent is the difference between good and great products. Whether you need two to six Full Stack developers, a product manager, a UI/UX designer, or a VP, QA, or DevOps team, we've got you covered. To see how we can expand your efforts, let's talk.
