Finding, hiring, and retaining top remote tech talents has become a challenge for most companies, and is getting more complex and challenging by the day. With the huge demand for skilled tech talent, combined with a growing skills shortage, and the rise in the global adoption of remote work due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it’s no surprise that just advertising a high salary or bonus is no longer a sufficient strategy to get the best talents.
In a report called The Next Great Disruption Is Hybrid Work – Are We Ready?, Microsoft revealed that in addition to 54% of Generation Z workers, 41% of the entire global workforce could be considering handing in their resignation. Similarly, a UK and Ireland survey found that 38% of employees were planning to leave their jobs in the next six months to a year, while a US survey reported that 42% of employees would quit if their company didn’t offer remote working options long term.
Already, remote work has become one of the most in-demand job benefits requested by job seekers globally, since more employees now access reliable internet connections and desire remote working conditions for a greater work-life balance. Leveraging technology to keep pace with constant change in the digital era, and hiring the right tech talent to work in an adaptable, ever-changing workforce, amongst other factors is essential if companies want to scale. There is therefore a need for companies to redefine what effective tech recruiting means, and how they can find, hire and retain top tech talents across the globe. This article is a guide to help you in finding and hiring top remote tech talents in 2021 and beyond.
What is Remote Work?
"Allowing employees to work remotely is a core of business strategy today. We need to de-parent, de-gender, and de-age the perception of the flexible worker". -Cali Williams
The future of work is Remote, co-located, and distributed, and borderless workforces will thrive using digital tools to stay connected and productive. Indeed, remote work is changing everything, from how we perceive work-life balance to the ways we communicate and interact with one another. It has indeed changed the status quo and has disrupted the parameters that once dictated how we do and perceive work. Companies like Twitter have already announced a work from home “forever” policy and 53% of U.S. survey respondents say they plan to continue working from home at least part-time.
But what is remote work, and what are the benefits and challenges of remote working? What does it mean to work remotely? Remote work can be defined as a working model that allows employees or professionals to work from home or any other location outside their company’s traditional office environment. It is based on the thought that work does not need to be done in a specific location to be successful. Remote work is a widely adopted practice among “digital nomads” who spend the bulk of their time working and also traveling full-time. In addition to working in a home office, remote work may also include working out of hotels, beach clubs, coffee shops, or even airport lounges. So, instead of commuting to a physical office every day to work from a designated desk, remote employees can perform their tasks and attain their goals at their own pace and convenience.
Professionals have the flexibility to design their days so that their work and personal lives can balance, and attain their fullest potential while coexisting peacefully. Before now, working remotely was challenging — mainly because of technology and resource constraints. But with the invention and adoption of collaboration tools like Slack, Zoom, Teams, etc., have helped bridge that technology gap, enabling more people to work remotely and collaborate on the go.
Remote Company Models
There are different types of remote models, however, the major ones include:
1. Remote is ok
Hybrid remote All remote within a one-time zone All remote within different time zones Different models for remote work Remote is ok The “remote is ok” model entails the company accepting that some of their employees will work remotely within a short period. However, they still expect employees to spend the bulk of their time in the office. Thus, this model provides employees some flexibility.
2. Hybrid Remote
The “hybrid remote” model is very effective for companies that are just beginning to hire remote workers or workplaces where it is challenging to implement a completely remote structure. It is effective for expanding the candidate pipeline, improving diversity, and reducing expenses by employing people beyond the major metropolitan areas. Facebook, Figma, Twitter, and HubSpot make use of this model.
3. All remote within a one-time zone
The “all remote within one-time zone” model is great for companies that require core team working hours. Red Hat: Red Hat is one of the Top 100 companies for remote jobs (by flexJobs). Red Hat is completely remote but only hires US-based candidates.
4. All remote within different time zones
The “all remote within different time zones” model is preferred for companies that can work effectively with asynchronous teams. This model is well suited to companies that can sell online, have a strong technological component, and are not bound by region or time zones. For instance, GitLab, is regarded as the world’s largest all-remote workforce, with 1,200+ employees across 67 countries. Buffer, a software company that creates solutions to help businesses manage their social media schedules, also has no physical offices and doesn’t track work hours.
Benefits of Remote Working for Employers
Remote work is the future of work. With the pandemic forcing a lot of companies around the globe to allow their employees to work from home, remote work has become the new normal for global businesses and enterprise employers. There are pros and cons to remote working, however, with technology solutions that ease communication and improve daily workflows, managing a distributed workforce has never been easier. The most remote working advantages for employers all revolve around employee well-being, daily operations, and revenue.
Here’s what working home can do for you and your team:
-Ease of Communication:
Thanks to project management solutions like Trello, and collaborative platforms like Slack, it’s far easier to get everyone on the same page. Keep all communication, files, and approvals in one easily accessible place to eliminate time lost sifting through email chains or needlessly taxing progress reports. Improve collaboration with customer profiles and project updates in real-time.
-Increased Productivity:
Studies show that telecommuting employees are 20% to 25% more productive than their office counterparts. Not only are there fewer social distractions, but there are also more opportunities to take necessary breaks when needed, which psychologists say helps with overall performance, motivation, and creativity— among other benefits.
-Cost-Effective:
Save on large office spaces, social events, etc., and instead focus your budget on high-impact areas. You can still help your team bond virtually, and yes, it is possible to build a healthy remote office culture with the help of digital tools.
-Employee Health and Wellness:
Remote work helps to facilitate a healthy work-life balance for your employees. They get to customize their surroundings to suit their personal needs, get comfortable with their preferred outfits and tech setup, and take care of physical and emotional needs as they come up.
-Large Talent Pool:
Employers are no longer limited to hiring local talent, and have a far greater chance of finding someone with the better skills and experiences around the globe. Bring in perspectives from other countries and cultures, and create a well-rounded group of professionals to innovate with.
-Increased Retention:
Employee turnover in companies that allow remote work is 25% lower than in companies that don’t offer that option, according to Smallbizzgenius. Remote workers are 87% more likely to love their job when they work from home (FlexJobs). According to the same study, remote workers are more willing to do what is necessary to meet deadlines, including pulling all-nighters.
Benefits of Remote Working for Employees
Many employees today are searching for a better work/life balance and more choices in terms of where and how they work. In Buffer’s State of Remote Work 2019 survey, 99% of respondents admitted that they want to work remotely, at least for a while, during their careers. According to a study by Surepayroll, 65% of employees said that working remotely would increase their productivity levels. In another study by Zapier, 99% of the respondents stated that they would prefer to work from home. A survey conducted by Owllabs also showed that 83% of respondents agree that they would be happier if allowed to work remotely. Additionally, a Buffer report revealed that once an employee starts working remotely, they recommend and stick to it.
So what are the main benefits for employees to work remotely?
-Increased Productivity:
Remote employees agree that they are more productive compared to their office counterparts. According to Gallup’s State of the American Workplace Report, 70% of employees who work remotely strongly believe they make more progress in their workday when they are not in-office.
-Reduced Stress:
According to the Buffer State of Remote Work Report, 70% of remote workers are happy and content with their work. 76% of employees also expressed their joy when working remotely. Most of them stated that the flexibility remote working affords them, reduces work-related stress.
-Better Work-life Balance:
Because major opportunities that exist are always found in the big cities, urban migration has seen a sporadic rise, as job seekers move from their locations to these cities to find better employment opportunities. However, living in the city can be expensive. Remote work allows people the flexibility to spend more time with family and with people who matter the most to them.
-Reduced Costs:
Remote work helps people reduce their cost and save them from unnecessary commuting and transportation. According to GitLab research, 44% of employees have indicated they are in the process of relocating or are willing to relocate after they have started to work remotely. Another survey conducted by Coso Cloud revealed that employees saved as much as $5,240 on expenses just from working remotely.
Who is a Tech Talent?
A “tech talent”, is a name used to describe a highly sought-after individual with the requisite skills necessary to drive growth and innovation, especially in technology-dependent companies. These individuals are usually skilled in in-demand problem solving and technical skills such as Data Analytics, SEO, Frontend & Backend, PHP, Javascript, Node JS, Quality Assurance, etc. They also cover a variety of roles such as Big Data professionals, Software Engineers, Machine Learning Engineer, Software Tech Lead, Data Scientist, Quality Assurance Engineer, DevOps Engineer, software developers, AI engineers, data scientists, IT professionals, products, and many more emerging positions.
How to Hire Top Remote Tech Talents
When it comes to hiring remote talent, three simple steps: Employer of Record Find candidates through job boards and referrals. Use job search sites such as LinkedIn, Indeed, or Glassdoor to post open positions. The Employer of Record (EOR) An Employer of Record (EOR) is a third-party organization that provides global employment solutions which enable a client company to legally hire software engineers and remote talents in a foreign country without having an existing footprint or local entity in that country.
While the client company determines the schedule and performance of the employee hire, the EOR plays the legal employer role in the foreign location. In other words, the Employer of Record (EOR) is a third-party organization that serves as the employer for tax purposes, while the employee performs work at a different company. The Employer of Record (EOR) is also known as Professional Employment Organizations (PEO) or Foreign Enterprise Service Company (FESCO) in China. The Employer of Record (EOR) takes on the responsibility of traditional employment tasks and liabilities which could range from creating and maintaining employment contracts to sponsoring work visas, processing, and managing payroll, depositing and filing taxes, immigration, maintaining certificates of issuance, and making sure all labor regulations are being followed.
How To Choose an Employer of Record Provider
In selecting the Employer of Record of your choice, it is important to identify a provider that you feel the most comfortable with. Don’t rush into the selection process and if you get confused, we have prepared some questions below to guide you in making a decision:
Do they have expertise and operations experience in the designated country?
Not every Employer of Record has experience working in every country. The perfect scenario is for the Employer of Record to possess substantial experience working in-country with local expertise.
Are they internationally compliant with local employment laws?
The major advantage of using an EOR is mitigating the dangers of violating local payroll, tax, and immigration laws. In-depth knowledge of such legislation is critical when selecting a provider.
Will you be assigned a single point of contact or an online portal?
When managing people, you don’t want to be treated as a part of the numbers, with little human interaction. You would want to ensure that the Employer of Record will ensure end-to-end communications with you and the hire.
Do they have experience with similar business owners in your industry?
If they understand the business, they can tailor a solution to fit the needs of the company. Is the Employer of Record service part of their core business? If the EOR is an ancillary part of their business, it’ll not be a core focus. This can impact performance and employee morale.
Steps to Hire Top Remote Tech Talent
With your company’s vision for remote work and the remote model that best suits your company clearly defined, you will need to attract the right talent. Before you kick start the process of hiring top remote tech talents, it is important to ask yourself the following questions:
• How many people do you need, and for what positions?
• What is your budget?
• What are your geographical preferences?
• What time differences are you willing to accommodate?
• What is the distribution of talent in the preferred locations?
• Where is the competition located?
• Nature of engagement (contractor or full-time employee)?
• Are there any legal requirements to consider? Once you have answered these questions, you must set yourself up for success by having:
• A very clear job description that explains, in detail, what this person will do
• Clear requirements that you will use to evaluate candidates
• A rigorous recruitment process
• Quantification of your hiring funnel
There are two channels through which you can attract top remote tech talent:
- Inbound applications
- Outbound applications
Inbound Applications
Fortunately for recruiters, remote jobs are in high demand among professionals all over the world. There are specific job boards and sites where you can find people open to remote work and where you can post your remote jobs. BorderlessHR, Upwork, Toptal, FlexJobs, etc. are a few examples of such platforms.
Outbound Applications
Companies that hire top remote tech talent are often inundated with a lot of inbound applications. Depending on the number of roles you need to fill, you can work with a dedicated internal sourcing team, and have your in-house recruitment team focus on outbound applications, or you can opt to work with an external sourcing team. Below is a step-by-step guide to how you can create an effective and structured outbound sourcing strategy to hire top remote tech talent:
Step 1. Create an intake form and vacancy template for each role
Create an intake form for any new role that hiring managers need to fill. Outline must-have and nice-to-have skills for candidates, understand why this particular role could be of interest to a candidate, and outline the primary and secondary benefits, etc.
Step 2. Create a sourcing strategy Whether you are looking for just one new employee or constantly looking for new colleagues, start any outbound strategy with a clear sourcing plan based on your intake form.
Step 3. Outline your Service Level Agreements and Key Performance Indices What is your deadline for closing these roles? How many candidates do you have to source to hire an employee? What are the priorities regarding your open roles? Plan for your SLAs, targets, and deliverables.
Possible KPIs can include:
• Number of sourced candidates • Number of submitted candidates • Number of interviews you could conduct per week • Percentage of inbound vs. outbound hires • Number of hires • Time to hire
Step 4. Measure results against strategy It is crucial to constantly measure your results against your sourcing strategy.
Are you targeting the right country/location?
Are your salary levels in line with local market conditions?
What feedback do you receive from candidates?
Are you able to find and hire enough candidates based on your current strategy?
These are some of the questions you constantly need to ask yourself to optimize and improve your strategy. This will enable you to build historical data and will help with any future remote hires.
Principles for Screening and Interviewing Potential Candidates
Interviewing for a top remote tech talent position follows the same guiding principles as interviewing for any other role. With remote hiring, however, job sampling is even more important, as you need to understand whether someone is capable of doing the job without traditional supervision. There are four core principles for screening and interviewing potential candidates for a remote role:
-The ability to work autonomously
-Good communication skills
-Independent and proactive
-Experience with remote work
When hiring remote talent, your interview questions should be related to the candidate’s previous experience, their motivation for applying for the remote job, as well as the appropriate process-related questions. How to Manage a Team of Top Remote Tech Talents Remote team management is always evolving. It doesn’t end when a new employee comes in and is onboarded. Before venturing into the world of remote work, businesses must take a look at their current work culture, team size, and business goals.
Goals & Expectations
When you manage a remote team(s), you have less insight into what your employees do.
Establish and share clear expectations with your co-workers and consider these important questions:
-What are your business goals
-What are your expectations from the remote team?
-Is there enough infrastructure to support your remote team?
-What should reporting and day-to-day activities look like?
-Define what “Remote Job” Means to You
-Define your work policies and specify the type of remote employment.
-Should people work based on hours? Would there be physical meetups and how often? Include those specific expectations in your job descriptions, so applicants are clear about what they’re signing up for.
-Communicate your values Everyone on the team has to understand the company’s vision and mission. Communicate this to every team member and remind them of the importance of accomplishing things together. Revise these principles as you deem fit.
-Set clear goals Although remote employees tend to be driven, it is important to ensure that they are properly guided to prioritize their work. Always point out the desired outcomes so that both managers and employees know what to achieve by the end of each period. With this general outcome in mind, your remote team can feel confident, knowing they’re working on projects that will help them be successful. Set priorities As a manager, set tasks based on their priority and be careful not to burn out your employees.
-Create routine procedures and rituals Start the day by writing a plan and list of tasks for the day. When work is being completed by teams across multiple locations, try to group tasks and schedule which location will be completing each of them. For team meetings, ensure you have: -Regular short meetings to keep the team updated and synchronized on day-to-day activities
-Reporting or retrospective meetings to analyze the progress of tasks and the roadmap -One-to-one meetings to discuss achievements or failures, to improve motivation, and to get feedback from employees
-Quarterly department meets to share important business data and business goals/strategies
Company-wide all-hands meetings for team building
It is better to have long one-on-one meetings (longer than in-person ones). Never cancel them and always ask questions about the employee’s life outside work to establish a more personal connection. During team or company meetings, don’t forget to greet and praise all teammates. It creates greater motivation and increases the feeling of being involved in something meaningful.
Communication
Communication between teammates is very important. Try to be clear and specific in your communications, and do not make assumptions. Have a code of conduct and set of company rules and values. Then, document everything that can be documented. Next, make sure to develop a toolkit for remote communication, and, finally, create a framework for planning/reporting all processes.
Technology Tools for Remote Tech Teams
Whether you are an early business, growing company, software development company, or an established enterprise, digital tools are important in making remote work effective between remote teams. Today, there is a plethora of tools available that can help you turn a remote tech team into a successful company asset. Here are six categories of tools to look out for:
- Communication tools
- Project and task management tools
- Time management and calendar tools
- File sharing and collaboration tools
- Documentation tools
- Social tools
Communication
Slack:
Slack is the most commonly used tool for distributed teams. Remote-first companies use Slack as their communication hub, where team members can get instant feedback and connect with their colleagues, both in groups or one-to-one.
Zoom:
Zoom is probably the most popular video conferencing software. It can easily handle meetings with lots of participants. Google Hangouts: Google offers a simple-to-use solution for virtual meetings, screen sharing, and chat. If you use G-Suite, you can use their enterprise-level features.
Microsoft Teams:
Microsoft offers Teams for their Office clients. It allows you to have virtual meetings, chats, and screen-sharing sessions. It is completely integrated with all Office products and allows for easy collaboration. Project and task management
Jira:
Jira is an exceptional tool for teams that use Agile methodologies. Product owners, developers, and designers can keep track of their work, prioritize tasks, communicate on specific assignments, etc. Trello: Trello is good for creating project boards and managing your workflow with your team. At a glance, you can see who’s working on what and when tasks are due.
Asana:
Asana is great to plot and track your projects. It features project tasks, seamless communication, and clear team progress tracking. With a candidate tracking template, you can organize and move candidates for all of your open roles across recruitment stages and your team will be aligned with you throughout the hiring process. Time management and calendar
Calendly:
Calendly helps you to schedule, prioritize, and plan meetings without having to go back and forth. You can use it for interviews, client appointments, and everything else that needs to be scheduled. Toggl: With Toggl, you can effortlessly track the time that you spend on your tasks, block out time when you are on a call, and plan your daily workflow.
Time and Date:
This is the simplest online service for checking time compatibility. You can either check by location or by time zone. File sharing and collaboration
Confluence:
Confluence is an online workspace where knowledge and collaboration come together. Confluence helps you to create documents and folders and keep all your information and files in one place with strong control access rights.
Google Drive:
G-suite includes tools to create tables, text docs, presentations, spreadsheets, and surveys, and you can collaborate on them with your team in real-time. Sheets and Docs files are also updated and saved in real-time. This enables users to work simultaneously on the same files, preventing them from working on old versions.
Quip:
Quip makes it very easy to create text documents and share them with colleagues. At the same time, it is a convenient solution for storing documentation and corporate files.
Notion:
Notion is a beautifully designed hub for asynchronous communication. It’s user-friendly and intuitive, making collaboration a joy. Notion helps teams to create projects, follow all messages, understand what needs to happen next in the project, and edit docs seamlessly without stepping on each other’s toes. Documentation
DocuSign:
DocuSign is a suite of applications and integrations for automating and connecting the entire agreement process. It is good for setting up contracts, agreements, payments, and anything that needs a signature.
Scrive:
With Scrive, you can completely stop using paper, a printer, and a scanner. Any type of document can be signed electronically on your mobile, laptop, or any other device. You can send a contract to a predefined number of people, and when everybody has signed it, it is returned automatically to you in your system of choice. Fast, easy, and secure!
Typeform:
Typeform is a great free tool for collecting data (questionnaires, tasks to manage, etc.) from employees and creating polls. It can also be used for quizzes and other fun activities. Social Interactions
Dive:
Dive solves one of the biggest problems for remote teams, isolation, by offering an engaging social space. Dive allows you to play games and talk about shared interests while having your video/audio on. Dive is currently being piloted by teams at Facebook, Google, GitLab, Rippling, and Swiggy—and so far, they’re reporting significant engagement improvements.
HeyTaco:
HeyTaco integrates directly with Slack. The idea behind HeyTaco is simple, and that’s why it is so brilliant. Once you have added HeyTaco to your Slack team, each individual can share five tacos per day. A Taco stands for a “thank you” and a token of appreciation. It is fun to both give and receive tacos.
Donut:
Donut is a tool that connects to your Slack workspace and makes it easy to create meaningful connections between employees. You can use Donut for virtual coffee meetups, cross-department intros, and it even allows employers to encourage their remote workers with a free lunch on occasion.
Challenges of Remote Work and How to Mitigate Them
In real life, there are business challenges that surface when implementing remote workforce practices. These challenges do not mean a remote company is riskier or more complicated in terms of management than its in-office counterparts. We have listed some specific issues peculiar to remote-first companies below and would advise business owners to pay attention, especially when planning to transform their traditional company into a remote company or when implementing remote hiring.
Compliance:
Remote employees aren’t exempt from any rules or regulations and must ensure they are always in accordance with established guidelines or specifications for existing and collaborating. Local Employment Laws Once you cross international borders, each country has very specific rules about what must be included in an employment agreement. Make sure that the employment contract is written following the worker’s location, the scope of their responsibilities, and the relevant compliance obligations.
Taxation:
Consult with your accountant about how you will pay taxes for your remote workers. If you hire multiple remote workers in the same country, you could choose to set up a legal entity in the country itself and/ or work with an Employer of Record company like BorderlessHR. Licensure Certain positions will require the worker to have a country-specific license or qualification to legitimately work in that role within that specific country. So take note.
Anti-discrimination:
Ensure you obey anti-discrimination laws that may include race, color, sex, sexual orientation, age, physical or mental disability, marital or relationship status, family or career responsibilities, pregnancy, religion, political opinion, national extraction, social origin, gender identity, intersex status or trade union membership. Keep this in mind when you are hiring remote workers. Security Deloitte has created a great data-security guide for remote companies on how to maintain control and governance. Here are the key takeaways. Data Leakage: Keeping computers well-protected should be an absolute priority for all remote tech workers. The latest versions of antivirus software and trustworthy cloud storage must be prioritized to de-risk data leakage.
Non Disclosure Agreements:
Make sure to sign a Non Disclosure Agreement and privacy policy with all your employees to protect your intellectual property. Work devices shouldn’t be used for their personal needs and private chats. Virtual meeting rooms and chats: All virtual meeting solutions that are used should meet organizational standards.
Productivity and Culture:
Productivity is vital for every company’s growth, although research has shown that the majority of employees are more productive working from home. Lack of face-to-face supervision and access to information Managers should establish regular check-ins or day-to-day calls with employees. Do not rely only on written communication. Instead, communicate in a comfortable way for employees, so they feel they can contact you about their concerns and questions.
Encourage new employees to find a social buddy among their co-workers and spend more time communicating with them. Rather than an input-driven management style, focus on building to a more output-oriented management style. Remote working culture Continued engagement with employees to maintain company culture is key to building a healthy remote working environment. Employee disconnection At times, remote employees report a feeling of disconnection from their co-workers because there is no in-person interaction. This can weaken bonds and result in lower levels of trust between colleagues, making collaboration more difficult. Try to re-invent coffee breaks and watercooler chats in a digital form. Support any initiatives your colleagues come up with to meet online or have chats in messengers on various topics.
Everyone should have an opportunity to take a break and engage in some fun content or small talk with each other. In your strategy to engage your remote team, don't underestimate the power of asynchronous communication: dedicated channels in messengers, shared documents, and all other social platforms where your teams can collaborate will help you to facilitate formal and informal communication. Mental health Maintaining a healthy lifestyle and clear work boundaries while staying connected with remote colleagues is vital. Don’t let feelings of anxiety, isolation, and depression fester inside your remote team. Reaffirm your commitment to the team constantly, practice empathy and understanding, and provide clear communication whenever you need any tasks to be achieved. Trust Be very clear about your expectations of your remote team.
Setting clear goals and expected outcomes will help your team to achieve their tasks and manage time properly. Avoid micromanagement by using digital tools to better understand when your remote team is most active and most productive. Trust your team, build healthy business relationships, and encourage key values, such as self-discipline, initiative, and independence among remote workers. Conclusion Just about a decade ago, the idea of remote working was only seen as a futuristic possibility. But with the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for work-from-home policies to observe the social distancing regulations imposed by governments has become vital, forcing enterprise employers to adapt and rework their entire business models to get work done.
Today, remote work isn’t just perceived as a futuristic idea, it has metamorphosed to become a very important factor in the hiring process. Even top technology companies like Google & Facebook have expressed their interests in making permanent remote work options for their software engineers and tech talents whose jobs and daily tasks can be completed remotely. It’s clear that remote work is here to stay. Whether you are already hiring remote workers or just considering it, we recommend that you try out the strategies outlined in this guide and see what works and what doesn’t work for you and your team. Remember to keep it simple, fun, and engaging, and you will definitely reap the rewards!
Also published on: https://blog.borderlesshr.com/ultimate-guide-to-finding-and-hiring-remote-tech-talents-2021-part-1/