How to hire a software development team remotely?


There is a range of benefits to hiring a remote software development team, including cost-effectiveness, high quality, and scalability. In this article, let's elucidate further on the process of hiring a software development team remotely.

The process of building a team is always challenging. Moreover, it is even scarier to build a team of remote software developers. There are many risks associated with managing remote software teams: will they be motivated to work? How will the development process be organized? Is this not a waste of money? How about the time zone? These are only a few questions to get you started.

If you want a talented team of developers to create a quality application, the hiring process is especially important. It can be challenging to hire expert developers if you have never worked with a remote team. A few strategies can simplify the entire process, so don't worry.

Why do You need to Hire Remote Developers?


There are several benefits to hiring remote developers besides cost reduction. Following is a breakdown of employee and employer benefits.

Benefits for Employees


  • Better Productivity: Remote work has a positive impact on developer productivity. It may be due to changes in how they communicate and collaborate, their work hours, and their lack of commutes.

  • Flexibility: Many remote workers believe that the biggest benefits of working remotely are the flexibility of their schedules and the freedom to work from anywhere. You are likely to attract more candidates who are looking for flexibility by hiring remote developers.

Benefits for Employers


  • Fewer Expenses: In addition to reducing office space, stationery, office supplies, and utility expenses, remote work reduces other expenses.

  • Talent Access: You are not limited to local talent when hiring remote developers. Instead, you have access to talent all over the world.

Challenges of Hiring a Remote Team


Hiring remote developers has several benefits, but it has some challenges as well. We'll discuss these challenges and possible solutions below.
  • Service Quality


    You may have difficulty hiring remote developers from another country if you are concerned about their quality of work. Hiring managers without experience often hire unqualified programmers because they offer services at a lower price. However, if you thoroughly evaluate and test the coding ability and overall technical expertise of remote developers before signing a contract, you can avoid this potential challenge. A portfolio of their previous work may help you determine whether they are a good fit for your project.

  • Time Zone Issues


    Another major challenge for companies hiring remote development teams is time zone differences. The difference or variety of time zones creates challenges in communicating, scheduling meetings, and resolving issues across a team.

    Supporting a workforce that works across multiple time zones requires asynchronous communication. You'll need highly motivated and independent candidates who can manage their work and remain accountable without much direction if you want to hire async-first developers.

  • Cost Overruns


    A novice developer may overrun your budget, delay your timeline, and cause a variety of other problems. It is possible that hiring programmers with less experience at lower rates may end up costing you more in the long run due to errors, delays, or other issues that arise during the development process.

  • Legal Risks


    It is essential to have legal documentation to support your idea. What do we mean by that? A contract should detail the expected workflow, engagement model, and project milestones and goals. You should also sign a non-disclosure agreement. Competitors will be unable to find out sensitive details about your project if you do this.

  • Security Issues


    The communication between your remote team and you takes place in a decentralized environment. Due to this, wireless networks are susceptible to hacking, which can compromise sensitive information such as passwords, financial data, and proprietary information. Hackers also target customers' sensitive personal information and since most remote team members have such information, hackers can gain access in multiple ways.

  • Project Completion


    This challenge is particularly relevant to freelancers who work remotely. There is little loyalty among freelancers to any startup or project, and their loyalty can easily shift when they receive a better offer. This challenge can be mitigated by partnering only with remote development teams with full-time employees. In addition, startups should ensure that the contract agreement stipulates a mandatory completion date for the project.

How to hire software developers remotely


1. Look for candidates

Hiring remote developers requires attracting a large enough pool of candidates to narrow it down to a few top candidates. Three methods are available for sourcing talent for your project:
  • Ads for Jobs Job portals are good places to advertise for remote software developers. Your website can also have a career section where you can post jobs.

  • Social media Platforms: There are many social media platforms where you can find skilled and qualified developers, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If you post the opening in a job-related group, interested candidates can contact you.

  • Freelance Developers Using freelancing platforms like Upwork and Fiverr, you can hire developers for short-term projects.

2. Shortlist Applications and Start Screening

It is essential to spend most of your time sorting applications and screening candidates when hiring dedicated developers. Additionally, you should check their portfolios on platforms like GitHub and Stack Overflow, and make sure they are culturally compatible. Using this process, you will be able to hire software developers from remote locations with the right skills.

3. Perform Soft Skills Interviews

A thorough screening process must be followed by an in-depth interview with each candidate to be able to make an informed decision. Candidates should be evaluated in such a way that the primary focus remains on whether or not they are suitable for your company. In addition to remote programmers, your company should share its value with them as well. Behavioral questions are common when hiring remote teams, as they are used to determine an employee's attitude, personality, and value system.

4. Perform Technical Interviews

A good developer will have both technical and soft skills that are needed for a specific position within your organization. Thus, it's important to conduct both soft skills and technical interviews (even if they can be combined). An engineer, team leader, or technical architect typically conducts a technical interview. It is important to evaluate how a developer candidate thinks, so the interviewer should present an abstract problem and ask the candidate to break it down into tasks.

5. Final offer

You have decided who to hire at this point. Now you need to make an offer and onboard the developers if they accept. As part of the onboarding process, you should establish effective communication channels, schedule meetings, and collect the necessary paperwork. Moreover, you should provide a list of things that all new employees should know. Lastly, one of your in-house developers should be assigned to offer more specific training and answer all remote developers' questions.

How to Effortlessly Manage a Remote Software Development Team


You need to use a strategy, such as Agile methodology, to oversee the activities of your remote software workforce and align their daily tasks and workflows to support the startup's development goals. It became more common for people to work remotely as a result of the pandemic. Poor management skills, however, have made this communication model difficult for many startups. Make sure your remote workforce is as effective as possible by following these tips:
  • The time zone difference is a major hindrance to remote team management. Using golden hours might be one solution to this issue. Golden hours are times when your work hours and those of your remote team coincide. TimeAndDate and EveryTimeZone can be used to calculate time zone intersections and differences.

  • You can use tracking tools to see what's happening in your project, how long each developer has been working, and what they're doing now. You might want to try the following time-tracking tools:

    • Jira

    • Asana

    • Clockify

Freelancers' productivity can be reduced by up to 45% by not actively tracking their time, according to tempo.io. We must take this issue seriously.

Closing Words


No matter whether you hire remote developers or in-house developers, hiring a software development team can be challenging. Since they are about to become a part of your product, determining what you need in candidates is easier. Nevertheless, a smooth communication process is essential when revealing your product's details to your software development team. It is also important to consider a few questions. What is your plan for sourcing candidates? Is it better to hire them as freelancers or as full-time employees? Hopefully, you will find our article useful for making a decision, as we have tried to make things as easy as possible for you.


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