It’s been a while now since Remote working and remote hiring have become normal. But does it actually benefit your organization and its operations? Is it truly reliable? 

Well, there are different perspectives to it. 

Are you still skeptical of this ‘modern’ hiring model? If so, let’s go into detail about understanding the current state of remote hiring in the IT industry and how you can boost the productivity of your team by hiring Remote Developers. 

IT Staff Augmentation And the Future Of Hiring Remote Developers  

Ever since the pandemic, companies (especially tech firms) realized that most of their work can be easily handled remotely. 

According to a post by Forbes, 70% of employees would work remotely by 2025. Another one of its posts stated that 74% of employees wanted remote working to be the new standard (which it is). 

As per Research and Markets, the global IT outsourcing market is expected to hit $725.6 Million by 2030. 

Over the past few years companies have been keener towards digital transformation and technological expansion. As per Gartner, 90% of businesses have taken some form of digital initiative and others are thinking to do so. Remote hiring has made it truly flexible. 

How can you use these trends to your advantage? 

Well, hiring full-time employees is not only heavy on your pocket, considering the long-term financial commitment; it’s also very time-consuming (considering headhunting, interviewing, notice periods, etc). 

Remote developers/staff augmentation services significantly lower the costs you have to bear and offer more possibilities to improve the quality of work. Since cost is one of the prime reasons for onboarding remote teams, it would be best to hire offshore Developers. 

Suppose you’re a firm based in New York City. Hiring remote developers from California (approx $132-$200 per hour) may not affect the expenditure graph a lot. In fact, there may not be any difference in the costs at all. Instead, looking for offshore developers from countries like India (approx $25-$100 per hour) can help you lower the overall costs of hiring. 

Why Should You Hire Remote Developers? 

According to the FlexJobs’ Career Pulse Survey conducted in July-August 2022, 65% of respondents desired full-time remote work. Also, many employees believe that working remotely has improved their mental health, productivity, and work-life balance.

Thus, with increased demand for remote work, it will become more challenging for companies to find dedicated and skillful employees willing to work on-site. That is why, to make the transition smoother later on, even major IT companies are hiring remote developers. 

Remote hiring opens up many possibilities for your team while hiring in-house developers for a project can often be limiting. Why compromise your resources when you can access the global talent pool and hire offshore developers to do the same job at lesser expenses! 

With remote hiring or staff augmentation services it gets easier to find IT experts that match your requirements (niche, experience, skills, etc.). This saves a lot of time and costs while improving the success rate for your project. 

In one of our blogs earlier, we compared IT staff augmentation with other recruitment models to help readers choose the best option for their business. For details, 

Read Our Blog: Staff Augmentation vs Managed Services vs Outsourcing  – What’s Better?

5 Ways Hiring Remote Developers Can Skyrocket Your Productivity 

Remote hiring/staff augmentation has many advantages for your business in the long-run. It improves your team’s productivity in numerous ways. We’ve discussed some of them below (and time and again).  

Saves Time And Costs 

Hiring remote teams or developers is often more cost-effective as compared to on-site employees. You can avoid expenses related to office space, utilities, equipment, and other overhead costs.  

Unlike the exhausting hiring procedures, staff augmentation services provide pre-vetted developers and experts proving to be a reliable and time-saving option. 

Establish Long-Term Professional Relationships 

Remote developers are proven to be happier, more satisfied than on-site recruits. Several studies over the past few months have demonstrated – Those who work remotely spend significantly less time unproductive than those who work on-site. 

The same surveys suggested remote workers, on average, work one day more per week than on-site workers. Stats also prove that remote employees are 47% more productive than office workers. 

This means when you hire remote developers or a dedicated team, they are more loyal to maintaining a stable relationship with their clients. Thus it promotes long-term professional relationships. 

Access the Global Talent Pool 

Staff Augmentation eliminates geographical barriers, allowing you to tap into a vast talent pool worldwide. You can hire developers from different countries, with diverse skill sets and experiences, enabling you to find the best-fit candidates for your projects. 

You get the option to interview candidates from various locations based on what skills you are looking for, for a specific project. Besides, you can hire remote developers or a dedicated team on an hourly or monthly basis.  

Fill Skill Gaps Within In-House Team 

Having skilled, experienced remote workers on board will bridge the gap between your overall performance. Your team will get the assistance and guidance they lacked before and focus more on their expertise. 

Remote developers can free up a large chunk of time for your in-house team by handling repetitive, monotonous work. This is how hiring remote developers might improve your work dynamic with your in-house team and aid their confidence level.  

Enhance Flexibility And Scalability 

Another significant advantage of IT staff augmentation is its flexibility and scalability. Businesses often face fluctuations in their project requirements and may require additional resources for short-term or long-term projects. Staff augmentation provides the flexibility to scale the team up or down according to project demands, without the need for permanent hiring.

For instance, during peak periods or when faced with critical deadlines, organizations can quickly ramp up their IT teams by augmenting them with additional staff. The remote developers or team work irrespective of time-zones, enhancing flexibility and coordination. Once the project is completed, these temporary resources can be seamlessly released, preventing unnecessary overhead costs.  

How to Hire Remote Developers?

In the above section we talked a lot about the perks and reliability of remote collaborations. However, finding hiring remote developers who are actually reliable may take some effort. 

But do not fret. 

With the right approach, you can get to the other side of the talent pool with the best workforce for your business or project. 

There’s a highly saturated market with various skills and varied requirements. Choosing the right candidate is crucial since your time and resources will be at stake. 

One of the most important aspects here is to know what skills you’re looking for in the candidates. Other than the technical skills there are some major soft skills that play a necessary role in smooth working. We’ve discussed some of them below. 

8 Things to Consider When Hiring Remote Developers

You have read everything necessary to understand why you should hire a remote developer. Now, it’s time to focus on what attributes to look for while hiring remote developers.

Here are the most important factors to consider when shortlisting remote developers: 

Technical Skills and Experience 

Your project requirements determine the necessary technical skills your remote developers should have. There are many programming languages and frameworks; make sure that the developer(s) you onboard have the right technical expertise. 

For instance, you cannot rely on a Java developer for a project that’s majorly using Ruby on Rails. Also, you must specify whether you want them to handle front-end or backend development. Since these experiences vary, so will the work.  

To understand their skills better, ask questions regarding their scope of work in previous projects along with portfolios. 

Communication and Collaboration 

Clear and effective communication is essential for better collaboration. While remote developers cannot be physically present at your workplace, analyze how you can establish a streamlined communication channel. Since language barriers are common in offshore hiring, consider yours and developers’ language preferences first.  

Cultural Fit 

When hiring remote developers, it’s also important to make sure that the candidates align with your company’s work culture. Collective values, beliefs, decision-making, and interactions play an important role in your company’s growth. It’s good that all team members remain on the same page. 

Availability and Commitment 

It’s likely that the remote developers you onboard as an extended team, have other ongoing projects (not necessarily). Clarify any doubts regarding their availability beforehand. Discuss your project requirements and see if they’re available during your specific work hours to collaborate with the rest of the team. Also, whether they will commit to your project and prioritize it as per deadlines. This would save a lot of delay and mismanagement. 

Security and Data Protection  

While working on the project, the remote developers would access sensitive data from your company and even the clients. The ones you hire should be responsible enough and take appropriate measures to ensure that all confidential information will remain secure. 

References and Reviews 

It’s quite difficult to rely on a single interview and few questions to make sure that a developer will be able to handle your project. Ask for references and look for reviews from their previous clients and companies they’ve worked for. This will help you figure out if they are actually good at implementing all the theoretical knowledge they have.  

Contractual Arrangements 

You must also consider the contractual requirements when hiring remote developers (especially when offshore). It would be the best to include all agreed points in the contract. These may include intellectual property rights, ownership of the software, data security and privacy protocols, etc. 

Support and Management 

Whenever you onboard employees, support and management is an essential arrangement to make. Based on the expertise of your remote developers you will have to align necessary support and management to ensure smooth onboarding and completion of tasks. 

Once you have the requirements clearly listed out, your search gets easier. Now let’s move to the next important question, 

Where to Find Remote Developers? 

There’s not one but many ways you can find and hire remote developers. Some of them include: 

Freelancing Job Platforms  

Websites like Upwork, Freelancer, and Toptal are popular platforms where you can find remote developers. These platforms allow you to post job listings, review portfolios, and connect with skilled professionals from around the world. You can specify your requirements, conduct interviews, and hire developers directly through these platforms. 

There are also platforms like Remote.co, Remote OK, and We Work Remotely that focus specifically on remote work opportunities. These platforms cater to a remote-first audience, making it easier to connect with developers who are experienced and enthusiastic about remote work setups. 

Developer Communities And Forums  

Engaging with online communities and forums dedicated to developers can help you find talented remote professionals and teams. Websites like Stack Overflow, GitHub, and Reddit have active developer communities where you can post job openings or directly reach out to individuals who showcase relevant skills and expertise. 

Social Media Platforms  

Utilize social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook to connect with developers. Join relevant groups, participate in discussions, and share job opportunities. Social media platforms provide a vast network of professionals who might be actively seeking remote work opportunities or can refer you to potential candidates. 

Tech Meetups And Conferences  

Attend or sponsor technical conferences and meetups that attract developers and software development companies like us. These events provide opportunities to network and connect with and hire remote development team that’s passionate about their work. You can also consider hosting virtual events to expand your reach and engage with remote talent.

Referrals and Recommendations  

Leverage your existing network and ask for referrals or recommendations for remote developers. Reach out to colleagues, friends, and industry professionals who may have worked with or know remote developers suitable for your requirements. Personal recommendations can be valuable in finding reliable and skilled candidates.

Now that you know what you’re looking for in the candidates and where to find them, it’s time for the next step. 

The Process Of Hiring Remote Developers  

A well-defined process will always save you from a lot of clutter (as we said earlier). Here’s how to hire remote developers :-

Step 1: Define the Scope Of Work 

Before you hire a developer you need to define the scope of work. What kind of software do you want to build? How many team members should be working on it? Do you really need to hire someone new or there are other developers in your team who have the required skills and time-slab for the project? Answering these questions beforehand will help you make the best use of your time and resources. 

Step 2: Set the Goals And Priorities 

Make sure you come up with precise explanations for why you need a distributed team. Clearly define the skills, qualifications, and experience necessary for the remote developer position. This includes outlining the specific programming languages, frameworks, and tools required for the role. It will help you ease the complexities in screening.  

Step 3: First Screening  

When speaking of hiring software developers remotely, video interviews via Zoom or other similar platforms would be helpful. This will give you an insight into the person’s values and decide if they’re actually a cultural fit for your organization. You will also get to evaluate their communication skills and self-discipline. Do not forget to ask important questions about their work style and how they prioritize amidst multiple tasks. 

Step 4: Technical Screening 

The next step involves evaluating the technical skills of shortlisted candidate(s). Conduct technical assessments or coding tests to evaluate the candidates’ programming skills and problem-solving abilities. This can include online coding challenges, coding assignments, or technical interviews. It will give you an insight into their expertise and quality of work you can expect.   

Step 5: Final Interview 

Once the candidate clears the previous screenings, it’s time for the final interview. Here, you should discuss the candidate’s salary expectations and other requirements. Discuss their past experiences and ask questions that give you a better idea of how they will interact and collaborate with your existing team.  

Step 6: Onboarding  

When the candidate(s) meet all your requirements, you can send off the offer and onboard them remotely as you find suitable. 

This gets rather easier when you turn to experienced software development companies that provide dedicated developers and teams. 

Hire Developers From Offshore Software Development Company

Many projects require professional teams. That’s where companies like us come to your rescue. We let you skip the tedious process of shortlisting candidates and interviewing them individually to form a team. While you may still want to interview them, this way it’s more reliable and time-saving as you can access pre-interviewed, handpicked, and trained developers. 

Our sole purpose since the founding of Narola Infotech 17 years ago has been to provide creative solutions to various problems and pains that businesses go through during their formative years. We are a team of 350+ pre-vetted experts who can meet all your specific project requirements whether from scratch or mid-crisis situations. 

Our clients trust us for providing robust IT solutions to streamline/simplify their operations.

View case study of our previous project :- 

We provide monthly and hourly billable plans through which you can hire a remote developer or a dedicated team to build custom software, apps, and websites or even offer software and web maintenance services. Looking for a reliable development partner or an extended team? We’re all set to help. Tell us your requirements. We’ll reach back sooner than you expect!  

By accessing top talent, leveraging flexibility and scalability, reducing time-to-market, and promoting knowledge transfer, businesses can skyrocket their teams’ productivity and drive innovation.

IT staff augmentation enables organizations to assemble high-performing teams tailored to their specific project requirements. With the right mix of in-house and remote professionals, businesses can overcome skill gaps, deliver projects faster, and achieve their strategic objectives. Embracing IT staff augmentation as a strategic business approach is a game-changer that propels organizations towards success in today’s competitive landscape.