After the challenges of the last three years, the push by companies to get staff back to the office has become quite evident. At the same time, most employers have seen the benefits of working remotely in regard to productivity, cost-efficiency, and employee satisfaction.
These benefits particularly hold true for design and software development teams, whose jobs can be completed remotely without the structures and equipment exclusive to office environments. This means developers qualify as remote-capable employees: and according to Gallup,53 percent of all remote-capable employees expect a hybrid arrangement moving forward.
With that in mind, if you’d like to stay ahead of the curve by outsourcing some of your company’s development needs, the first step would be to find a reliable remote developer. I know! The recruiting process can be grueling, but it gets easier once you know what to look for. Here is a rundown of five things to consider before hiring remote developers.
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Identify Your Business’s Requirements
Every business is unique in terms of organizational structures, visions, ideas, products, and services. The first thing you’ll need to do is inch down on ways you think a remote developer can help drive your company closer to its goals.
Are you looking for a back-end or front-end developer? Should they be experts at a specific programming language like Java or Python? What will be their daily tasks, if any? Do you need support for existing IT services?
You’ll need to outline all these ahead of time so you can best compare resumes and improve your chances of hiring skilled remote developers that meet your standards and requirements.
Language Barriers
If you’re running a firm based in an English-speaking nation and the remote developer you’re considering is in a country where English isn’t the official language, you may need to brace for some communication issues.
Needless to say, the talent of your remote developer won’t really matter if they cannotcommunicate accurately with the rest of your team. There will be delays and mistakes that need to be solved asap: issues that, if not solved, will result in poor product quality, unmet expectations, and frustration from both sides.
The easiest way to get around this is to hire remote developers from regions like South-East Asian countries (like India), where most of the workforce is educated and possesses fluent English-speaking skills to communicate effectively with clients.
This brings me to the next point you should consider: open and secure communication channels.
Communication Channels
Before hiring any remote developer or team, ensure that their communication channels meet your business’ transparency and security standards. If the developers and your organizations are in two distinct geographical timelines, you’ll also need to plan a frequency of meetings that accommodates everyone’s time zones.
Daily stand-ups can be a great idea as they help companies evolve cohesion between distinct members without tying up anyone’s schedule. Using Zoom or Skype as the communication tool is effective here. Also, remember to take these daily opportunities and emphasize the project’s requirements and your company’s vision.
Hard And Soft Skills
The development process is often long and tedious, requiring much attention to detail and close collaboration within teams. As might be expected, not everyone is suited for such work (skill levels notwithstanding.)
So, what soft skills should you be on the watch out for? Must-haves include excellent communication skills, a desire to keep learning, a work-life balance, self-discipline, self-motivation, time management, and the inclination to be a great team player. Remember, cultivating personal competencies is no easier than learning a new coding language.
Regarding hard skills, feel free to stick to traditional expert qualities, like coding skills and theoretical knowledge of the needed technology and methodology. We have an old age rule in our company. If our choice comes down to several candidates whose hard skills appear to equal each other, we pick in favor of people with more developed soft skills.
Cost Overruns
If this is your first time hiring remote developers, be prepared to encounter cost overruns, mainly due to missed deadlines and other potential issues, like realizing your chosen candidate isn’t as capable as they led you to believe after they’ve already started working with you.
Even worse, if you pick less experienced remote developers at lower rates, do not be surprised if you spend more due to errors, delays, and many other issues that arise amidst the development process.
The easiest way to avoid cost overruns is to work with an experienced and dedicated team of remote developers with an excellent track record. JayDevs is a good case in point.
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