7/5/2022

How to Hire Remote Developers for Your Custom Development Project

Outsourcing custom software development projects is quickly becoming a new norm. As of 2017, the percentage of software application development that’s outsourced is 64%.

Outsourced or off-shored IT functions worldwide

And ever since COVID-19 hit, that number has been growing.

This is because for many companies, there’s no going back to regular office work.

Remote work has become too convenient for employers and employees alike.

In this post, we’ll go over the benefits and challenges of hiring remote developers and a step-by-step guide on how to hire one.

Let’s get started!

Benefits of remote development teams for employers

As an employer, the benefit to hiring remote software developers are many:

Lower cost. There’s no need to pay for office space, utilities, equipment, and other traditional employee costs. Remote teams can work from their own home.

Larger talent pool. You get access to talent from across the globe. This promotes more talent, diversity, and innovation.

Higher productivity. According to Statista, 60% of remote software developers report being more productive.

Hybrid options. Remote work doesn’t prohibit a hybrid office solution. With the right tools, you can easily integrate remote workers into your onsite business.

Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1236205/remote-work-impact-software-developer-productivity/

Benefits of remote development teams for employees

Of course, employees benefit from remote work in many ways as well:

More flexibility. Remote workers can choose when and where they want to work. No need to stick to a strict schedule.

No transportation costs. Not commuting to work allows remote workers to save money on fuel expenses, not to mention time from traveling and sitting in traffic.

Lower risk of sickness. As a remote worker, your chances of getting sick (e.g. from COVID-19) are much lower because you’re not exposed to germs from the office.

More work satisfaction. Remote work encourages better work-life balance, which leads to happier and healthier employees overall.

Challenges of remote development teams

That said, hiring remote software developers has its challenges:

Managing job listings. Managing job listings can be stressful as it’s often the last thing you have time for when you need to bring on more help.

Recognizing quality. When there’s a lot of talent, recognizing quality candidates can be difficult and overwhelming. Be careful to identify the best candidates.

Language and cultural barriers. Since remote teams are often spread across the globe, you are bound to run into language and cultural barriers that can make communicating and managing expectations difficult.

Time zone differences. Time zone differences make it tricky to get the whole team together for a call or meeting.

Managing a remote team. Sometimes it’s hard to manage teams when you can’t see them in person.

Despite the challenges, remote work is here to stay. In most cases, the benefits outweigh any disadvantages. If you have a custom software development project that needs done, hiring a remote team is the easiest way to go.

But the process of hiring a remote developer can be daunting and time-consuming. So here’s how to streamline it:

1. Write the job listing

First, write the job listing. This delineates what’s being offered and sets the tone for the rest of the hiring process.

Every remote developer job listing should include the following:

Job title—Keep it clear and accurate. Stay away from clever job title expressions like “rockstar” or “ninja.”

Job description—Go over the role’s responsibilities, your expectations, and the salary and benefits.

Job requirements—Set minimum qualification requirements. This lets you narrow down who should apply.

If you’ve never written a job listing before, feel free to start with a template. You can find some for free with a quick Google search.

As for writing style, use a mix of bullet points and prose. Try to keep it concise, organized, and easy to read over. This way, you’ll attract more applicants and benefit from a larger talent pool.

2. Share job listing

Next, share your job listing.

You want to reach as many potential job candidates as possible.

So distribute your listing across the following channels:

Job boards. Share your job ad on online job boards like Indeed or local ones in your community.

Freelance marketplaces. If you prefer to hire a developer on a contract basis, consider posting your job ad on freelance platforms like Upwork and Fiverr. Know the pros and const of hiring freelance workers.

Social media. LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram—They’re all platforms where you can share job listings and reach a massive audience. So don’t underestimate their power.

3. Screen candidates

Once you have applications coming in, it’s time to screen candidates. Try to sort through them based on merit. Check their portfolios on sites like GitHub and Stack Overflow.

Set up portfolio website using github pages

Source: https://medium.com/@evanca/set-up-your-portfolio-website-in-less-than-10-minutes-with-github-pages-d0efa8ff56fd

The goal is to screen out candidates who won’t make a good match. The more you narrow down your options, the fewer resources you’ll waste in the next steps on job candidates who won’t make the cut.

4. Interview for technical skills

At this point, you’re ready to start interviewing job candidates. Let the ones you selected know by email that you’d like to move forward in the hiring process by scheduling an interview.

The first interview should test the candidate’s technical skills. Are they capable of performing the job? Ask about their past job experience and projects to gauge this.

You might even evaluate their practical coding skills with a programming test. You can use several different online platforms to help facilitate this. The goal is to verify that the candidate not only has theoretical knowledge of software development but the actual know-how.

Alternatively, you could give them a mock programming project to see how they behave in a real work environment.

5. Interview for soft skills

Next, conduct another job interview to evaluate the candidate’s soft skills.

Soft skills refer to how well someone can interact and collaborate with others.

Here, it’s all about seeing if the candidate shares company values and would be a good culture fit. Take note of their attitude, personality, and behavior.

Here are some traits to look for:

Optimism

Communication skills

Team spirit

Long-term vision

Discipline

Organization

Initiative

Work-life balance

Maturity

6. Make an offer

If the candidate checks all your boxes, it’s time to make an offer. Write up a work contract that details the terms of employment. It should go over compensation, benefits, taxes, sick leave, termination policies, and more. This is especially important when hiring candidates from abroad.

You can also choose to hire on an initial trial basis (e.g. for three months), so both you and the candidate can see how good of a fit they are. But if the choice feels good, don’t be afraid to offer them a permanent position.

7. Onboard your new employee

Though onboarding technically happens after hiring is complete, it’s an important step not to overlook.

Your onboarding process should introduce the employee to team members, establish communication channels, review work schedules and deadlines, go over standard work protocols, and cover anything else a new employee should know.

If you go over everything thoroughly and leave room for questions, your new hire will be off to a good start and everyone will benefit as a result.

Partnering with DEV.co

Now that you know how to hire a remote software developer, you can start tackling that custom development project.

But if you’d prefer to skip the hassle of going through all the above steps, consider partnering with a trusted software development and software development staffing agency like DEV.co instead.

Our skilled software developers can help you create or revamp or redesign your website, app, APIs, MVPs, and more. Reach out today for a free consultation!

Ryan Nead

Ryan is the VP of Operations for DEV.co. He brings over a decade of experience in managing custom website and software development projects for clients small and large, managing internal and external teams on meeting and exceeding client expectations--delivering projects on-time and within budget requirements. Ryan is based in El Paso, Texas. Connect with Ryan on Linkedin.