Still on the fence about going the remote development route? You’re in the right place. Managing a team in different time zones and locations can be challenging, but wait a moment. We’re here to change those unsure thoughts into a confident “yes!” by diving into the benefits of hiring remote developers—and how to do it the right way.
In the next few moments, we will discuss 14 important advantages of remote teams. These advantages will eliminate doubts and provide you with more knowledge on how remote teams can enhance your startup’s progress. We’re talking about snagging the best talent, keeping your spending in check, and, yes, launching your product at warp speed.
This isn’t just a scroll-through article – it’s your friendly guide through the remote work universe, ensuring your startup not only takes off but soars, all while keeping the budget neat. Get ready, future startup star! Let’s turn your worries into enthusiasm and discover how your business can thrive in the busy 2023 market.
14 Benefits Of Hiring Remote Developers
1. Tap Into Global Talent
When you’re not restricted by location, the world becomes your pool of talent. This isn’t just a game-changer for pure tech companies; it has far-reaching implications for startups across diverse industries.
Take, for instance, a renewable energy startup based in San Francisco working on a state-of-the-art solar kit. This isn’t just about the hardware; it’s about the software that optimizes energy use, learns user behaviors, and even integrates with smart home systems. Imagine combining top-notch solar panel technology with cutting-edge energy management software.
With a remote work model, you could bring in a software developer who specializes in machine learning from Berlin to work on the kit’s energy optimization algorithm. You could also tap into a UI/UX designer from Tokyo to make the user interface as intuitive as possible.
This way, you get a holistic team of developers that contributes diversified skills, backgrounds, and approaches to a project that’s not just hardware-based but also software-driven.
2. Maximize Cost-Efficiency
Cost efficiency in remote hiring isn’t just about saving money on office space and utilities. It also impacts other business operation aspects. For instance, if you were to hire locally in an expensive city like New York, you’d be bound by steep local salary standards.
When you hire remote software developers from regions with lower living costs, you reduce infrastructure costs. Plus, the money saved on other overheads like commuting allowances, office supplies, or even daily coffee and snacks for the team can be substantial.
This lets you reallocate funds to crucial business elements like R&D or employee benefits. A real-world example is Buffer, a company known for its remote-first culture that reports savings of around $1 million/year in office space alone.
3. Boost Productivity
Productivity gains are often at the forefront when discussing remote work benefits. For example, ConnectSolutions reported that 77% of their remote workers said they were more productive when working from home.
Imagine that your startup operates on the East Coast of the United States, and you have developers in Asia. When your local team finishes work for the day, your remote development teams are just starting. This makes it easy to pass tasks from one team to the other without missing a beat.
Moreover, remote employees usually have the freedom to choose their work hours, so they can work when they’re at their best. Without office distractions, they can fully focus and get more done, helping to finish projects faster.
Interested in keeping that productivity ball rolling? Kanban Zone offers excellent strategies to keep your remote software developers focused and on track.
4. Retain Employee Retention
High employee turnover can be a significant setback, especially for startups operating on tight budgets and timelines. An Owl Labs study indicated that companies that allow remote work have a 25% lower employee turnover than those that don’t.
When people can skip the commute and balance work with personal life more effectively, job satisfaction levels spike.
For example, American Express reported experiencing a higher retention rate after introducing remote work options. Without the commuting stress or office distractions, they can focus on helping customers. You start to see fewer complaints, faster answers, and positive reviews from customers.
5. Speed Up Time-To-Market
In today’s fast-moving business world, you need to keep up with the pace. Startups, in particular, benefit from getting their products or services to market as swiftly as possible. Companies like Zapier, a remote-first business, manage to introduce new product features rapidly. When you employ remote developers, work can happen around the clock.
This accelerates development cycles and lets you launch faster, giving you a competitive advantage. With remote teams, code can be written, tested, and deployed more quickly because you have employees working somewhere at all times. This makes it easier to meet deadlines and keeps your startup agile.
6. Access Specialized Skills Easily
The tech industry is brimming with niches that require specialized skills. If you need a Python developer experienced in machine learning or a front-end developer who specializes in React, you can find them more easily with a broader, global search.
Many industries don’t entail tech expertise. For example, if you’re a pet insurance firm that has little to no knowledge about development, instead of hiring an in-house developer, you can hire an expert remote developer you don’t have to handhold.
Likewise, sometimes you need people with very specific expertise, like medical experts. For instance, if your company focuses on medical alert systems, find someone well-versed in medicine and medical alert equipment.
Remote hiring lets you search worldwide for medical experts who understand healthcare intricacies. This ensures that your products or services meet top safety and reliability standards.
7. Minimize Office Politics
Office drama can be a big headache and a time waste. When your team works remotely, there’s less chance for drama to start. People focus more on the job at hand because they’re not chatting in person all the time. This can make your whole team more productive.
For example, let’s say you’re launching a new app feature. Without office gossip to distract them, your developers can put all their energy into making that feature fully functional and bug-free. They can code better, solve problems faster, and get the feature out to users quicker than if they were dealing with office politics.
Communication tools like Slack help here. They keep work chats on topic and to the point. This can make your team even more efficient. They’ll focus on what really matters: doing good work that helps your startup succeed.
In the long run, working with remote developers can make your business grow stronger and more competitive.
8. Ensure Quick Disaster Recovery
When disaster strikes, whether it’s a flood in your local office or a widespread internet outage, a remote team acts as your business’s safety net. By not putting all your eggs in one basket—aka one physical location—you’re creating a built-in disaster recovery plan.
Take, for instance, a scenario where your local office experiences a power outage while you tackle an important project. If your whole team were on-site, work would grind to a halt. But with remote developers, the work keeps going.
They can pick up right where they left off or even take over tasks that were being handled by the affected office, making sure that deadlines are met and progress continues.
This setup becomes even more valuable if your startup is in a region prone to natural disasters like earthquakes or hurricanes. When local operations are affected, a remote team can take on an even more significant role in maintaining business continuity. This isn’t just convenient; it could be the difference between keeping and losing clients during a crisis.
To make this distributed model truly effective, it’s not just about the people; it’s also about employing the right tools. Consider platforms that are designed for these exact scenarios. They can manage tasks and keep everyone in the loop, transforming what could be chaotic transitions into smooth operations.
9. Expedite The Hiring Process
Time is money, especially in the startup world. Need to hire talent quickly for an upcoming project or to seize a market opportunity? A remote, full time team can be your game-changer. You’re not just looking in your backyard; you’re scouting talent from around the world. This broadens your options and speeds up the hiring timeline significantly.
Take this example: you’ve just secured funding and need to launch a new feature within 2 months. Normally, hiring and relocating the right people would eat into that precious time. But with remote hiring, you can onboard experts almost immediately. Platforms like Arc make it possible to find, interview, and hire specialized developers within days, not weeks.
This speed isn’t just about filling seats faster. It’s also about getting your product or service to market quicker than your competitors. Every day saved in the hiring process can be another day spent on development, quality assurance, or marketing. In a competitive market, these days can make all the difference.
Moreover, remote work platforms have matured to the point where onboarding and training can also happen quickly and effectively online. From shared digital workspaces to video training sessions, getting your new hires up to speed can be done in a snap. All this contributes to a faster, more agile startup that’s ready to adapt and grow.
10. Slash Employee Overhead Costs
Cutting costs without compromising on quality is the ultimate win-win. Forget the maintenance of office expenses. No rent, no utility bills, no in-house snacks or coffee supply, and the list goes on. But the savings don’t stop there; remote work can affect your bottom line in other, less obvious ways too.
First off, onboarding expenses drop dramatically. Typically, bringing a new developer into an in-house team involves buying new hardware, setting up workstations, and maybe even relocating the developer. These costs vanish with remote workers. Most remote developers come with their setup, ready to plug into your operations from day one.
Now, consider training. Traditional orientation sessions, printed training manuals, and other learning resources can add up. With remote workers, this is usually streamlined through digital channels, making it not only cost-effective but also more dynamic and up-to-date. Online training modules can be updated quickly, ensuring your team is always in sync with industry best practices.
11. Expand Markets In Real-Time
Expanding your market reach sounds great on paper, but the execution can get messy. Having remote developers stationed all over the world can make this significantly easier and far more effective.
Imagine having a “local” team everywhere. Your developers become not just coders but also your eyes and ears on the ground, offering invaluable intel on local market conditions, consumer behavior, and cultural specifics.
For example, let’s say you run an eCommerce lingerie store that’s popular in the U.S., and you’re looking to break into Asian markets. A remote developer based in, say, Tokyo or Seou, can provide insights on local fashion trends, size preferences, and even cultural nuances affecting lingerie shopping. These details are often missed in top-down, one-size-fits-all strategies.
It’s not just about adapting your product but fine-tuning the user experience. Have you ever wondered why some global brands release different website versions or apps for different countries? It’s because they’ve gathered insights similar to what your remote team can offer you.
By making these smart changes, you can offer a local feel to your product or service, making it more likely for people in new markets to embrace what you offer.
12. Empower Teams With Flexibility & Autonomy
When people have room to breathe and control over how they work, magic happens. That’s what flexibility and autonomy in remote work offer, and the impact on your startup can be groundbreaking.
Employees who can set their hours, or choose to work during their most productive times, feel more in control and less stressed. This has a direct, positive effect on their productivity and their work quality.
Picture this: some developers are night owls who do their best coding after dark. In a traditional 9-to-5 setup, they’d be stuck chugging coffee and struggling to focus during hours when they’re not naturally at their best.
But with remote work’s flexibility, they can align their schedule with their internal clock, producing high-quality work in less time. It’s a win-win.
The autonomy part comes into play here too and remote developers are autonomous by nature. They manage their time effectively, meeting deadlines without constant supervision. When a team member knows they’re trusted to make significant decisions, it builds a sense of ownership and responsibility. This often causes workers to go the extra mile so their projects succeed.
Now, you might worry that too much freedom means less control over your team, but that’s where modern management tools and technologies come into play. For instance, if your startup is looking to transition data from your existing Postgres database to a more scalable solution, platforms like BigQuery offer great possibilities.
To ease that transition, articles like this one on Postgres to Bigquery can be instrumental in guiding your remote team. It’s all about keeping the workflow smooth and efficient without micromanaging your people.
13. Enhance Work-Life Balance
Remote work flexibility has a direct impact on employee well-being. It’s easier for remote workers to manage their time, which allows them to fit in exercise, meal planning, or even just spend quality time with family.
A balanced lifestyle fosters better mental and physical health, improving work performance. Plus, healthier employees are generally happier and more productive. For those who take their fitness regimen seriously, knowing what makes a good pre-workout can even contribute to better energy levels throughout the workday.
14. Foster A Global Team Culture
When you bring remote developers on board from different corners of the world, you’re building a diverse and truly global team culture. It brings together people with various perspectives, life experiences, and backgrounds.
A great way to build a close team and also increase your sales is by using online platforms like Discord and Whop.
Discord is a place where your team can talk, share ideas, and work together easily, even if they are in different countries.
Whop takes it a step further. It lets you monetize your Discord server. So, while your team is using Discord to create and plan, you can also use it to sell special access or digital products to customers. This way, your team isn’t just creating things; they’re also helping you sell them directly through the same platform they use every day.
Conclusion
Are you sold on the idea of going remote with your development team this year? With benefits ranging from cost savings to tapping into global talent, it’s hard to ignore the advantages.
When you start recruiting remotely, remember that communication is key. Use the right tools and establish clear protocols from the get-go. With the barriers of location stripped away, you want to make sure everyone’s on the same page to capitalize fully on the benefits of remote work.
Also, don’t underestimate the power of company culture, even in a remote setting. Keep that team spirit alive through regular virtual meetups or even an annual in-person retreat. Trust us, a connected team is a productive team.
Ready to take the plunge and get a leg up on your competitors? Your next all-star developer could be just a click away. Head over to our website and discover how HireAI can help you sidestep the hassles of outreach, job ads, and resume screening, connecting you with the world’s standout pros faster than you can say “remote benefits.”
So what are you waiting for? Transform your startup’s future today!
Author Bio: Burkhard Berger is the founder of Novum™. He helps innovative B2B companies implement revenue-driven SEO strategies to scale their organic traffic to 1,000,000+ visitors per month. Find out about your true traffic potential with Burkhard!
