Hiring Remote Developers for Your Startup: Benefits & Challenges

The remote work culture has penetrated enterprises of all sizes and dimensions, including startups. Numerous startups now offer remote jobs and have embraced remote development teams to power their business operations. There are numerous benefits and challenges of hiring remote developers and it’s essential for organizations to understand different aspects associated with remote hiring.

It is crucial for companies, especially startups, to make the right choices and implement productive strategies at different levels of their hierarchy if they want to succeed in the global marketplace. In this blog, we have discussed some of the benefits and challenges of hiring a remote development team for your startup to help you make the right decision.

Should you hire a remote development team for your startup?

One of the critical decisions that startup management has to make is the type of development team they want for handling the software and IT projects. However, before proceeding with the hiring process for your developer team, managers must analyze the pros and cons of assembling a remote development team.

You must consider certain factors, including the type of products or services your startup provides, the skills you need for powering those applications, scalability requirements, budget, benefits and challenges of hiring a remote developers team, and compatibility with your workflow. This will help you determine the type of developer team your startup needs.

Challenges of working with a remote developer team

If you want to hire remote software developers, several challenges are associated with managing a remote developer team. We will provide a brief rundown on some of these challenges and solutions for tackling the challenges.

Let’s get started!

Communication gap

Effective communication is central to an efficient software development team that can deliver high productivity levels in a startup. Communicating company protocols, requirements, and objectives in person is easier than in a remote setting. Hence, it is crucial to integrate effective communication channels to establish the required standards and deploy transparency in all aspects of the company’s operations. Scheduling regular online meetings to track progress and solve problems effectively implements a good communication policy.

Solution: A host of tools in the market facilitate effective communication strategy by streamlining the company's entire operation. These tools include Slack, Chanty, Google Chat, Microsoft Team, etc. The typical features that you get from these apps include group chat, instant messaging, availability status, live notifications, video conferencing, file sharing, company-wide announcements, reminders, calendar syncs, search modifiers, and simple navigation. These functionalities help in effective collaboration through a streamlined process.

Time zone management

Implementing streamlined processes through effective time zone management of different employees is one of the biggest challenges of a remote team. You need your remote developer team to collaborate and communicate with cross-functional teams for maximum efficiency and productivity. Since the remote team is located across the globe, the working hours of different developers will vary based on where they live.

Solution: One of the ways you can streamline the company’s workflow processes is through time management tools that manage time-zone differences. Several applications and time management tools provide a host of regulation and monitoring features for increased productivity. Some highly efficient time management tools available for download include Harvest, Clockwise, Team TimeZone, etc.

Some prominent features you get from these time-management tools include time tracking, workflow management, integration of business tools, automated reminders, attendance training, biometrics recognition, accounting integration, user roles, access management, and more. You can compare the features and subscription charges of the different tools for selecting the most compatible application based on your requirements.

Technical issues

The developers that work remotely rely on their local internet service providers for connectivity and utilize their own devices to develop software projects. They might suffer from device malfunctions or disruption to internet connectivity, thus presenting technical challenges.

Solution: One way to mitigate these issues is by providing your gadgets or computer systems optimized based on the functional requirements of the business. Another way to minimize the tech issues and bottlenecks is to conduct regular sessions on the best practices for maintaining optimum resources required for the smooth functioning of the business operations. This will help in imparting the essential information to the remote team, and that can go a long way in helping the employees remain updated with the latest software and digital solutions,

Security risks

The security of a company’s data and the privacy of its confidential information is one of the biggest challenges faced by companies that function in remote work environments. Keeping the data safe from unauthorized access and breaches is essential as it would lead to massive losses and strategic damage. Hence, if you are considering establishing a remote team for your company, one of the first considerations should be ensuring digital safety and security across the organization's workflow by implementing proper safety measures and cybersecurity protocols.

Solution: One way is by installing robust cybersecurity solutions across the company’s workflow. It is also essential to have strong security policies and protocols in place for establishing a high standard of the secure framework across the organization. You must also regularly conduct security audits and workshops to ensure that the cybersecurity measures are functioning correctly at optimum levels at all times.

Benefits of working with a remote developer team

Now that we have discussed some of the challenges associated with remote workers, let us look at some benefits of hiring remote employees.

Access to global talent

This is one of the biggest advantages of hiring remote skilled developers for your startup. Hiring a remote developer team goes beyond geographical boundaries and opens the doors to the global talent pool. You can handpick the best developers from around the globe with incredible ease.

The diversity of talent available in a remote setting augurs well for the innovation and growth of a startup. When running a startup, you need ambitious and driven individuals willing to push the envelope and test the boundaries of possibilities. This can be made possible by hiring the most coveted and top-rated developers worldwide.

Better productivity

The research and studies have conclusively established that hiring remote workers increases productivity. This elevation in productivity levels can be attributed to numerous factors, including flexibility of working hours, better work-life balance, and other reasons.

Higher productivity means better output every quarter; this is incredibly important for a startup. A well-established company has the resources and buffers to withstand temporary losses or a dip in productivity; however, startups generally don’t have this luxury. Therefore, hiring remote software developers can be a good option for startups.

Decrease in expenses

A startup constantly needs funds and financial investment for scaling the business plus expanding the scope of operations. One of the ways in which startups can have better economic sustenance is by reducing expenses on operational overhead costs. When startups hire a remote development team, they don’t have to spend on real estate such as office space, computer systems, internet connection, and other amenities. This reduces the expenditure and can be a tipping metric for better financial sustenance in the initial months and years.

Better retention rate

The companies with remote work setups have better prospects of retaining their talent than companies that still employ traditional work culture. The remote setup provides the employees with better work-life balance, directly impacting their satisfaction levels and happiness. This means that the developers working remotely are less likely to leave for other companies, thus boosting employee retention.

Employee retention is one of the biggest challenges many modern companies and startups face since employees are increasingly looking for better work-life balance and compensation. This is where remote companies have a significant advantage over companies that still have the conventional work setup.

Which bay area startups hire remote developers?

One of the big reasons behind the increased prominence of remote workers for startups in the bay area is the Covid-19 pandemic. Many startups have cropped up in the bay area, and many of these enterprises offer the best remote jobs to developers for their business operations. Beyond that, these startups have started to realize the benefits of hiring remote developers and thus are increasingly allowing the employees to work remotely from home. Some bay area startups hiring remote developers include AngelList, ManyChat, Onfleet, Token, Upgrow, Rally health, and Insight Engines.

Before you decide to assemble remote developers, it is crucial to document your requirements so that you can streamline the hiring process. Thorough preparation before hiring ensures that the entire process is smoother and there are no surprises.

Wrapping up

If you have a startup, hiring remote software developers can provide an effective mechanism for scaling the business requirements and deploying a highly sustainable model. The startups can also collaborate with recruitment platforms such as Turing to hire the most efficient and highly rated developers worldwide.

Turing is an industry-leading deep jobs platform with some of the most effective tools to help fast-scaling startups and established companies find the top remote software developers worldwide. Its AI-backed Intelligent Talent Cloud assists in sourcing, vetting, managing, and matching Silicon Valley-caliber remote developers with the companies.

If you want to hire top remote developers within 3-5 days, you can sign up at Turing now and start with a 2-week, risk-free trial!