Companies building a remote team don’t (and shouldn’t) have to compromise on the quality of employees, especially global remote teams. And for better and better fit hires, companies should have a rigorous, but not outlandishly difficult, hiring process. A process that gets hires that are optimally skilled, motivated, and in every way fit for the company. Every step of this process should be directed towards this very end goal. In hiring remote developers, the process may get even more tricky.
Sourcing global remote teams
First and foremost, companies should know where they can find possible remote hires. When you’re looking for talent from all over the world, personal networking can only take you so far. It can definitely be effective, but there exist other options that you can pursue. You can tap into a larger talent pool by expanding into different channels of outreach. Global remote teams are always on the lookout for jobs, so they are easy to find if you look in the right place. The entire gameplan of the remote hiring process should be drawn up.
Know more about sourcing remote workers.
Online/Social Networking
LinkedIn and other social media can be excellent sources to attract and engage talent. A good social media presence only increases your visibility in the global sphere, and hence can give you access to global talent. Github and coding platforms also enable you to connect with talented developers.
Referrals from employees
Your existing employees obviously have networks of their own. Referrals from them enable you to tap into their network as well. Also, as your employees know the job inside out, they might know very well if a prospective hire is well-suited for the job.
Remote job portals
Like ordinary job portals, there are some specialized in remote work, aiming to connect remote job seekers to employers. Some of them are WeWorkRemotely, remote(dot)co, WorkingNomads.
Tech events
The cream of the world’s developers and coders can be found in tech events, where highly skilled individuals come to discuss and connect. Many specializations have their own summits and conferences, and they are a great way to connect with people all over the world who would be willing to work for you.
Premium Remote Talent Marketplaces
I’m sure, Non-techies having no idea how to hire techies and committing hiring mistakes. While talent marketplaces can provide you cheap and skilled freelancers for one-off projects, they cannot provide you with full-time remote employees. Premium talent marketplaces, however, can provide you employees for staff augmentation, as well as full-time employees.
Crewscale
We, Crewscale, are a premium talent marketplace with a highly selective pipeline, screened, and tested rigorously. The top 1% of our total applicants are made available for hiring, and the hires are then tested to be perfectly fit for your requirements through project-based assessments.
Attracting remote talent
Maintaining an international pipeline
Possible candidates are always on the lookout. It is important that you keep them interested however possible, by engaging with them regularly. This engagement can be on social media, or via email. It not only keeps you on their mind but also is beneficial in building goodwill, a strong rapport with them. These engagements may include anything that might interest your prospective hires. Not necessarily job openings, these could be articles or posts that might be informative and beneficial to them.
Presenting opportunities
Obviously, you will have to send out job opportunities as and when they arise. Like engagement, they can be sent out on social media, or on remote job portals. The key is to have it seen by people who are in your pipeline. This can always add to your pipeline even after your requirements are fulfilled.
Creating a job profile
An idea of the perfect hire is the first thing you need to clear up when you hire. With that in mind, list out all your requirements, in terms of skill set, experience, and qualifications. Create a specific job profile, with all the roles and responsibilities clearly listed. A poorly defined job profile can convey a sense of lack of authenticity.
Vetting, screening, and hiring worldwide networkers
The hiring process is huge in itself, and a lot more has to be considered when you’re dealing with global remote teams. It is hence important that you keep a few things in mind while in the evaluation process.
Standardized vetting and screening
When hiring worldwide remote teams literally from all corners of the earth, you cannot evaluate them solely by going through their profiles. The vetting and screening process should include the scope for standardization.
Different countries and different regions can have largely different metrics of evaluation, not only due to cultural but also systemic differences. These differences can be visible in work experience, in educational qualifications, as well as show up in vetting: culture influences the working approach to a great extent.
Remote paired coding interviews
Whiteboard tests are highly impractical in remote interviews for developers. Not just impractical, they are a logistical disaster. A better way to evaluate candidates is to assign them coding problems in pairs. The two candidates work on the problem as a team, to arrive at the solution. This not only tests the candidates’ technical prowess, but it also tests their problem-solving cooperation. It also provides the candidates with a glimpse of the actual work they are in for.
Skill tests need a revamp
Skill tests are ubiquitous when it comes to hiring developers. But as of now, they are generic tests of memory and knowledge of a given language. They are effective in testing a candidate’s depth of knowledge, but not breadth. For skill tests to be effective, they should be modified to be made relevant to your requirements. But is there a need to upgrade them?
This is possible using skill matrices, which quantify the amount of expertise required from a candidate in each skill that you demand. It helps you visualize the contrast between what you need, and what the candidate has to offer.
Project-based assessments
They are probably the best way to simulate reality within the hiring process: giving the candidates a realistic project to finish, within a realistic deadline. How do they play part in the overall interview process?
The utility of such assessments is maximum when the projects are similar to what the candidates are expected to do on their jobs. However, they do need to be very reasonably crafted, with a proper blueprint for evaluation. You don’t want your candidates to turn away from the prospect just because the evaluation is too tedious and time-taking for their already busy schedules.
Also, many companies tend to freeride in the guise of PBAs, by making candidates work on the company’s unfinished tasks. This is not only a huge breach of ethics, but it can also harm your credibility in the market, and can even become a legal issue.
Mistakes to avoid while hiring global networkers
Setting a difficult standard
Probably nothing turns many perfect hires away from your company than if your expectations are too high. You might have seen social media posts about companies that demand experience in some language/platform longer than it has existed. Do not be one of those companies. Having high standards for global remote teams can amplify this problem.
Non-techs hiring for tech remoters
This is not just a turnoff for candidates, it is a major red flag about a company’s expectations and approach towards hiring. Tech candidates who are motivated enough to work for your company would prefer to have a conversation with someone well-versed in tech, at least for someone who evaluates their tech abilities, and they can see right through someone who isn’t.
Whiteboards in remote interviews
Whiteboard tests are already artificial habitat for any coder, even more so in remote interviews. All whiteboards tests do is force candidates to write their code in a linear fashion, as if they have memorized it. And nothing could be farther from actual coding than this: loads of tracebacks, adding and deleting entire sections of codes, it is extremely difficult on a whiteboard, and hence very restrictive for candidates.
Irrelevant and generic assessments
Project-based assessments (PBAs) are a valuable tool in finding your perfect hire. If you put half-hearted or no effort in preparing such assessments, and rather make them solve standard, generic problems that are not specific to their posts, you squander a great opportunity.
Conclusion
Building a remote team isn’t a challenge or a compromise. It is an opportunity to work with the best possible talent around the world. It is an opportunity to globalize your presence, to make yourself known.
With effective sourcing, screening, and evaluation, you can find your perfect hires from anywhere in the world. There is a massive number of developers who are willing to work remotely, so keep looking wherever you can, and you’ll find your perfect hire.
