Top Things To Consider When Hiring A Remote Software Developer For Your Startup

In 2021, a number of startups had to shut down their operations due to the pandemic. Offices shut down, cities were closed, and social distancing became a norm. This was all followed by the enforcement of nationwide lockdowns. Due to this, they could not work and had to suspend their operations for a while, but remote work stood out as a hope for them, and finally, they restarted the work. Since then, the remote work industry has just shot up exponentially.

Today, out of all the demand for remote jobs – the one for remote developers has skyrocketed the most. As a startup, you might be interested in hiring a remote software developer. The first thing that comes to mind for a lot of startups is, “I’d like to hire the best software developer who can do wonders for my business by building the best software.”

But, this is not how things work. When hiring the right remote software developer, you’ll need to consider various things. Here are the top things to consider when hiring a remote software developer for your startup.

Let’s dive straight into it.

Choosing the right fit

Before starting any recruitment process, you must first know your project requirements, what the role would be, and what skills and experience are needed from your software developer. You need to set the expectations right and make a precise job specification.

Sometimes, you may need a Front-end developer responsible for the user interface (UI), while the other time, you might need someone who can handle both front-end and back-end – a Fullstack Developer. You need to be specific about the requirements so that your money goes to the right place and for the right cause.

Don’t write a grocery list of all the qualities that would be impossible to have. Yes, you have to write the necessary details but describe your requirements in such a manner that candidates see an opportunity to apply and become one of the top contributors with a little bit of training when they join.

Screening, Interview & Onboarding

Once you have chosen your requirements and deciphered the legal aspects of hiring a remote developer, the first thing you should do now is to make sure to screen the software developers. Here’s how you can take a candidate’s journey from screening to onboarding in just three easy, simple steps:

Analyzing the profile

Once you receive the candidate’s applications, the first step is to screen the resume, LinkedIn profiles, previous experiences, and skillsets. If all of these looks accurate and meets your requirements, the candidate can be shortlisted for the interview round.

Interview round

Now, once you’ve shortlisted the candidates, prepare an interview and testing plan that will help evaluate the remote developer’s competence, skills, motive, and dedication. Apart from that, this process will also check the communication abilities of the candidate, internet connection, and how they tackle the problems given to them live.

In this round, you can check the skills mentioned in the resume with real-life tasks, give them tests in the form of a 1-hour test, etc. This will help you effectively track the candidate’s competence and caliber and if he really fits the role.

Smooth onboarding

Smooth Onboarding and induction are very crucial for the long-term aspect of the company. It should be a pleasing experience and should reflect the core values of the company. Well-planned onboarding and early interaction help remote workers integrate well and feel like the part of the project faster.

Managing the Remote Team

Managing remote developers get tedious until you know how to do it right. With an ever-increasing demand for remote hiring, the industry has witnessed the rise and launch of some of the iconic that not only help manage a remote team but also take it one step ahead.

To manage a remote team effectively, you may need these collaboration tools:

Effective Emailing

Email can be used as an effective medium used to communicate and collaborate among teams and clients. It also helps in maintaining a record of the work process, attaching documents, and talking officially.

Messenger

Tools like Slack and Skype are used for messaging among teams. Both the tools come with in-built video conferencing and screen sharing features. While Skype was the king of messaging for a decade, the features of Slack are giving it an edge over the former. Try both of them and figure out what works best for you.

Video Conferencing & Screenshare

Video Conferencing plays an integral part in managing remote developers. Most video conferencing tools have screen-sharing options. Some of these apps are Zoom, Google Meet & Microsoft Teams.

Database & File sharing

Managing your files is as important as creating ones. Google Workspace tops the list regarding Database management and File Sharing. Rather, it elevates the game further by bringing all google tools like Gmail, drive, hangouts, meet, calendar and docs together. Other alternatives include Slack, Zoho, Dropbox, Office 365, and Airtable.

Project Management:

Tasks & Tracking: ClickUp, Trello, Notion, Asana, and JIRA are some of the most used project management tools. These tools help assign tasks and briefs and even track the progress of the work.

We all know “work expands to fill the time available for its completion.” This is important, especially if you’re considering hiring remote developers. Granting too much time to work can lead to underwhelming productivity. Scheduling daily and weekly goals will help mitigate this risk and keep your team motivated.

Keeping a check on Productivity

Assigning work is one thing – getting it completed is another. Most companies keep remote developers at bay. This way they can’t relate to team values and goals, and slowly and gradually lose the essence at work. This ultimately declines their productivity.

So, from day 1, keep all your teammates intact and let them work closely so that all the developers feel equally responsible for their work. This can improve productivity quite significantly.

Last but not least, try to create a democratic environment at your workplace that promotes creative inputs and suggestions and rewards such initiatives from time to time.

How to keep the whole process secured?

Security can often be an afterthought when engaging in remote software development, but it should be at the forefront of your mind. Keep yourself updated with the processes and procedures to maintain security standards, support secure project management, set up 2- factor authentication systems, and establish virtual private networks (VPNs). It is also important to turn on your firewall, encrypt your disk, enable encrypted backups, use SSH Keys, and operate on a secure internet connection.

Summing Up

Remote Work is the future and though hiring them seems tough – it isn’t tough anymore. In this article, we’ve talked about the Top things to consider when hiring a remote software developer for your startup.

This article will not only make you a pro at hiring but teach you about the overall process from hiring to making the best out of your team.

Still, don’t have time to hire?

Feel free to contact us now

We have a pool of over 2000+ vetted developers who are already screened and are just fit to join anytime. Our platform takes care of vetting of resources at multiple levels to ensure you get the best talent.

Sariga Gopalan

Sariga Gopalan works as an HR Generalist at ellow, a platform specializing in tech recruitment. With experience working across the globe, she has an experience of working more than 10 years in the HR industry.