When the pandemic forced many people out of work, remote employment gained popularity and helped businesses run more efficiently. Even a recent Staitsa study confirmed that the pandemic had increased the trend toward remote hiring across the globe. And it even makes a lot of sense to hire remote developers for your team as it makes your development process smooth and also fills the talent gap in your team. The recent trend in technologies is also acting as a catalyst in increasing hiring in remote jobs.

However, there are a few factors to take into account before hiring a remote developer to simplify your development process and avoid headaches. Here are five tips for hiring a remote developer that will save you time and money in the end.

1. Defining the scope of the project
   When you’re working with a remote developer, it’s important to be very clear about the scope of the project from the outset. This means that before you even begin the hiring process, you should have a thorough project description and a timeframe established. You should also be aware of the abilities and experience you require from the development team. Be as exact as you can in your job descriptions for some roles, which should include requirements for programming language proficiency, framework knowledge, and technological stack knowledge. Without this level of clarity, it will be very difficult to manage the project effectively.
2. Choose the Right Platform
   Since numerous job seekers are actively looking for remote employment prospects every day, they are already aware of the top platforms where they can find their potential clients and these platforms are not job portals like Monster and Indeed, or LinkedIn platforms. In order to find the best candidate, avoid posting remote jobs on these channels Instead there are a number of different platforms that you can use to find remote developers, such as Upwork, Toptal, and GitHub. It’s important to take some time to research the different options and find the one that best suits your needs.
3. Communicate Clearly
   One of the challenges of working with remote developers is communication. It’s important to be clear and concise in your communications in order to avoid misunderstandings as these can lead to mistakes which can eventually create delays in the project delivery. You might also believe that it will be difficult to communicate with your developer if they are from another country and speak a different language, but this is untrue. As long as they can have a meaningful conversation with you and comprehend your needs, they do not necessarily need to be native speakers. Even the concept of time zones also works similarly. A time zone difference shouldn’t be a problem as long as your developer is open to speaking with you during normal work hours. Time zone differences could even be advantageous since your remote developer can finish projects overnight. You should also make sure to use a platform that allows for real-time messaging, such as Slack or Zoom so that you can easily get in touch with your developer if needed.
4. Set Clear Expectations
   Goals and requirements frequently change in a development project that is operating at a faster pace. When you’re working with a remote developer, it’s important to set clear expectations from the start. Don’t let your new hire be left behind due to the hectic pace of the job. Your new hire needs to be aware of what you anticipate of them as soon as the project is initiated. This means being upfront about deadlines, deliverables, and any other expectations you have for the project. If you’re not clear about what you expect, it will be very difficult to get the results you want.

There will inevitably be occasions when the work your new recruit produces falls short of your expectations. Deal with this right away; it’s usually simply a small misunderstanding. Everyone needs some direction to fit into an ongoing endeavor, so take the chance to course-correct.

5. Be Prepared for Challenges
   When dealing with remote developers, difficulties will unavoidably arise. It’s crucial to be ready for these difficulties and to have a strategy in place in case they materialize. To begin with, you can find it challenging to integrate your new developer to your team or you might begin to doubt the developer’s abilities in the middle of a project. Whatever the difficulty, you must overcome it with tact and patience to achieve your end goal—the effective completion of the project.

Conclusion
Hiring a talented remote development team is difficult and takes work with adequate supervision and management as the developers are the assets who play a key role in the execution of the final project for any firm. Thus, by adhering to the above recommendations, you can streamline the hiring process and build a flexible, talented, enthusiastic, and hardworking remote development team to support your projects.