The year 2020 was undoubtedly a revolution for remote work. According to Gartner, as many as 88 percent of companies worldwide introduced the ability to work from home after COVID-19 was declared a pandemic. As it turned out, hiring remote employees, especially in the digital industry, is an excellent idea. And if you are wondering why — we invite you to read this article.

How has COVID-19 changed the rules for building digital products?

According to a new McKinsey Global Survey, COVID-19 has sped up the adoption of digital technologies by several years. The pandemic forced entrepreneurs to introduce new strategies and practices, allowing them to operate freely without the need for face-to-face meetings. The key changes mainly include:

1. The increased importance of technology and the use of modern tools

First of all, to work efficiently in remote teams, companies must use appropriate tools. This applies to solutions for:

• communication (e.g. online instant messaging);
• online meetings, including remote onboarding integration of new employees;
• signing contracts (use of electronic signature, etc.);
• tracking working time;
• task and project management;
• analytics & data visualization;
• and many others.

2. Reduced importance of geographical distance

Moreover, meetings with clients and business partners took the form of online meetings, which significantly reduced the importance of geographical distance. This new situation made companies more open to cooperation with foreign companies because, nowadays, the geographical location of the contractor is no longer important. This is confirmed by the results of the above-mentioned study, according to which companies confirmed that at least 80 percent of their customer interactions today are digital in nature.

3. Wider choice of employees and business partners

The aforementioned reduction of the importance of the employee or partner's location has given companies a much greater ability to establish valuable cooperation. This is particularly important in the case of experienced software developers who are still hard to find in the labor market. Thanks to remote cooperation, entrepreneurs can find specialists with a profile and skillset perfectly suited to their company's needs.

Why is remote software development the future of product development?

Sped up digitalization caused by pandemic showed that remote software development is the future of product development. Why? Below, we highlight the eight most important reasons:

1. Huge talent pool

The first and most important advantage of remote software development is, of course, the unlimited possibilities when searching for new employees. As an employer, you don't have to limit the search for employees to  your local area —  you can search for them all over the world!

According to a McKinsey survey, 87 percent of organizations are already experiencing or expecting to face a tech talent shortage within the next few years.

The solution is to look for remote employees, especially in countries where the shortage of programmers is relatively low. A good direction is, among others, Poland, which provides around 40,000 IT graduates per year (constituting 10 percent of the entire European Union). 

2. Cost reduction

Hiring a remote IT team also reduces costs — both for employees as well as employers. Employees do not spend money on fuel or public transport, while employers save on costs related to office maintenance. 

But that is not all. Employers can look for employees from smaller towns or countries where rates are more competitive — and that also provides big savings because both their cost of living and the financial expectations are usually lower.

However, the lower costs of an employee do not necessarily mean lower quality. Offering a remote job provides a better chance of finding talented specialists. For example, if you decide to look for employees in Central and Eastern Europe, you can work with some of the best programmers in the world (you will find confirmation in point 6).

3. Speed up the recruitment process

As an employer, you surely know how difficult it is to find a good, qualified IT specialist. Recruitment processes take months, which also generates high costs and frustration for HR departments. Expanding the search to other cities, and even countries, is a step that will allow you to shorten the process of searching for new candidates and make the HR departments' work easier.

4. Improve efficiency

According to the CoSo Cloud Survey, as many as 77 percent of people who work remotely claim that they're more productive when working from home. People are focused on their tasks, have fewer distractions, and what's more, they want to show that they perform their duties properly. These results show that remote work is the future of many sectors, not just IT.

5. Maintain a competitive advantage

If you don't hire remote developers, you risk losing your competitive advantage. Nowadays, most digital companies choose this option because it is a very important issue for employees who enjoy working remotely and can't imagine returning to the office. After a pandemic, remote work opens many opportunities, such as working from any place in the world. Lack of such an opportunity in your organization may result in big problems finding valuable employees.

6. Access to world-class developers

Do you want to find world-class software developers who will help you build a top-quality product? If you decide to hire remote workers, you will have this opportunity. 

As we mentioned before, one of the best places both to outsource IT services and hire software developers is Central and Eastern Europe. Why? According to Hackerrank, Polish software developers are in third place among the most skilled software engineers in the world. If you decide to build your software remotely, you will have the opportunity to work with the best specialists from this country without the need to relocate them.

7. Create a diverse work environment

Nowadays, building a culture of diversity is extremely important. A remote team consisting of employees located in different countries can learn a lot from each other with valuable tips. It is also a factor that shows that you are an open and forward-thinking employer who is focused on development and innovation.

8. Perfect choice for small and medium-sized companies

If you are a start-up owner, or your company is not big and does not need a big IT team for the long term —  you should consider outsourcing your software development services. This is a great option if you need the support of experienced software developers for specific product development.

Currently, depending on your company’s location, you will probably encounter two terms: offshoring and nearshoring. 

Offshoring is one of the biggest budget-cutting methods of outsourcing. It means outsourcing the processes to vendors from distant countries, such as India or China, where the talent pools are vast and the expenses are low. The biggest challenge with this option is the timezone, as well as cultural differences.

Nearshoring means outsourcing to a nearby country. This option allows for holding face-to-face meetings more frequently, at a lower cost. Moreover, cultural compatibility is higher, which facilitates work coordination and reduces the risk of misunderstanding.

As you can see, the advantages of hiring remote software developers definitely outweigh the disadvantages. What's more, most of the cons mentioned below, such as communication problems, are issues that can be worked out, especially if the whole team works remotely.

How to make remote software development work

Remote working is a prominent part of the work at Ideamotive. Our employees can work from the Warsaw office and remotely - depending on their preferences and location. Our team works effectively, which is demonstrated by a significant number of satisfied customers. So, what is our recipe for effective remote working? Here are some tips that may be useful for your company.:

Use the best tools for remote teams

The key to effective remote working is good tools that facilitate processes such as:

• team communication,
• onboarding new employees,
• workflow,
• classification and status of the tasks.

Curious about what tools we are talking about? Have a look at this article.

Regular online meetings

In remote teams, clear and regular communication is essential. That is why we meet every day for 15-minutes daily meetings, during which we talk about issues that come up in a project. The principle is simple - it has to be short and concise.

Use smart metrics

Besides communication tools, team management tools are key. However, you should think about what is really worth measuring and what statuses are worth introducing. You can read more about metrics in project management in this article.

Building a culture of trust and support

Remote working, especially for beginners, is a real challenge. To help them find their way in the new reality, you need the support of more experienced colleagues. At Ideamotive, we make sure that every employee feels like an important part of the team, in which we trust and support each other.

Want to learn more valuable tips related to remote software development work? Read this article and find out how to stay Agile with remote teams.

Where to find remote software developers who will deliver

As mentioned before, one of the best places to employ world-class software developers is Poland. So, if you're looking for a software developer team that will be perfectly matched with your industry, technology, team dynamics and company culture - contact us and hire top remote developers.

Switching to remote work was associated with many challenges. However, as it turned out, it was a much-needed change that provided many new opportunities and made software development in a remote team almost mandatory.