Is Remote Tech Talent a Solution to 'The Great Resignation'?

What is 'The Great Resignation?'

In the midst of the pandemic, companies are concerned -- not only with financial losses -- but also with what economists are calling the Great resignation. The American workforce is leaving in droves, and companies are struggling to adapt.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that a record 4.3 million Americans across different work sectors quit their jobs in August.

According to Prudential’s Pulse of the American Worker Survey, nearly half of all workers in the United States are either considering or actively searching for a new job. 

Many young professionals state that the desire to continue working remotely is a big factor in the search for a new job.

But, what else is driving the Great Resignation? More importantly, what does this mean for the future of work in a post-pandemic world?

We have witnessed a drastic rise in remote work since the start of the pandemic, especially in the tech sector.

As American companies adapt to the future of the post-pandemic economy, can working with remote development teams in Eastern Europe and Central America provide a sense of stability?

What’s Causing the Great Resignation?

The pandemic was undoubtedly a major catalyst for this economic milestone, but there are several other deciding factors that contributed to the build-up toward the Great Resignation.

• Skill Gap .
• Lack of Growth .
• Desire to Work Remotely .
• Desires for Better Compensation & Benefit s.
• ​​​​​​​Wanting to Do Something Different.

Skill Gap

In the Pulse of the American Worker Survey, nearly 3 in 4 workers (73%) say there is a gap between the skills workers in the United States currently possess and those they will need in the future.

Lack of Growth

26% of American workers were compelled to find another job due to a lack of growth opportunities with their current employer.

Desire to Work Remotely

26% of Millenials, which make up the majority of the American workforce, want more flexibility when it comes to working remotely.

At the height of the pandemic, there was a radical split between those who were deemed essential workers (i.e. medical staff, supermarket employees, factory workers) and remote workers.

Those who had the luxury of working from home not only felt a heightened sense of safety and comfort during quarantine, they were also able to save money on things like their commute.

So it comes as no surprise that major tech companies like Apple and Google have struggled to get their employees back to work in the office, despite investing hefty sums of money in making offices as appealing as possible for employees.

This has led major tech leaders such as Google CEO Sundar Pichai to acknowledge that employees deserve a say in whether or not they prefer an in-house, remote, or a hybrid model of work.

Better Compensation & Benefits

Even before the pandemic, the need for better compensation & benefits was the motivation for those seeking new employment opportunities.

45% of workers cited it as a reason for seeking new employment in recent months.

The pandemic has led to a massive shift in levels of inequality. According to the World Bank, the global poverty rate has increased from 7.8 to 9.1 percent.

Workers are more concerned than ever about their future wellbeing and need jobs that provide a sense of stability.

Fear of Missing Out

Spending more than a year in lockdown has led a lot of people to do some soul searching. 26% of workers simply want to do something different.

They’re questioning their life choices and making radical lifestyle changes, including new careers.

What Should Companies Do?

Adam Ozimek, a labor economist at the freelancing platform Upwork, believes that the next phase of remote work will drastically transform economies.

Even before the Great Resignation, companies worldwide were struggling to find tech talent. A high percentage of global companies hire offshore programmers to optimize software development costs.

There are many benefits to working with a remote development team in Eastern Europe or Latin America. Let’s take a look at some of them.

• Access to Larger Talent Pools
• Motivated Workers
• Better Cost

Access to Larger Talent Pools

Increasingly businesses are understanding that sometimes more qualified IT professionals are located in other cities - or perhaps in different countries altogether.

1. Tech Talent in Latin America

There are more than 500k software developers in Brazil, as well as 100k in Mexico and Argentina, meaning Latin America possesses a wealth of talent within geographical proximity to the United States.

2. Tech Talent in Eastern Europe

Eastern Europe boasts over 1 million highly-educated and qualified tech professionals. There are over 400k software developers in Poland, 200k in Ukraine, 139k in Romania, 130k in Czech Republic, and 105k in Hungary.

Eastern European countries are only 1-2 hours away from Western Europe, while Latin American countries share the same time zone with the US.

Thanks to platforms like Slack or Zoom, it’s easy to keep in touch with a remote development team. Many developers in these countries possess an intermediate or higher level of English, too.

Motivated Workers

Companies that work with remote development teams in Latin America and Eastern Europe are continuously impressed by their work ethic and motivation.

This is thanks to the fact that these countries share many common values with their Western neighbors.

The creators of the Dutch fintech app Vive worked with a remote development team in Ukraine.

They appreciated Ukrainian developers’ interest in the success of their projects and even invited them to the Netherlands for team-building exercises with their in-house colleagues.

Better Cost

Your business ambitions shouldn’t be limited by your budget. Working with a remote development team in Latin America or Eastern Europe allows you to build a qualified team for a better price.

The average hourly rate for tech talent in Latin America (countries like Puerto Rico, Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico) is between $35-$70 per hour.

In Eastern Europe (countries like Ukraine, Poland, Romania, and Hungary) the average hourly rate ranges between $30-$65 per hour.

When you consider that you can hire two qualified developers from either of these regions for the cost of one in the United States, it seems like the obvious choice, doesn’t it?

Previously published here.