With remote work getting more and more popular amongst employees, it is time for employers to overthink their hiring strategies to allow more remote workers throughout the world to get hired. But why should companies care?
This article has first been published on RemoteML.com.
A nearly unlimited talent pool
Why would you limit your choices to the ~200,000 engineers (estimated 2013) in San Francisco, if you could have instant access to over 3.2 million software engineers in the US or over 18.2 million worldwide?
While you will have to invest more time in recruiting, you will be able to cherry pick only the candidates that fit you and your team 100%. A funny hiring stat: Fully remote company Doist reported that they only hire 0.13% of applicants. Can your organization say the same?
This is how you create a team of the best people in the world, rather than the people who agree to move near your office, making your organization more likely to succeed.
The easiest way to diversify your team
Letâs be honest: In todayâs time companies should have a hiring strategy that promotes diversity or you will soon be left with a toxic team that is unwelcoming for people of different genders, races or ethnicities.
The absolutely easiest way to diversify your team is to hire globally. Youâll get confronted with issues you didnât think about before. Will your software still work with an unstable internet connection somewhere in India? Will your new computer vision software work as good for people with darker skin? Diversity is important.
Your new Computer Vision software is not working for people with darker skin? WellâŚ
Itâs not that much work
The most common excuse is âhiring remotely is too much workâ. Fair enough, the way bigger talent pool youâll have to go through, managing your workforce when you donât see them everyday in the office, the different regulations each country hasâââremote work isnât something that works out of nowhere.
Like everything in your company, it takes some effort. But limiting yourself to your local market in todayâs time, just because something âtakes some workâ is a bit silly, isnât it? Put in the effort, set up some hiring strategies and pipelines and with almost nothing, youâll be able to create a better team.
Happier, more productive employees
The statistics are out there. Even though fully remote employees suffer from some of the downsides of remote work, overall they are happier, healthier and more productive.
You also open up your company to people you didnât have access beforeâââunrelated to geographical location. A new mom can still work as a graphic designer from home. A paraplegic who wouldnât have access to your office on the 3rd floor can now pick up his work as a Software Engineer again. People are able to move away from where they donât want to be, to wherever they do want.
Remote work is the futureâââif you let it be that.