Why Startups Should Hire Remote Teams: Then & Now

With the pandemic outbreak, 82% of job seekers looked for remote work, up from 15-20% before the eruption. Startup jobs have also shifted in the same direction: remote jobs increased 6.5 times by 2021, and 69.5% of all jobs are remote or remote-friendly.

As most employees prefer flexible work schedules, many companies are implementing methods to replicate various aspects of in-person work remotely. Many even prefer to work with remote development teams for their future projects. 

Why it is essential:

• Remote & hybrid work is here to stay, with nearly three out of every four employees choosing to work from home two or more days per week.
• CB Insights listed more than 65 remote tech startups in a 2020 report; the remote tech category is “white-hot.”
• According to one survey, one-fourth of employees would consider changing jobs if required to return to the office full-time.

The Then & Now of Remote Work for Startups

Remote workers did not appear overnight when the internet was first introduced. Working from home was the norm long before downtown offices and commuting were even a thing. Before the Industrial Revolution, everyone worked from home.

Businesses started introducing remote work rules around 1999, yet they existed before the personal computer was created. In 1979, five IBM workers were allowed to work from home as an experiment. The number had increased to 2000 by 1983.

Since 2010, the number of people working from home has increased by 400%. Businesses, regardless of size, industry, or region, have had to deal with operational changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The perks of working from home led 77% of employees to make this decision, according to a 2022 FlexJobs study. In the same survey, 44% of participants said they were planning to quit or started looking for another option when their employers asked for work from onsite.

Allowing remote product teams to work remotely will enable businesses to increase customer retention. They no longer have to be concerned about the inconvenience, expense, and disruption when team members leave for greener pastures.

As a Startup, you must understand the distinction between Remote-friendly and Remote-first. Remote-friendly companies strive to strike a balance between in-person and virtual facetime. On the other hand, remote-first teams can work from anywhere and provide any service, from business registration to product launch.

Quick Plug: Netsmartz provides offshore software development services to all companies and industries on a team-based model. To deliver high-quality products, we have a diverse team that encourages innovation and solves problems creatively.

It is a Trend

To be a thriving startup, you must understand and adapt to market trends. According to studies, people who work remotely are more productive than those in an onsite workplace.

As a result, organizations are either looking for remote employees or allowing them to work remotely. It is now a widespread practice. And you must adhere to such trends if you want to advance your startup.

Retaining Internal Talent

According to a StackOverflow report, more than 60% of onsite developers are interested in new job opportunities. Any employer would consider this a negative situation, as retaining highly skilled developers can be difficult if they have such a mindset.

If one or more critical in-house experts abruptly leave, your company may suffer a setback. Broadly, a remote setup can avoid such a potential problem.

Creative & Productive Workforce

According to a Stanford study, remote employees were 13% more productive than traditional office workers. It is advantageous for startups because there are more responsibilities and a greater need for excessive experimentation.

Having flexible work hours and locations can help drive innovation and increase productivity in your company. A relaxed mindset often produces creative ideas in the comfort and ease of their own home.

Access to Higher Quality Talents

You are not the only startup attempting to save money by hiring remote developers team while providing access to high-quality talent. The global IT outsourcing market was at USD 333.7 billion in 2019 & is expected to grow to USD 397.6 billion by 2025. You can be confident that it is a tried-and-true technique many businesses use worldwide.

Every dedicated remote product team is skilled in highlighting flexibility, competitive compensation, and the well-being of the project.

Get a Creativity Boost

Being unique and distinct from others necessitates creativity. Your remote agile team can be even more creative and productive in a remote work environment than in an office setting. Most people can indeed be creative when working in an environment that is comfortable for them.

Happy Employees

According to an Owl labs study, working from home relieves stress for 80% of respondents.
It, in turn, improves the mental health of every employee.

Employees have more autonomy and the freedom to work according to their method (hours or days). This flexibility is cited as one of the most significant benefits, allowing them to spend more time with their families and achieve a better work-life balance.

Tony “if you remove the barriers to cross-border employment and enable companies to tap into the global talent pool, you can reduce brain drain, which is one of the major impacts of wealth distribution issues in the world.”

Smart Way to Reduce Expenses

Companies can significantly reduce expenses if they hire remote talent. For instance, if employees are hired remotely, they do not have to partake in the office perks such as parties, coffee, free food in the cafeteria, etc. This reduces expenses and helps keep a stringent budget for remote workers. Apart from that, remote workers are known to take fewer sick days, increasing team productivity.

Keep Your Remote Team Connected

In a remote setup, you do not need to assign tasks to your employees on a whiteboard. Instead, you keep an eye on things using HR software tools such as Todoist, Evernote, and Calendly. The HR team can keep track of everything, such as who assigned what task to whom. Your interaction with your team will take place via video call. Virtual meetings allow fewer absences and the benefit of later listening to recorded sessions.

How to Lead a Remote Team Successfully?

Although there are significant benefits to remote hiring, if the pandemic (2019) taught us anything, leading a remote team successfully is equally hard. If you handle a remote team, here’s what you need to do to achieve success.

• Connectivity, Communication & Culture
• Have Trust
• Build strategies for daily success (specificity and attainability is essential)
• Promote self-management

Employing these four tricks will help you truly achieve success.

Conclusion: Is Hiring a Remote Team a Good Idea?

Working from home is the future of work!

Top-tier companies have gone remote, and many startups are now following in their footsteps. For both businesses and employees, remote work is the way of the future.

Indeed, implementing a remote work policy into your working environment is a wise decision if you want to increase productivity and achieve better results. Remote work will provide numerous advantages to you as an employer.