How to Scale Your Remote Development Team in 2023

Finding and retaining the right talent is difficult, especially when it comes to software developers. Companies find it challenging to scale their development teams. The challenge is both in monetary terms and time.

In 2019, the number of employed people working remotely in EU was 5.5%. This number increased to 13.5% by the year 2021.

It makes sense to create a process related to hiring the best talent. This article gives some tips on how to expand your remote development team in 2023. Let’s get right in!

Use an applicant tracking system

Applicant tracking systems (ATS) assist recruiters to hire candidates faster. Through an ATS, it’s easy to source, shortlist and evaluate candidates. An ATS allows:

• Automated job postings to source candidates (including employer brand management to attract the best talent).
• Candidate management (including uploading data to a central database and shortlisting the best candidates).
• Pre-screening candidates by searching for relevant keywords in the resume and cover letter of candidates, sending out interview invites and automated rejection messages. Screening candidates by managing video interviews and sending out job offers to candidates that are successfully evaluated. Recruitee’s Applicant Tracking System guide explains the benefits of ATS in detail. Recruiters need to keep in mind that candidates know how to game the ATS to get through the initial stages.

Create a list of the most effective interview questions

No need to re-invent the system again. Create a screening process that can be followed for every candidate.

Create your own list similar to this. For example, here are some C++ interview questions to ask candidates. Overtime modify the list. Remove the questions that don’t help you judge the candidate’s ability. Add questions that effectively do so.

A number of big companies in Europe such as PepsiCo, Oracle, H&M, Revolut and Bain & Company make use of screening tests. It’s an unbiased way to shortlist and gain the best candidates. The screening assessments gauge the personality of candidates – especially helpful for scaling a remote team.

Send out screening assessments

For hiring developers, it’s more important to evaluate hard skills than soft skills. Send out coding tests before conducting interviews. This will also make the process faster since standardised coding tests can be used. Tip: Value the time of candidates. To attract great talent, set up a budget and pay the candidates for the time they spend (especially if the test is extensive and requires significant effort).

The costs of hiring a remote developer is lower than hiring a resource that comes to the office. You don’t have to pay for a workspace, computer, insurance and recruitment and onboarding costs are lower as well.

Create a strong work culture

A strong work culture means communicating ideas and sharing suggestions is easy. The most essential component of a successful remote team is seamless communication. Teams should be able to have a one-on-one discussion easily.

Too many meetings is considered micromanagement and a waste of time.

Developers need to be able to collaborate using messaging apps such as Slack or Microsoft Teams. If a team leader has to explain a task by showing their screens, using Loom is the best way to convey the message across.

Read: Strategies for ensuring remote workers aren’t excluded

The goal is to send the message across without taking away the valuable time of developers.

In addition, a strong work culture is where developers are able to voice their opinions – on anything they disagree with.

Some final tips

Before we wrap up, let’s give you some of the best tips for hiring the best talent:

– Include the salary or salary range in the job posting. No use of wasting your or the candidates time only to realise the financial expectations don’t match.

– If you’re a small company, quality developers will be sceptical about joining. Keep the LinkedIn of employees accessible, so potential candidates can reach out if they have any queries.

– Don’t ghost the employees. Keep them updated at every stage of the recruitment process even if they are not shortlisted.