Benefits of hiring remote workers: When global hiring makes sense

Whether you're a startup or a multinational corporation, global team members can bring specialized expertise, fresh perspectives, and localized insights, all of which can give your business a competitive edge. Hiring remote workers has become not just a necessity in certain industries, but a key strategy for growth, scalability, and long-term success. 

Remote work is beneficial not only for employees but also for employers. In this article, Remote explains how remote and global hiring are different, and gives you examples of when it makes sense to hire internationally.

Remote hiring and global hiring: What’s the difference? 

Remote hiring and global hiring, though often used interchangeably, have distinct differences that are important for businesses to understand. 

Remote hiring refers to recruiting people who work outside a designated physical location. The focus is on flexibility in work location, not necessarily expanding the geographical scope of your talent pool. Remote workers may still be based in the same city or country as the company, but aren’t required to commute to a physical office at all times. Remote hiring is popular in roles that can be managed digitally, such as marketing, customer service, software development, or project management.

Global hiring, or international hiring, goes a step further by expanding the talent search to international candidates. While global hiring can also involve remote work, its primary distinction lies in the ability to access diverse skill sets, languages, and cultural insights from around the world.

Does global hiring always mean remote hiring? 

Global hiring doesn't always infer remote work, though the two often overlap. Global hiring refers to the practice of sourcing talent from different countries, but this talent can work either remotely or in a local office. Some businesses with international offices might hire globally and have employees work in regional offices rather than remotely.

If you’re hiring international team members remotely, you need to consider time zones, employment laws, and different compensation structures. The good news is that you can easily build an international (even distributed) team remotely with a global HR partner like Remote. For example, Remote Talent helps you find top international candidates, while employer of record (EOR) services lets you you hire anywhere.

Benefits of hiring remote workers

Hiring remotely offers numerous benefits for businesses, including access to a wider talent pool, increased flexibility, and cost savings. If you’re hiring globally and remotely, you even have the chance to hire the best candidates from around the world.

If you’re on the fence about hiring an international remote team member, here are some scenarios that you may relate to. Consider the benefits of remote hiring and decide whether working with a Global HR partner meets your unique business needs.

1. Talent acquisition: Filling hard-to-fill roles

Remote hiring lets you access a larger talent pool of skilled professionals worldwide. 

Imagine a US-based software development company struggling to find qualified candidates for a specialized cybersecurity role. The company is in urgent need of a security engineer with expertise in cloud security and compliance‌ — ‌a role in high demand but with a limited talent pool locally.

After months of unsuccessful searches, the company decides to consider global remote candidates. It finds a highly qualified engineer from Poland who has the exact cloud security expertise they need. Not only was the candidate available for immediate hire, but their salary expectations were reasonable despite their high skill level. 

Remote hiring helped this company fill a critical, hard-to-fill role in a matter of weeks after struggling for months locally. 

2. Scalability: Adapting workforce size to meet project demands

Remote hiring also helps your company scale at its own pace. 

For example, a software development company in the U.K. wins a major contract to build a mobile app, but its existing team is already stretched thin with ongoing projects. The company needs additional team members on a short notice to get the job done.

The company decides to hire developers remotely from countries like India and Brazil, where skilled developers are available and ready to work. Once the project is completed, the company can easily scale back without long-term commitments.

As in the above example, remote hiring helps businesses hire freelancers, contract workers, or part-time employees who can work on specific projects or short-term needs. Once a project is completed or demand decreases, companies can easily scale down their workforce without the complications of layoffs.

3. Employee retention: Keeping talent through relocations

Remote hiring helps with employee retention, particularly when employees need to relocate. 

Imagine a senior software engineer at a Korean-based startup. This person has been a key contributor for several years, but they need to relocate to Spain due to personal reasons. Losing this employee would mean the loss of significant institutional knowledge and project continuity.

By offering remote work opportunities, companies allow employees to continue contributing to the organization without being tied to a specific location. This flexibility reduces turnover and the costs associated with rehiring and retraining.

4. Market penetration: Expanding into new regions 

Remote hiring also helps your business enter new markets and regions. Remote workers bring invaluable knowledge of local markets, including cultural nuances, language skills, and business practices.

For example, a Chinese-based e-commerce company plans to expand into the Latin American market, but they lack the local expertise and cultural knowledge necessary for a successful entry. The company hires remote workers from Mexico and Brazil to provide local market insights, handle customer service, and adapt marketing strategies for the region.

Remote hiring helped this business enter new markets and scale their operations in new regions efficiently and cost-effectively. 

5. Diversity and Inclusion: Way to business growth

Companies can hire people from different countries, cultures, and backgrounds by removing geographical constraints. In other words, you can build a diverse and inclusive team through remote hiring. 

Imagine a global technology company that has a limited local talent pool in terms of cultural backgrounds and experiences. The company decides to hire global workers remotely, broadening its cultural representation. Ultimately, the company saw improved creativity and innovation across its teams.

Companies with diverse management teams are 27% more likely to outperform their competitors financially, and 70% more likely to capture new markets. Remote hiring is an effective way to create a diverse and inclusive teams, which leads to your to business growth.

Hire remote anywhere with Remote 

The benefits of hiring remote workers are clear. Global remote hiring helps companies access specialized talent, scale flexibly, retain valuable employees, expand into new markets, and promote diversity. 

Plus, with a Global HR partner that makes hiring international employees easy, remote hiring is a cost-effective option for companies that want to grow efficiently. 

Once you have decided to use remote work as a hiring strategy, consider the best platform to take your business overseas. With Remote, you can streamline payroll in multiple currencies, manage diverse teams, and recruit top talent all from one intuitive platform. 

To discover more ways how Remote can support your business, chat with an expert today. 

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