Are HR leaders scouting for tech talent in the wrong locations?

Organisations willing to explore markets beyond crowded technology hubs have the strongest chance of uncovering overlooked pockets of remote tech talent. The report shows that ambitious organisations prepared to build globally distributed teams can seize this untapped opportunity — and it is more straightforward than you might expect.

What are the main obstacles in global tech recruitment?

Gain direct insight from more than 1,400 executives and hiring managers from organisations across Germany, the Netherlands, France, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The 2022 survey asked participants about the key factors to consider when hiring in established talent hotspots such as New York, London, and Tokyo, as well as 15 emerging tech talent hubs across the globe.

Our survey revealed that hiring managers express concern about maintaining compliance.

38%

More than a third of respondents report they find it challenging to learn the local legal requirements for hiring in new regions.

Download the report to discover how straightforward it can be to reap the benefits of international employment with speed, security, and minimal risk.

Expert global hiring insight 02

Emerging tech hubs can confer competitive advantages

Organisations can frequently recruit top‑tier talent from other countries that would be difficult to secure in the local market because of intense competition. Technology professionals based outside the traditionally saturated hubs tend to respond more readily to established organisations offering remuneration aligned with global standards. For candidates and their families in developing nations, such roles can be genuinely life‑changing. You will observe heightened motivation and greater loyalty as a consequence.

Brett Jones, Co-founder at OFFERZEN

02. Legal requirements and cultural fit cause concern for hiring managers

Hiring managers who intend to recruit tech talent from new regions are concerned about two main areas of remote work — how to lawfully employ individuals and how to nurture company culture effectively across a geographically dispersed team.

Legal obligations

The survey indicates hiring managers feel uncertain about maintaining compliance when hiring beyond their own country. This is a genuine concern, yet one that organisations committed to onboarding the right talent can navigate.

Expert global recruitment insight 04

Overcoming barriers to global hiring

The benefit of international hiring is obvious and compelling – you can suddenly open up access to the world's very best talent. Crucially, you can also develop truly a diverse team. Value-based recruitment provides the foundation for lasting success here. Leaders who seek out new team members with shared values can build an inclusive, equitable, and trusting environment that empowers a global team to thrive.

Anastasia Pshegodskaya, Director of Talent Acquisition. Remote

01. Experienced remote tech professionals are spread across the world

Knowledge workers transition to working in remote teams with relative ease as long as you adopt a globally inclusive recruitment approach. Top candidates can be found across many countries, but securing their skills demands a remote-first hiring strategy.

Action

Hire a global workforce legally, compliantly and with minimal effort

Recruiting remote tech talent need not be complex. As the most trusted EOR in the sector, Remote removes the requirement for you to set up a legal entity in every location — a costly exercise that can limit your ability to scale. Remote gives you the assurance required to confirm you:

• have the right contracts

• be compliant with local employment laws and tax regulations

• classify your employees and contractors correctly

You can hire people all over the world with Remote legally, easily, and quickly. You can even offer your international employees stock options in your business using Remote’s platform!

02. There is no one-size-fits-all global compensation plan

Scaling your team globally can provide enormous benefits, but HR managers must clear a few hurdles when formulating remote compensation plans to create a high-performing international workforce.

• Employees soon notice if you’re paying them less than their colleagues or compared with international market rates, but assigning the same pay to everyone is not a simple solution.

• Benefits packages also need to be tailored across different geographies.

• People with comparable education, skills, and experience should have access to a similar standard of living and disposable income in their country of residence.

Action

Offer competitive pay and benefits packages

Remote’s global employment platform reduces the time, cost, and effort involved by designing country-specific benefits packages at highly negotiated prices. You can provide equitable, best-in-class benefits to your people for a fraction of the expense of doing it yourself or creating a legal entity. You can even offer share options to your international workforce.

03. Asynchronous work is the key to globally successful teams

Asynchronous (async) working enables a globally distributed team to maximize productivity regardless of time zones. Performance is measured by what work has been done, not which people worked at which times. The ability to work with autonomy and flexibility is a compelling incentive for the world’s most talented and experienced tech professionals.

Many of these potential employees have years of experience delivering productively in a fully remote work environment.

Action

Establish intentional remote-first work practices

An async work environment requires increased communication and documentation which, in turn, leads to higher employee morale and higher productivity.

04. Asynchronous working removes multiple obstacles to working globally

An asynchronous approach to work directly confronts many of the obstacles that make hiring managers reluctant to embrace remote operations. Purposefully inclusive practices foster diversity and enable a genuinely globally distributed team to thrive. Skilled remote tech professionals actively look for roles that promote life-work balance. Consequently, employers can permit remote staff anywhere to follow schedules aligned with their timezone and personal routines. Beyond attracting leading remote talent, establishing processes to run a globally distributed team will maximise productivity and improve staff retention rates.

Employ with Remote

Adopting remote-first practices and asynchronous workflows fosters innovation and markedly increases the productivity of your global team. Although it requires discipline to produce robust documentation and move away from live, synchronous routines, the advantages far surpass the drawbacks of traditional real-time methods. In creating those documentation assets, your organisation can be prepared for the future of work. Diversity delivers substantial long-term benefits, and an inclusive culture embedded across the company strengthens organisational resilience.

Remote can help simplify the complexities of managing compliance with international legislation.

Establishing local entities overseas is, in most cases, prohibitive in both cost and time. We set up our entities to meet the highest standards of compliance so you can expand your global footprint with confidence.

About this study

Remote surveyed a total of 1,485 decision-makers across six principal markets; all respondents self-identified as currently hiring tech talent. The survey fieldwork ran from 9 – 26 September 2022 in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands. Each country contributed around 200 respondents to the survey.

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