Are HR leaders targeting the wrong places to find tech talent?

Organizations that explore markets beyond saturated technology hubs have the best chance of uncovering overlooked pockets of remote tech talent. This report shows that ambitious organizations willing to build globally distributed teams can capitalize on an untapped opportunity — and it’s more straightforward than you might expect.

What are the main obstacles in global tech recruitment?

Gain direct perspectives from more than 1,400 executives and hiring managers from organizations in Germany, the Netherlands, France, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

In this 2022 survey, respondents were asked about the main factors when hiring in established talent hotspots like New York, London, and Tokyo, as well as 15 emerging tech talent hubs around the world.

Our survey discovered that hiring managers feel uneasy about staying compliant.

38%

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

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

Specialist global recruitment insight 02

Rising tech hubs provide strategic advantages

Companies can frequently recruit top-tier talent from other countries that may not be available in their domestic market because of intense competition. Tech professionals located outside established, saturated hubs are more responsive to reputable organizations offering globally competitive compensation. These roles can be life changing for international candidates and their families, especially in developing nations. You will see increased motivation and loyalty in return.

Brett Jones, Co-founder at OFFERZEN

02. Legal requirements and cultural fit worry hiring managers

Hiring managers who intend to recruit tech talent in new regions are worried about two main aspects of remote work — how to legally employ people and how to effectively manage culture across a geographically dispersed team.

Legal obligations

Survey results indicate hiring managers are uneasy about remaining compliant when hiring outside of their own country. It is a legitimate concern, but manageable for companies serious about onboarding the right talent.

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Tackling barriers to global hiring

The advantages of hiring internationally are clear and persuasive — you immediately open access to the world’s leading talent. Equally important, it enables you to build genuinely diverse teams. Recruitment based on shared values creates the foundation for sustained success. Leaders who hire people whose values align with the company can foster an inclusive, equitable, and trust-driven environment that allows a global team to prosper.

Anastasia Pshegodskaya, Director of Talent Acquisition. Remote

01. Experienced remote tech professionals are located across the globe

Knowledge workers adapt to remote teams with relative ease as long as you adopt a globally inclusive approach to recruitment. Great candidates are spread across the world, but securing their skills requires a remote-first hiring strategy.

Action

Hire a global workforce legally and compliantly with ease

Hiring remote tech talent doesn’t have to be complicated. As the most trusted EOR in the industry, Remote removes the requirement to set up a local entity in every market — a costly process that can slow your ability to scale. Remote gives you the assurance you need to be confident that you:

• have the right contracts

• be compliant with local labor laws and tax regulations

• correctly classify your employees and contractors

With Remote you can hire people around the world legally, easily, and quickly. You can even offer stock options to your international employees using Remote’s platform!

02. Global compensation plans aren’t one-size-fits-all

Scaling a team internationally can deliver major advantages, but HR leaders must overcome several challenges when designing remote compensation plans to create a high-performing international workforce.

• Employees quickly notice if they’re being paid less than their colleagues or international market rates, but paying everyone the same isn’t a straightforward solution.

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

• People with the same education, skills, and experience should enjoy similar lifestyle and disposable income in their country of residence.

Action

Provide competitive pay and benefits packages

Remote’s global employment platform saves you time, money, and effort by creating country-specific benefits packages at highly negotiated prices. You can offer equitable, best-in-class benefits to your employees for a fraction of the cost of navigating things on your own or establishing a legal entity. You can even offer stock options to your international workforce.

03. Asynchronous work is essential for globally successful teams

Asynchronous (async) work allows a distributed global team to maximize productivity across time zones. Performance is judged by completed work rather than when people were online. Offering autonomy and flexibility is a powerful attractor for the world’s most talented and experienced tech professionals.

Many of these candidates already have years of experience delivering productive results in fully remote work settings.

Action

Establish intentional remote-first work practices

An async work model demands more communication and documentation, which in turn improves employee morale and increases productivity.

04. async work removes multiple obstacles to working globally

An asynchronous working model directly tackles numerous obstacles that make hiring managers hesitant to adopt remote setups. Deliberately inclusive workflows promote diversity and enable genuinely globally distributed teams to thrive. Highly skilled remote tech professionals are currently looking for positions that support life-work balance. This allows employers to let remote staff anywhere follow schedules aligned with their timezone and lifestyle. Beyond attracting leading remote talent, developing processes for managing a globally distributed team increases productivity and improves staff retention rates.

Employ with Remote

Deliberate remote-first policies and asynchronous workflows spur innovation and increase the productivity of your global team. Although it requires discipline to produce solid documentation and move away from real-time processes, the advantages clearly outweigh the limitations of traditional synchronous work. In the process of creating those documentation assets, you can reshape your organization to be prepared for the future of work. Diversity offers substantial long-term benefits and embedding a culture of inclusion into your company strengthens that advantage.

Remote can help you eliminate the complexity of managing compliance with international legislation.

Creating local entities overseas is almost always prohibitive in both cost and time. We set up our entities to meet the highest compliance standards so you can expand your global footprint with confidence.

About the study

Remote surveyed a total of 1,485 decision-makers across six key markets who self-identified as currently hiring tech talent. The survey ran between September 9 and September 26, 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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