Organisations willing to explore markets beyond crowded technology hubs are most likely to uncover overlooked pockets of remote tech talent.

Those open to exploring new markets outside of saturated technology hubs stand the best chance of finding underappreciated pockets of remote tech talent. The report shows that ambitious organisations prepared to build globally distributed teams can capitalise on this untapped opportunity — and it is simpler than many expect.

What are the main challenges 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 primary factors to consider when hiring in established talent hotspots such as New York, London, and Tokyo, as well as in 15 emerging tech hubs worldwide.

Our survey revealed hiring managers are cautious about remaining compliant.

38%

More than a third of all respondents report difficulty understanding local legal requirements when hiring in new regions.

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

Global recruitment expertise 02

Emerging tech hubs provide a competitive edge

Often, it is possible to recruit top-tier talent from another country who remain inaccessible in your domestic market because of intense competition. Tech professionals outside the traditional, saturated hubs are more receptive to established organisations that offer globally competitive compensation. Such roles can be life-changing for international candidates and their families, especially in developing countries. In return, you can expect higher motivation and greater loyalty.

Brett Jones, Co-founder at OFFERZEN

02. Hiring managers concerned about legal requirements and cultural fit

Hiring managers intending to hire tech talent in new regions are concerned about two primary aspects of remote work – the legal steps to employ people and how to successfully manage culture across teams in multiple countries.

Legal requirements

Survey results indicate hiring managers worry about maintaining compliance when recruiting beyond their own borders. This is a valid concern, yet one that organisations committed to hiring the right talent can manage.

Expert insight on global recruitment 04

Removing obstacles to global hiring

The advantages of hiring internationally are clear and persuasive – it immediately opens access to the world’s leading talent. Equally, it enables you to build a genuinely diverse team. Recruitment guided by shared values lays the groundwork for sustained success. Leaders who hire people with aligned values foster an inclusive, equitable and trust-based 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 team settings fairly quickly provided you take a globally inclusive approach to recruitment. Excellent candidates are found worldwide, but securing their skills requires a purpose-built 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 market, Remote removes the need to set up a local legal entity in every jurisdiction – a costly step that can slow your ability to scale. Remote gives you the certainty that you:

• Have the right contracts

• Be compliant with local employment laws and tax regulations

• Classify your employees and contractors correctly

You can engage people across the globe with Remote lawfully, simply, and rapidly. You can even offer your international employees share options in your business through Remote’s platform!

02. No single global compensation plan suits every situation

Scaling your team internationally brings major benefits, but HR managers must address several challenges when developing remote compensation plans to develop a high-performing international workforce.

• Employees soon notice if they are paid less than colleagues or prevailing international market rates, yet equalising pay for everyone is not a simple solution.

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

• Individuals with equivalent education, skills and experience should have access to comparable living standards 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 required by creating country-specific benefits packages at negotiated rates. You can provide fair, market-leading benefits to your employees for a fraction of the cost of managing everything yourself or establishing a legal entity. You can even offer share options to your international workforce.

03. Asynchronous work enables globally successful teams

Asynchronous (async) ways of working allow a distributed team to maximise output irrespective of time zones. Success is assessed by the work completed rather than by when individuals were online. The freedom to work with autonomy and flexibility is a strong draw for the world’s most experienced tech professionals.

Many of these candidates already have years of experience delivering results in fully remote environments.

Action

Build deliberate remote-first work practices

An async environment demands more communication and documentation, which in turn raises employee morale and productivity.

04. Async work clears a range of barriers to global collaboration

An async approach to working directly tackles many of the obstacles that make hiring managers hesitant to embrace remote arrangements. Deliberately inclusive working practices foster diversity and enable a genuinely globally distributed team to prosper. Skilled remote tech professionals are actively looking for positions that support life-work balance. This means employers can permit remote workers anywhere to follow schedules that suit their timezone and personal routines. Besides attracting top remote talent, establishing processes to run a globally distributed team will maximise productivity while improving staff retention.

Employ with Remote

Adopting deliberate remote-first practices and asynchronous workflows encourages innovation and raises the productivity of your global team. While it demands discipline to create strong documentation and move away from real-time processes, the upside outweighs the limitations of traditional synchronous working. As you develop those documentation assets, you can reshape your organisation to be ready for the future of work. Diversity delivers considerable long-term benefits, and embedding an inclusive culture across your company strengthens those gains.

Remote can simplify the complexity of complying with international legislation.

Establishing local entities overseas is usually prohibitive in both cost and time. We establish our entities to the highest compliance standards so you can expand your global footprint with confidence.

About this study

Remote surveyed a total of 1,485 decision-makers in each of six key markets who self-identified as currently hiring tech talent. The survey was conducted between 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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