How To Build And Grow Your Remote Teams For Software Development

Software development is transforming like never before. Due to the pandemic, more and more companies are focussing on hiring remote teams, and this decision has proven to be beneficial for both software developers and the software development industry as a whole.

Hiring A Remote Software Development Team

1. Select The Perfect Destination For Online Remote Team Development

This would be the first step towards building a remote software development team. Due to the transformation of the internet space, one can opt-in for remote hiring from any corner of the world. This allows you to collaborate with people without putting in a lot of effort.

The continents which are seen as perfect destinations to hire remote teams online include South America, Africa, Asia and Europe. You can also hire online from websites like X-Team, where they conduct X-team review to analyze the potential of the software developers. Also, some continents are quite popular with respect to software developers, and you can hire remote teams from there.

2. Choose The Right Collaboration Model

Various collaborative models are available to help you choose or build the perfect team. You can go for an option that suits your business the best. Some of the most popular collaboration models are:

a. Onboarding Of Freelancers

This option works well in case you do not have IT as one of the core functions. A freelancer will do all of the work for you remotely, and you will have to pay him based on the project. Also, some full-time developers choose to freelance along with their main job, which brings a lot of experience to the table.

b. R&D Centre

Platforms like Gigster act as ‘research and development centres’ in case you are looking forward to hiring a big team of about 50 or more members and also training them for the job. Once you realize what is Gigster and how does Gigster or other similar platforms work, you can easily make use of these platforms for better research and developmental activities.

c. A Dedicated Team

You might also want to build a dedicated team that will solely work on developing your project. In such a case, you can look out for flexible programmers who might run even the regular IT errands for you. Alternatively, you can also collaborate with a tech partner.

3. Choose And Hire

This step forms the crux of the entire process. Recruitment and selection form the core of the remote team hiring process. The job of a remote team is not just to hire more programmers but also to help you out with several other tasks and activities.

Tips On Hiring And Building Your Remote Team

• It is important to make sure that the goals of the remote developers are in line with the goals of the company. Therefore, make sure that the remote developers are willing to contribute to the development of the product wholeheartedly.
• Check their technical skills as well as the levels of motivation.
• Playing safe can also be helpful at times. Make sure that you go with a method which has been tried and tested by your company before. Also, you can incorporate methods that are used by your team to hire in-house employees.
• It is quite important to pay attention to the soft skills of the candidate too. These skills help in building a more efficient team.
• Make sure to conduct various rounds to check the diversity and preparedness of the developer. In case you are facing trouble in finalizing a client, go for an additional round of interviews.

Building And Growing An Effective Remote Software Development Team

The efficient remote teams for software development can be built and grown in the following ways:

1. Select the best methodology for collaboration

Remote teams can be built by using agile methodologies which are flexible. Agile is that method which eases the process of development by both minimizing costs and bringing down the level of risk. You can easily train them by using popular frameworks like Scrum.

2. Do not differentiate between your in-house team members and remote developers

People who work for you in any capacity are important for the business. Therefore, to build a healthy remote team, it is important to get into the activities of virtual team building. You can keep them happy by providing bonuses for the quality of work, full-time jobs, on-site trips, etc.

With team building activities and incentives attached, the remote team would also feel more included. This will drive in their motivation to work harder and attain the goals given out by the company.

3. Don’t overburden the remote teams with a lot of work

Make sure that you do not give them a truckload of work just because they are in a far off location. Estimate the workflow and the manpower needs beforehand to streamline the distribution of work. Also, make sure that you provide the same level of work to the remote developers as you provide to your in-house developers.

This helps in keeping the developers motivated. It will also help remote developers to focus on their core competencies, ensuring great outcomes.

4. Provide avenues for knowledge sharing

Allow your remote teams as well as in-house teams to interact and share knowledge across platforms. This will help in strengthening the core competency of the company. Additionally, the remote-teams would feel included and will be more comfortable in sharing their requirements, feedback and several other things.

5. Help them grow

As a company, it is your job to provide equity to all kinds of stakeholders. You should establish a culture where improvements are given due importance and work is celebrated. These platforms can be a window for remote developers to brush-up their skills.

Conclusion

Remote working is becoming popular across countries. Therefore, it is important to formulate strategies that would facilitate remote working. Almost all of the employees prefer working remotely.

In case the number of remote workers increases, the costs of various other things come down. As a result, the team could be managed at a relatively low cost.