This blog post offers a practical guide to hiring and building a robust remote software development team in 2023. It covers the key characteristics and benefits of such teams, the main challenges and obstacles involved in building them, the best solutions and strategies for overcoming those challenges, and the most effective tools and platforms to use. Additionally, it includes best practices and tips for managing and motivating remote software developers, as well as advice on how to hire remote software developers with the necessary skills and competencies for remote work.

‍

Key Characteristics and Benefits of a Strong Remote Software Development Team in 2023

• High performance: Remote software developers have the flexibility to work during their most productive hours and in their preferred environments, which can increase their quality of work and productivity. They can also use a variety of tools and platforms to manage their tasks, communicate with their team members, and deliver their work efficiently.

‍

• Collaboration: Remote software developers have the advantage of collaborating with peers in different locations and time zones, which can enhance creativity and innovation. They can also utilize the diversity of their team members to learn new skills and perspectives. Additionally, they can use effective communication tools and methods to share ideas, feedback, and solutions with their team.

‍

• Innovation: Remote software developers have the opportunity to stay up-to-date with the latest trends and technologies in the global market, enabling them to create innovative solutions for their clients. They can also experiment with new tools and frameworks to enhance their skills and competencies. To ensure the quality and functionality of their software, they can utilize a range of project management, code review, and testing tools.

‍

• Diversity: Remote software developers benefit from having a diverse team with members who bring varied backgrounds, cultures, experiences, and opinions to the table. This can promote a positive work culture and a sense of belonging among team members. Moreover, it can help developers better understand the needs and preferences of different customers and users.

‍

‍

Main Challenges and Obstacles of Building a Strong Remote Software Development Team

Building a strong remote software development team can be challenging. Here are some key challenges to keep in mind:

• Hiring the right remote software developers for the team: Defining the team's needs and finding and hiring competent, self-motivated software developers who can work remotely can be a challenge. Remote software developers must also possess the necessary technical skills and knowledge to work on assigned projects.

‍

• Effective time management: Coordinating and collaborating with team members who have different schedules and preferences can be difficult. Remote developers may also face distractions and interruptions in their home or work environment, which can affect their productivity and quality.

‍

• Ensuring data security: Using different devices and networks to access and store sensitive data can pose security risks and vulnerabilities. Remote developers may also face challenges in complying with data protection regulations and policies in different countries and regions.

‍

• Fostering collaboration and creativity: Interacting and communicating with team members may be more difficult for remote developers, which can reduce their sense of belonging and trust. They may also miss out on the benefits of brainstorming, feedback, and knowledge sharing that can enhance their creativity and innovation.

‍

• Working around time zones: Time zone differences can cause delays, misunderstandings, and conflicts in communication and coordination. Remote developers may also have to adjust their work hours and habits to accommodate their team members’ availability and preferences.

‍

• Building defined work strategies: Working with unclear or changing requirements, expectations, and goals can affect remote developers’ motivation and performance. They may also have to adapt to different work styles, methods, and tools that suit their remote work environment.

‍

How to Hire Remote Software Developers to Build a Strong Team

In order to build a strong remote software development team in 2023, it is essential to hire the right talent. This section offers guidance on how to hire remote software developers who are competent and suitable for your team's needs.

• Define your requirements: Before you start looking for remote software developers, you should define your requirements for the position. This includes the technical skills, experience, education, and other qualifications that you need. You should also consider the soft skills, such as communication, collaboration, problem-solving, and time management, that are essential for remote work.

‍

• In addition to defining the requirements for the remote software developer position, it is important to include these requirements in a detailed job description. This job description should clearly outline the responsibilities, qualifications, and expectations for the role. It should also include information about the company culture, values, and mission to help attract the right candidates.

‍

• Use the right solution: To find and hire remote software developers, you can use various platforms such as Upwork, Toptal, Freelancer, and LinkedIn, or consider hiring a staffing company or a recruiter. Each option has its own advantages and disadvantages, and it's important to weigh them based on your budget, timeline, and hiring goals. Staffing companies and recruiters can provide you with a pool of pre-screened and qualified candidates, and recruiters can help you find the best candidates through their networks and referrals. These options can be a good alternative to online platforms if you prefer a more personalized and direct approach. Ultimately, you should choose the option that aligns with your strategy and resources.

‍

• Assess Experience: When you find potential candidates, you should review their portfolio, resume, and references to assess their skills, experience, and performance. You should also check their online presence, such as their GitHub, Stack Overflow, or LinkedIn profiles, to see their contributions and interactions with the community.

‍

• Conduct a Video Call Interview: Once you have shortlisted some candidates, you should conduct an interview to assess their technical and soft skills, as well as their communication and collaboration abilities. You should also ask them about their remote work experience, their work habits, and their motivation for remote work. You can use video conferencing tools, such as Zoom, Skype, or Google Meet, to conduct the interview.

‍

• Provide a test project: To further assess the skills and performance of the candidates, you can provide them with a test project that simulates the real work they will do. You can also use this opportunity to evaluate their communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills. You should provide clear instructions and feedback, and give them a reasonable deadline for the test project.

‍

• Offer competitive compensation and benefits: To attract and retain top remote software developers, you should offer them competitive compensation and benefits that reflect their skills and experience. This includes their salary, bonuses, health insurance, retirement plans, and other perks that can make remote work more appealing.

‍

Best Solutions and Strategies for Building a Strong Remote Team in 2023

To build a strong remote software development team in 2023, it is important to understand the challenges that come with remote work. Some of the main obstacles include communication barriers, cultural differences, time zone issues, trust issues, and more. However, there are several solutions and strategies that can help overcome these challenges. Here are some effective ways to overcome the challenges of building a strong remote software development team:

‍

• Right fit: When hiring software developers for remote work, it's important to consider not only their technical skills and knowledge but also their ability to work in a remote environment with different time zones and cultural backgrounds. For American companies, it may be helpful to look for talent within the same or similar time zones and cultural compatibility, such as Latin America, Canada, or Europe.

‍

• Besides, American companies can partner with nearshoring or staffing agencies that specialize in remote software development. These agencies can help companies find and hire qualified candidates who are compatible with their time zones and cultural backgrounds, and provide additional support and resources for managing the remote team.

‍

• Enhance Communication: Use reliable and secure communication tools and platforms, such as email, chat, and video conferencing, to communicate with your team members regularly and clearly. Choose the appropriate communication methods, such as synchronous or asynchronous, formal or informal, depending on the situation.

‍

• Assertive Management: Understand your roles and responsibilities within the team, as well as the expectations and goals of your projects. Communicate your progress, challenges, and feedback to your team members and managers frequently and transparently.

‍

• Team building: Align your vision and values with the team and the organization, and establish a sense of belonging and trust among the team members. Respect and appreciate the diversity and differences of your team members, and celebrate their achievements and milestones.

‍

• Regular Feedback: Receive regular and constructive feedback from your team members and managers, as well as provide feedback to others. Recognize and appreciate the efforts and contributions of your team members, and reward them accordingly.

‍

• Tools: Use various tools and platforms to manage your tasks, collaborate with your team members, review code, test software, and so on. These tools can help you improve, the quality, functionality, and security of your software.

‍

• Leverage employee interaction: Participate in team-building activities that can help you bond with your team members, such as virtual games, quizzes, icebreakers, and so on. Share your personal interests, hobbies, experiences, and so on with your team members to create a friendly and supportive work environment.

‍

‍

Best Tools and Platforms to enhance collaboration and productivity in remote software development teams

To create a strong remote software development team in 2023, you must use the best tools and platforms that can help with various aspects of software development, such as project management, code review, testing, and collaboration. Here are some examples of tools and platforms you can use:

‍

Project management tools:These tools help you plan, track, and manage your software projects. They can help you define your project scope, goals, tasks, milestones, deadlines, etc. They can also help you monitor your project progress, status, issues, risks, etc. Some examples of project management tools are:

‍

• Basecamp: This tool simplifies your software pro ject management by providing you with six essential features: to-do lists, message boards, schedules, documents and files, group chat, and check-ins. It is one of the most simple and easy-to-use project management tools.

‍

•  monday.com: This tool allows you to create custom workflows and dashboards for your software projects. You can also collaborate with your team members, communicate with your clients, and integrate with other tools like GitHub, Slack, Zoom, etc. It is one of the most versatile and feature-rich project management tools.

‍

• Asana: This tool lets you organize your software projects into tasks, subtasks, sections, and portfolios. You can also assign responsibilities, set priorities, add comments, attach files, and track progress. It is one of the most popular and user-friendly project management tools.

‍

Code review tools: These tools help you review and improve the quality and security of your code. They can help you detect and fix errors, bugs, vulnerabilities, code smells, etc. They can also help you enforce coding standards, best practices, and style guides. Some examples of code review tools are:

• GitHub: This tool allows you to host and manage your code repositories using Git version control system. You can also collaborate with your team members, create pull requests, review code changes, comment on code lines, merge branches, etc. It is one of the most widely used and integrated code review tools.

‍

• GitLab: This tool is similar to GitHub but offers more features and functionalities. You can create and manage your code repositories using Git version control system. You can also collaborate with your team members, create merge requests, review code changes, comment on code lines, merge branches, etc. It also offers features like CI/CD pipelines, security scanning, code quality analysis, etc.

‍

• CodeGrip: This tool automates your code review process by using artificial intelligence and machine learning. You can connect it with your GitHub or GitLab account and get instant feedback on your code quality, security, performance, duplication, etc. It also provides suggestions and solutions to improve your code.

‍

Testing tools: These tools help you test your software for functionality, performance, security, usability, etc. They can help you ensure the reliability and functionality of your software before deploying it to production. Some examples of testing tools are:

• Selenium: This tool allows you to automate web browser testing for your web applications. You can use it to create and run test scripts in various programming languages like Java, Python, Ruby, etc. You can also use it to perform functional testing, regression testing, cross-browser testing, etc.

‍

• JMeter: This tool allows you to perform load testing and stress testing for your web applications. You can use it to simulate high volumes of user requests and measure the performance of your web server under different load conditions. You can also use it to perform performance testing, scalability testing, reliability testing, etc.

‍

• OWASP ZAP: This tool allows you to perform security testing for your web applications. You can use it to identify and exploit common web application vulnerabilities like SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), broken authentication, etc. You can also use it to perform penetration testing, vulnerability scanning, proxying, etc.

‍

Collaboration tools: These tools help you communicate and collaborate with your remote team members effectively. They can help you share information, ideas, feedback, files, etc. They can also help you create a positive and productive work culture among your remote team members. Some examples of collaboration tools are:

• Slack: This tool lets you create channels for different topics, projects, and teams. You can also send direct messages, share files, and integrate other tools like Google Drive, Zoom, Trello, etc. It is one of the most popular and user-friendly collaboration tools.

‍

• Microsoft Teams: This tool is similar to Slack but integrates with other Microsoft products like Office 365, Outlook, OneDrive, etc. You can also chat, make audio and video calls, schedule meetings, and collaborate on documents with your remote team members.

‍

• High Fidelity: This tool creates a virtual space where you can interact with your remote team members using spatial audio. You can also move around the space, use gestures, and customize your avatar. It is one of the most innovative and immersive collaboration tools.

‍

• Discord: This is a tool that allows you to create servers for different communities, groups, and topics. You can also chat, make voice and video calls, stream games, and share media with your remote team members. It is one of the most popular and versatile communication tools for gamers and developers.

‍

• Gitter: This is a tool that allows you to create chat rooms for different software projects, topics, and events. You can also chat, share code snippets, files, and links with your remote team members. It is one of the most convenient and integrated communication tools for developers who use GitHub.

‍

• Mattermost: This is a tool that allows you to create self-hosted chat servers for your remote team members. You can also chat, make voice and video calls, share files, and integrate other tools like Jira, Jenkins, GitLab, etc. It is one of the most secure and customizable communication tools for developers who value privacy and control.

‍

‍

Best Practices for Building a Strong Remote Software Development Team in 2023

According to InfoWorld, these are some best practices for managing and motivating remote software developers:

• Use continuous agile planning to keep roadmaps and backlogs up-to-date: To help remote software developers know the project goals, priorities, and tasks, use a tool like Jira, Trello, or Asana. This can help managers and developers plan, track, and collaborate on their work

‍

• Use a whiteboarding tool to brainstorm and document solutions: To help remote software developers share their ideas, designs, and solutions with their team members, use a tool like Miro, Mural, or Sketchboard. This can help them create and visualize their concepts in a collaborative and interactive way.

‍

• Invest time to learn, spike, and innovate with POCs: To help remote software developers learn new skills, experiment with new technologies, and innovate with new solutions, encourage them to spend some time on learning, spiking, and creating proofs-of-concept (POCs) that can enhance their performance and creativity.

‍

• Get out of your comfort zone with low-code: To help remote software developers speed up their development process, reduce errors, and improve quality, use low-code platforms like Mendix, OutSystems, or Appian. This can help them create applications faster and easier without compromising on functionality or security.

‍

• Shift testing and security to the left: To help remote software developers ensure the reliability and security of their software, integrate testing and security into the early stages of the development cycle. This can help them catch and fix bugs, vulnerabilities, and performance issues sooner and more efficiently.

‍

• Automate low-risk change management: To help remote software developers deploy their changes quickly and safely, automate low-risk change management using tools like GitHub Actions, Jenkins, or Azure DevOps. This can help them reduce manual work, errors, and delays.

‍

• Develop an outside-in culture by seeking input from other developers: To help remote software developers improve their skills and knowledge, seek input from other developers outside their team or organization. This can help them gain new perspectives, insights, and best practices that can enhance their software development.

‍

.

Conclusion

To build a strong remote software development team in 2023, it's crucial to have careful planning, hire the right developers, and use effective communication and the right tools and strategies. This blog post has provided a comprehensive guide with key characteristics, benefits, challenges, and solutions for building a strong remote software development team. Remote work offers numerous advantages such as high performance, collaboration, innovation, and diversity, which can help organizations achieve their goals and stay competitive.

‍

If your organization needs assistance in building a remote software development team, consider partnering with BetterWays Devs. Our experienced team of recruiters can help you build a team that meets your business needs. Schedule a call today to learn more about our services and how we can help you achieve your goals.

‍

References

• Gartner. (2020). 6 Best Practices for Remote Work by Agile Software Development Teams. Retrieved from https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/6-best-practices-for-remote-work-by-agile-software-development-teams
• Springer. (2020). The Benefits and Challenges of Remote Work During the COVID-19 Pandemic. SN Applied Sciences, 2(12), 1-9. doi:10.1007/s42452-020-2801-5
• InfoWorld. (2021). 7 best practices for remote development teams. Retrieved from https://www.infoworld.com/article/3601728/7-best-practices-for-remote-development-teams.html
• The Balance Careers. (2021). The 7 Best Sites to Hire a Freelance Developer in 2021. Retrieved from https://www.thebalancecareers.com/best-freelance-websites-to-hire-developers-4581253
• Forbes. (2021). The Future of Work: Remote Collaboration Tools To Improve Productivity. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/02/17/the-future-of-work-remote-collaboration-tools-to-improve-productivity/
• Harvard Business Review. (2021). How to Make Remote Work Work. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2021/01/how-to-make-remote-work-work
• The Muse. (2021). 5 Creative Ways to Build Culture on Your Remote Team. Retrieved from https://www.themuse.com/advice/5-creative-ways-to-build-culture-on-your-remote-team
• HubSpot. (2021). How to Hire a Remote Developer: A Step-by-Step Guide. Retrieved from https://blog.hubspot.com/agency/hiring-remote-developer
• Upwork. (2021). How to Hire a Remote Developer in 2021. Retrieved from https://www.upwork.com/resources/how-to-hire-a-remote-developer

‍

Paula Tellez

BetterWay Devs Inbound Marketing Manager

https://www.linkedin.com/in/paula-tellez/

‍

Recommended readings: 

Where To Start And How To Hire Full-Time Software Developers In South America

‍

‍