Remote hiring for startups

The most flexible startups are typically the most successful in the long term. When you’re ready to hire, being flexible often means taking a global approach to finding the best talent. There are many benefits to hiring internationally as a startup. If you’re wondering whether this approach is the right one, consider how expanding your options can help your new business thrive.

How startups can benefit from remote hiring

1. Larger talent pool

In the not-so-distant past, your pool of prospective hires for a role was often only as big as your local area. Fortunately that’s no longer the case, as remote hiring is more common than ever. 

With the ability to hire workers from anywhere in the world, there’s no excuse for not finding the best person for every job. Your startup needs top talent to grow and succeed—you shouldn’t sell yourself short by ignoring the benefits of remote work. 

Additionally, you don’t have to limit your search to candidates in one country or a handful of countries. Keep an open mind and think about where talent pools are emerging, due to either education trends or an abundance of digital nomads. 

2. Asynchronous working

We recently defined asynchronous communication on our blog:

Asynchronous communication does not occur in real-time or require simultaneous presence. It does not assume immediate uptake by the recipient(s) or expect an immediate response. For instance, you might send an email to your teammates, and they’ll read and respond at different times, depending on when they’re working and what time zone they’re in. 

At first, this may not sound like a benefit if you’d rather communicate with a team in real time. However, there are multiple advantages to enjoy:

• Active company presence throughout the day
• Few interruptions
• Improved productivity and time management
• Fewer meetings
• Less pressure to immediately respond to teammates

Before hiring a remote worker, consider their time zone and any overlap it has with your working hours. This will tell you how often asynchronous communication

will be needed. 

3. Cost savings

As a startup, you know that every dollar counts. It only makes sense to seek out ways to save on major business expenses, including personnel.

We recently shared a post on how hiring internationally can reduce your labour costs, without underpaying workers. Calculating potential cost savings upfront will help you make more informed hiring and budgeting decisions. 

4. Increased productivity

Interruptions can occur throughout the workday, but remote hiring and asynchronous working help cut down on distractions by emphasizing simple, to-the-point communication. Streamlining things like questions and meeting requests can take your team’s productivity to new heights. Look for tools that facilitate asynchronous communication through short messages and file sharing to ensure that your team members are equipped to succeed.

5. Less overhead

The more people working on-site, the higher your overhead costs. Conversely, a distributed team helps reduce a variety of costs such as:

• Office space rent 
• Utilities
• Office supplies
• Insurance
• Administrative costs

In a startup environment, every dollar you save on overhead is a dollar you can spend managing and growing your business. Compare the line-by-line overhead costs of on-site and remote employees to determine the right balance for your startup. 

Are you ready to hire remote workers?

By now, it’s easy to see that startup companies hiring remotely have a leg up on the competition. From a larger talent pool to cost savings to increased productivity, it only takes one remote hire to realize the benefits.

If you’re ready to head down this path, turn to the Oyster Global employment platform for guidance. Our system is designed to help startup leaders to onboard, pay, manage, develop, and take care of a remote workforce. 

About Oyster

Oyster is a global employment platform designed to enable visionary HR leaders to find, hire, pay, manage, develop, and take care of a thriving distributed workforce. Oyster lets growing companies give valued international team members the experience they deserve, without the usual headaches and expense.

Oyster enables hiring anywhere in the world—with reliable, compliant payroll, and great local benefits and perks.