Quick Summary: When you hire remote developers, working on retention strategies is important to make them feel a valuable part of the organization. Explore the best tips and remote developer retention strategies through virtual team building and growth prospects.
Regarding the overall remote work experience, Buffer's 2022 State of the Remote Work Report revealed that 61% of people consider it a positive experience. Also, it's encouraging to know that no one said remote work was or is a negative experience for them.
The global onset of the COVID-19 pandemic introduced the concept of hiring remote developers, particularly in the worldwide IT sectors, enabling professionals to do their jobs from home. The access to global talent pools, work-life balance, and flexibility has accelerated its fast adaptation worldwide. However, as most businesses embrace this paradigm shift, addressing and acknowledging the multifaceted risks and challenges to manage remote developers becomes imperative.
In this article, we will delve into the significant impacts and concerns that remote work culture has ushered into the information technology industry, shedding issues that need remote retention strategies for the continuous growth of employees and companies.
Challenges in Remote Developer Retention
Hiring remote developers has become increasingly popular in the digital era. In the long run, working with remote employees and retaining them raises challenges that can impact the retention rate and job satisfaction to a greater extent. Some of the common obstacles to retaining remote developers are:
1. Isolation and Lack of Collaboration
According to Buffer's survey, 20% of remote developers have reported loneliness as one of the biggest challenges in the IT world.
Remote developers work isolated without immediate support from their colleagues. They are not involved in face-to-face interactions. It will not only bring up the factor of isolation and lack of motivation but also result in dissatisfaction with the jobs. The lack of regular tech talks, discussions about common problems, and training sessions bring in boredom in the daily routine of remote developers.
2. Lack of Understanding
According to a recent survey conducted by Owl Labs, it is found that 22% of remote workers struggle with communication challenges.
Working with remote developers largely depends on digital communication tools like Skype, Slack, Google Meet, or Zoom. Whenever a problem needs an immediate solution, it takes more time than expected. It may result in clarity or misinterpretation.
When you hire remote developers located in a city where the time zone is different, it brings up another gap in communication along with the language barrier.
3. Work-Life Balance
According to the Gallup Poll, remote workers usually work for longer hours or, on average, the employees work from the office.
When working from home, remote employees cannot maintain a healthy balance between their work and personal lives. Defining clear boundaries for not getting indulged in overwork and burnout may lead to an unsatisfied job.
4. Distractions and Productivity
As per the recent Journal of Applied Psychology, distractions are one of the main reasons for the low productivity of remote workers.
A remote environment has many distractions, such as family members, loud surroundings, household chores, and many more to count on. It disturbs the peace of mind and brings challenges to work dedicatedly. These regular distractions affect work quality and lead to less productivity.
5. Limited Career Growth Opportunities
According to GitLab's recent survey, 34% of remote workers worry about their career progression.
Remote developers need to get the chance to be part of face-to-face interactions, mentorship programs, or networking events that foster their overall development. Moreover, they need to gain visibility into the office's work environment and build strong relationships with their team.
Recommended Read: Guide on how to hire the best Remote Developers
Effective Remote Developer Retention Strategies
About 38% of US adults who are full-time or part-time employees say that they can do their job from home, for the most part. However, 62% say their jobs can't be done remotely.
1. Building a Strong Remote Culture
Work culture plays a crucial role in the productivity of employees. When you hire remote developers, they will get the chance to interact differently than regular employees. The opportunities to socialize with colleagues and team members are less. However, creating a strong work culture can help feel connected with the organization and engaged with the team members. The essential factors to consider while making a positive work culture for more employees are:
- Team Building Activities
HR managers of the organization should conduct activities like online games, video call celebrations for achievements and birthdays, or virtual coffee breaks to involve and engage remote employees in the company. It will bring up a sense of connection, motivation, and engagement.
- Collaboration
When working on hiring remote developers, the first thing you keep in mind is collaboration with the team members. Hiring employees who are open to sharing ideas, working together on feedback, and actively taking part in the tech talks and sessions can promote teamwork even when you are located in a different part of the world.
- Communication Channels
Introduce the best communication tools and software like Slack, Microsoft Team, or Skype to promote efficient and fast communication among remote employees. It will not only facilitate the response time but also help reduce the gaps regarding projects.
- Video Meetings
The face-to-face interactions bring up a sense of comfortability and responsiveness. Plan meetings to discuss project updates and feedback and address work concerns on video calls. The visual interaction and communication will help build rapport and effectively align focus on the goals.
- Trust-Building Measures
When you work with remote developers, setting the performance expectations, goals, and deadlines from day one of hiring and working with them is essential. You can plan weekly and monthly achievable goals to help them plan their work accordingly. It will fill the gaps and help the remote developers understand what is expected from them.
- Encourage Autonomy
Remote developers already working on this flexible model are aware of the work responsibilities to a great extent. Granting autonomy for the remote developers fosters a sense of ownership to work collaboratively with the team.
2. Transparent Communication
Communication is the key to success. When hiring remote developers, organizations should provide a great platform where remote developers can communicate about their challenges, issues, or concerns. The meeting plans and project maps must be clearly defined to the team members.
Promoting an open-door policy for regular feedback, sharing ideas, and planning strategies for improvement is the best way to make remote employees more comfortable working with the organization.
For example, When you plan a software app development, scheduling meetings and taking the suggestions, ideas, and feedback regarding the development life cycle will help keep them aware of all processes of concerned departments and keep them engaged to fill the gaps, if any.
3. Professional Development Opportunities
Remote developers working from different parts of the world are less exposed to the opportunities of their career development. Introducing career advancement is the best way to acknowledge their efforts and provide them with a great platform to learn and grow.
- Team Work Acknowledgement
Aligning developers parallel to the lead developer or the project that needs immediate assistance and offering an incentive for the extra working hours is the best way to keep them engaged for the long run—Plan work recognition policies for developers who have exceeded the limit to meet work commitments and deadlines.
- Certifications
Give them a power boost through certification for their hard work. Presenting an acknowledgement certificate or voucher for their extraordinary efforts will not only help them to increase their confidence but also motivate them to bring out the best version every time. These perks usually help i