This has been a question raised by many. According to the Stack Overflow 2018 developer survey, only 10,3% of professional developers said it’s important for them to be able to work remotely, but the number was increased to 35.3% in 2019.

From this data we can conclude that more and more developers are starting to care about the option to work remotely. It’s easy to understand. The two hours spent commuting are important to many seasoned professionals and they can put them to better use.

But other than developers’ preferences, why would it matter to you, as a business owner?

There are many reasons, but the most obvious one is lowering overhead costs of running your business.

Let’s dig a bit more into this.

Save rent and office equipment, which are obvious costs that you can account for.

Having your whole team work from one place means that you need to pay rent and spend a chunk of your budget on office equipment.

Finding the extra desk space, getting the new computer, and the IT struggle to have it set up in time… Sounds about right?

Canceling out these related costs brings significant bottom-line benefits. Flexjobs reported that employers can save $22,000 per remote worker per year.

Hiring remote people leads to lower employee churn.

Although companies spend a lot on rent, devices, office perks, transportation and whatnot, another big cost is finding and hiring the right people. So if you want to hire developers remotely, know that you’ll also save on hiring costs.

Instead of having that position open every 8–10 months, and paying for valid candidates, you’ll have someone who will stay longer, because they also have time to live, after work.

Makes sense?

Save a lot of time - which in case of software developers translates to money.

When all team members are together, it’s easy for any one person to get everybody distracted - and most developers do their best work when they can spend a lot of time in silence and focus exclusively on the problem at hand.

This is also fertile ground for organising too many pointless meetings that achieve nothing for the team except filling up the time at the office.

It’s simply cheaper to hire remote developers, comparing the expenses of local in-house developers.

You’ll get a wider talent pool by looking to hire offshore. There might be a lack of talent in your area of specialty in your company’s location. Casting the net a bit wider is one way to hire experienced professionals.

It, of course, depends on the country you want to hire remote developers from. But if you choose the right country with the lower cost of programmers, you would save a lot of money and would get professional workers.

But of course there are other issues here that need consideration, such as working out a payment process and becoming a master of communication. There are other options out there, like outsourcing the technology side of your project to another company entirely, or cooperating with an outstaffing company to have the benefits of full-time remote software developers without the costs of full-time hiring.

So perhaps it is indeed cheaper to hire full-time developers remotely, maybe it’s time to consider remote staff instead? After all, in today’s connected world, is work a place we go to, or a thing we do? 

Remote Easy helps to connect startups and SMEs with tech talents from Asia who are high-quality, actively looking, and ready to interview. Onsite or remote.

If you are planning to hire remote developers, be sure to check us out at remoteeasy.co!