Remote work has been growing at a rapid pace, especially in the tech industry. With COVID-19 accelerating the remote work trend, companies today have access to a global pool of technical talent. For Laravel developers, this has opened up exciting new opportunities to work for companies and teams outside of their geographic location with the help of IT staff augmentation companies.
However, remote hiring also comes with unique challenges. Hiring managers have to evaluate candidates purely on their technical abilities, collaboration skills and cultural fit, without the benefit of in-person interactions.
This post will dive into some best practices and critical considerations for companies looking to hire Laravel developers remotely.
Benefits of Remote Laravel Developers
Here are some of the top benefits that make remote Laravel developers an attractive hiring option:
Access to global talent: There are several key benefits of remote hiring; one is access to global talent pool. In remote hiring you can hire from anywhere instead of just your local region. Get better talent supply.
Reduced costs: Another biggest benefit of hiring remote developers is to reduce the office costs. It can help in saving on office space, equipment, and other infrastructure costs for employees.
Increased productivity: Commute can be an issue for metropolitan cities, and developers can be stuck in the traffic jam, the time they can use to code. However, Remote developers don’t waste time commuting. They can work in any environment where they are most productive. Helping them to be more productive.
Better work/life balance: Developers have more flexibility over schedules and get to avoid long commutes. This reduces burnout.
Diversity & Inclusion: Build diverse, multicultural teams with different perspectives – location no longer limits you.
Scalability & agility: It’s easier to scale teams up or down as your project needs change when working with remote talent.
New perspectives: Bring in talent from different backgrounds who can bring fresh viewpoints and innovative ideas.
There are some compelling reasons for companies to leverage remote work arrangements, if executed properly.
Best Practices for Remote Hiring Laravel Developers
Here are some best practices to follow when recruiting and hiring remote Laravel developers from IT Staff augmentation company:
1. Define your requirements upfront
· Clearly document the skills, experience level, tools and processes required for the role.
· Outline expectations for communication, collaboration, availability, project management, etc.
· This helps set consistent standards for evaluating candidates.
2. Perform structured technical interviews
· Test Laravel proficiency through technical questions, code reviews and timed coding challenges.
· Assess problem solving skills, not just coding ability. See how they think through complex issues.
· CodePair and CoderPad are good online tools for remote coding interviews.
3. Emphasize soft skills and cultural fit
· Communication, collaboration and self management are critical for remote work. Test for these skills.
· Screen candidates for alignment on company values, work styles and team interaction preferences.
4. Define a remote onboarding process
· Have a structured onboarding plan to smoothly integrate new remote hires.
· Introduce them to key team members and processes through documentation, video conferences, etc.
· Make them feel welcomed and set up for success on their first day.
5. Provide mentoring & face time
· Assign remote Laravel developer mentors who are experienced working remotely.
· Schedule regular video chats for the team to get to know new hires on a personal level.
· Annual retreats are a great way to build connections and meet cross-functional partners.
6. Offer equal opportunities
· Give remote developers access to the same benefits, perks, career growth and learning opportunities as onsite employees.
· Avoid treating remote team members like second-class citizens.
7. Leverage collaboration tools
· Invest in tools like Slack, Zoom, Notion, Github, Jira, etc. to enable effective communication and collaboration.
· Automate as much as possible through workflows and integrations between tools.
8. Measure results, not hours
· Focus on evaluating remote developers based on outcomes achieved rather than hours logged.
· Establish clear objectives and success metrics aligned with business goals.
Key Challenges of Remote Hiring
Despite the many benefits, hiring remote Laravel developers comes with some unique challenges including:
1. Reduced personal connections
· Lack of daily in-person interactions can make it harder for remote hires to build deeper connections and rapport with team members.
2. Collaboration difficulties
· Communicating context and discussing complex issues can be harder remotely. Collaboration may require more effort and discipline.
3. Distractions at home
· Remote hires may face more distractions working from home, making it easier to lose focus.
4. Monitoring performance
· It can be difficult for managers to observe and provide day-to-day feedback on remote developer performance.
5. Different time zones
· If team members are distributed globally, overlapping work hours may be reduced, impacting collaboration.
6. Isolation & loneliness
· Remote developers may feel isolated or struggle with loneliness working on their own most of the time.
7. Technical issues
· Remote team members may face more tech problems like unstable internet connections, tool disparities or hardware problems.
8. Security & regulatory risk
· Increased cybersecurity threats and potential regulatory issues around data privacy based on remote hire locations.
9. Burnout
· Lack of separation between work and personal life plus being always accessible online can increase burnout risk.
Tips for Managing Remote Laravel Developers
Here are some tips for managing remote Laravel developers:
· Encourage constant communication through daily standups, chat apps, VOIP, and video conferencing.
· Set clearly defined goals, metrics and regular progress reviews. Outline expectations clearly.
· Evaluate performance based on measurable outputs, not hours worked or activities.
· Provide opportunities to collaborate with team members through pair programming sessions or group hackathons.
· Build personal connections through casual online social events, chat channels, and occasional in-person team get-togethers.
· Assign remote mentors who can help new hires adapt to the remote work culture and feel included.
· Watch out for signs of burnout and isolation. Encourage taking breaks, unplugging after work hours, and using vacation days.
· Provide infrastructure support to ensure remote developers have adequate hardware and tools needed.
· Implement effective security measures for access controls, data protection, and access monitoring.
· Accommodate reasonable timezone differences by adjusting standup and meeting times where possible.
· Create digital spaces for informal social interactions, celebrations and meetings in which remote staff can participate.
· Treat remote and onsite employees equally when it comes to opportunities, 1-on-1s, and access to information and resources.
Conclusion
Hiring skilled Laravel developers remotely opens up new talent pools for companies globally. It allows access to the range of technical and cultural talent. By following best practices around structured interviews, onboarding, collaboration tools and performance management, remote teams can often outperform even onsite teams.
However, careful attention must be paid to challenges like communication breakdowns, lack of visibility, technical issues and employee isolation that remote workers may face more often. Providing mentoring opportunities, being flexible on work hours, building personal connections and promoting a collaborative remote work culture is key.
With the right processes, tools and management strategies, businesses can build high-performing distributed teams at an global scale. Remote Laravel developers can deliver significant value, productivity and innovation. The future of work is remote, and hiring outstanding remote talent will give companies a sustained competitive advantage.