If you have experience in international recruitment, you have most likely dealt with a talent shortage and the limits of your local job markets already. Hitting such a wall can be a rather difficult challenge, and the solutions can vary depending on each individual client and candidate. If you wish to attract new talent, sooner or later you will have to broaden your area of search, and most probably reach beyond your local talent pools. Offering relocation services or remote job opportunities are two of the most common ways to do that, and each has its advantages and disadvantages. They are both quite common, however, according to our experience relocations are starting to be substituted with remote opportunities, for various reasons. We have recruited for dozens of foreign companies for multiple markets and industries, and actively vouch for remote opportunities. Continue reading if you want to know why!

Remote is more and more popular among candidates

The tech industry is booming, and there’s a high demand for skilled workers everywhere. To remain competitive, companies had to introduce new benefits to their employees, which included more convenient working conditions. Thus, the pandemic pushed all workers towards home office, and made everyone seek opportunities they have not considered before. Work flexibility is becoming an essential requirement for every developer now. The need for salary raises is also continuously increasing, both in Europe and North America, considering the higher demand for senior IT professionals. It’s simply easier to care and provide for employees if you assist their own needs in their own comfort, rather than trying to create something that works for everyone, but ends up being only halfway functional. Remote opportunities offer freedom of choice and increased flexibility in terms of working hours, contract length and conditional preferences.

Remote working is motivating for employees

To compete and grow, your company needs to get ahead of others who are in a more prominent financial situation, or offer greater conditions or terms. Obviously, the salary level is not the only factor that urges developers to change their jobs. Providing opportunities for them to grow and be creative can also help them choose to switch from your competitor to your company. The possibility of innovation, novelty and advanced technologies are also amongst the top motivating factors. However, the pandemic shed light on the importance of a calm lifestyle and career, in an environment one is most comfortable in. Investing in a remote team guarantees access to projects all over the world, while still allowing your employees to keep the lives they’ve built, wherever they built it.

The chances of relocation are shrinking with time

Research shows that not many people who have the skills required by a given company want to relocate. The chances of relocation are getting smaller and smaller with experience and age, as not everyone is willing to give up their life outside the office to take advantage of the opportunities that a new job offers. An experienced professional potentially with a family, even kids and properties in a given country is not likely to be so motivated by a fancy paycheck and title to settle for a new start, putting everything at risk that they had before. Naturally, this doesn’t apply for everyone, but if a narrower talent pool is not something your company can afford, you might want to consider other options.

Only searching for candidates that are willing to relocate narrows down your potential talent pool

The majority of the cases include pre-decision counseling, departure and destination assistance, and potentially even visa guidance. On top of that, there are recruitment process costs you have to bear anyway. As opposed to remote opportunities, relocation impacts the current lifestyle and living conditions of a professional tremendously and may hold some unexpected consequences too. When put in a new city, one may feel great, surrounded by new people, but this filter narrows down your search to approximately 50% of your potential talent pool. This is not something that companies can afford in 2022.

Hiring remote talent is simply faster and easier most of the time

If you ask someone to relocate, a contract requires weeks and weeks of bargaining and moving time, not even mentioning the tremendous trust from both parties. However, it doesn’t guarantee a great match, and maybe you will have to change your new employee for someone else after all of the struggles. Contract or project-based employment is getting more and more popular these days, and unless you have unlimited budgets and time frames, asking people to relocate for shorter periods is not so appealing in the long run. Not only would it be extremely expensive, but it would also cause quite heavy impacts on the lives of the chosen candidates, knowing that they would have to build a life quite quickly elsewhere and then abandon it to return to their old one.