If your business needs technical talent, you’ll know the challenges in finding suitably qualified and affordable staff. STEM-related jobs are growing exponentially yet, according to the Smithsonian Science Education Centre, in 2018 around 2.4 million STEM jobs went unfilled in the US alone due to a chronic and urgent shortage of qualified STEM graduates. This is a global problem that urgently needs to be addressed. Consider the following three top benefits to hiring remote technical staff - and then factor these into your risk management strategy to ensure your business not only survives but thrives in these challenging times.

1. TAPPING INTO A MUCH WIDER GLOBAL TALENT POOL
   
   The tech industry is a prime example of an industry concentrated to a handful of cities where the requisite talent lives. Even though Silicon Valley is synonymous with high labour and office costs, tech startups have traditionally had to consider setting up shop there to meet their hiring needs. If you limit yourself to looking for STEM or similar talent in a set location or country, you limit your hiring pool. Hiring remote staff will allow you access to the very best skills from around the world. Given the globally short supply of tech talent, instead of settling on a candidate who merely meets the job requirements (if you’re lucky), give yourself the opportunity of finding someone who shares your company’s values and will go above and beyond if hired. If you are able to find the right offshore outsourcing partner, they will assist you in accessing a team of remote STEM or technical staff who are well qualified, knowledgeable, skilful, motivated and experienced. They’ll utilise best practices and achieve time-sensitive delivery of products or services. Not being bound by geographical location means you will access talent a traditional in-house role would never get you.
   
   
2. COST SAVINGS
   
   A huge part of your risk mitigation strategy when hiring remote technical staff is the substantial cost-savings to be made from taking advantage of the economic arbitrage in developing countries. Hiring an offshore remote team means you can hire talented people at a fraction of the cost. It will vary from country to country of course, but the reduction in labour costs can often be as high as 70%. Office real estate costs in traditional business hubs like Sydney or London are also significantly higher than taking on an offshored team somewhere like the Philippines or Vietnam. Working with an offshore outsourcing partner will save you in real estate, office management and maintenance, IT and HR and other costs related to hosting staff locally. A leaner operating model that excludes office costs will create a competitive advantage and can be a well-thought-out part of an efficient scaling and BCP plan.
   
   
3. DIVERSITY
   
   Stephen Covey (author of ‘The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People’) once said: “Strength lies in differences, not in similarities.” In today’s world, diversity (which includes gender, religion, race, age, sexual orientation, disability, linguistic differences, socio-economic status and cultural background) has never been more top-of-mind - and it’s something you should be thinking about with your business. Diversity is critical for an organization’s ability to innovate and adapt in a fast-changing environment. According to Forbes, McKinsey and Harvard Business School workforce diversity is a key driver of internal innovation and business growth and multicultural networks promote creativity.  Inc.com lists five key benefits to fostering diversity in the workplace:- 

• • Increased creativity
  • Fosters innovation
  • Better consumer understanding
  • Richer brainstorming
  • Better decision making

A geographically-distributed workforce leads to greater employee diversity and new ideas. Different perspectives and fresh approaches can also help reach a broader audience than you usually do. Having a team of employees that includes remote tech staff from varying backgrounds results in truly great ideas and tangible business returns. 

Since the onset of the pandemic, remote working experience has proved to many that the challenges are far outweighed by the benefits. Fast-moving, agile businesses will seize new opportunities and thrive now and into the future. During these challenging times, all businesses need to be focusing on cost-cutting, adapting and rebuilding. You have to evolve and be creative. Hiring remote technical staff should be a fundamental part of your business continuity planning. 

If you’re looking for an offshore outsourcing partner who can provide super-smart, cost-efficient and diverse tech talent, Sharesource could be the answer you’re looking for. Download our eBook, '30 Essential Questions to Ask a Provider Before You Outsource’ to ensure you're informed and have the right questions to ask when considering the next step.