{"id":19961,"date":"2024-11-18T10:51:35","date_gmt":"2024-11-18T10:51:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/?p=19961"},"modified":"2026-01-23T11:59:36","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T11:59:36","slug":"the-ultimate-guide-to-hiring-remote-employees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/the-ultimate-guide-to-hiring-remote-employees","title":{"rendered":"Remote Hiring Process: How To Hire Remote Employees In 2026\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The concept of remote work isn\u2019t pandemic-new<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1979, a group of IBM executives came up with a curious idea: What if we let some people telecommute by logging into their work devices remotely? It proved a success. The first telecommuters were more productive and more engaged. By 1983, some 2,000 IBM employees were working remotely. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, personal connectivity has advanced even further. Work can happen anywhere, anytime, and from any device. This is a major advantage for companies as remote hiring<\/a> delivers better access to talent, enhanced operational agility, and oftentimes higher productivity levels. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, even though it’s been around for 45+ years, the remote work trend is <\/em>just getting started<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why we believe remote work is the future <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Today, almost a quarter<\/u><\/a> of the global workforce works remotely, with telecommuting levels rising to 67% in industries like technology. Going forward, we can expect some 90 million roles<\/u><\/a> to become remote. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was the best decision for Toggl to go fully remote in 2014. \u201cBeing remote gives us an opportunity to hire from the widest possible talent pool and allows us to bring the best of the best to our team,\u201d shares<\/u><\/a> Dajana Berisavljevi\u0107 \u0110akonovi\u0107, Head of People at Toggl. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Pinterest, a flexible work model also led to a greater diversity of new hires. About 79% of all Black, Indigenous, Latino, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander employees (BILNP) who have joined Pinterest within the past year came from outside of the Bay Area, compared to 60% of non-BILNP workers,\u201d shared<\/u><\/a> Doniel Sutton, the CPO of Pinterest. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At Dropbox, a virtual-first approach<\/u><\/a> to team management led to 72% higher self-reported productivity and 80% higher effectiveness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many other businesses stand firm behind remote work, believing it creates better employment dynamics. Employees gain greater flexibility and have higher job satisfaction. All the while, employers enjoy improved access to talent, better employee retention, and reduced absenteeism \u2014 all leading to higher profitability. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But, of course, not everyone is sold. Many businesses are shoehorning people back to the office, creating tension (and you can read our \ud83c\udf36\ufe0f thoughts about that here<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1 in 5 employees<\/u><\/a> plans to ignore return-to-office (RTO) mandates by leveraging employment law loopholes or channeling their energy into endless arguments with the management. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This undermines productivity, disrupts morale, and creates a bad rep for the company. Three-quarters<\/u><\/a> of Amazon employees plan to search for a new job following this year\u2019s RTO mandate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The truth is\u2026remote work can be equal parts hard and fulfilling for companies to build. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cForcing people back to the office won\u2019t fix your communication issues or low engagement rates. It definitely won\u2019t cure your inability to innovate or collaborate\u201d, says<\/u><\/a> Dajana. \u201cA remote work culture has to be built with intention and have people who truly support productive work and a healthy work-life balance.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The well-sung benefits of remote work emerge when you establish a fair management process based on trust and results rather than micromanagement and arbitrary performance metrics. In many cases, you also need to remove the pressure of immediacy from communication to provide your people with ‘headspace’ to do deep, thoughtful work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pulling off such cultural and process transformation can be hard. But it’s worth the effort because new generations of talented people have already made their choice: they want to work remotely<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Fifty-eight percent of workers said they would \u201cabsolutely\u201d look for a new job if they cannot continue remote work in their current role.<\/p>\nFlexJobs<\/u><\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Benefits of hiring remote employees <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Working remotely isn’t just about accommodating the demands of the workforce. It\u2019s a strategic shift bringing in a bevy of operational benefits, such as…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83c\udfca A wider talent pool<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you hire remotely, your talent pool grows from local to global. This means more qualified potential candidates for each position<\/strong> and less competition with other employers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remote positions attract 3X more<\/u><\/a> applicants than in-office jobs. At the same time, 67%<\/u><\/a> of US employers have already lost their talent to competitors, offering more flexible work arrangements. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You also escape local talent shortages for specialized skills. For example, the largest proportion<\/u><\/a> of people with AI skills live in India, the United States, Germany, and Israel. Remote hiring means you don’t need to be in the same Zip code.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\udcb0 Cost savings<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The average real estate savings per full-time remote employee is $10,000<\/u><\/a><\/strong>. No office space also means no utility, cleaning, catering, office equipment, or security costs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For larger companies, those translate to massive cost efficiencies. The US Patent Office<\/u><\/a>, where 80% of eligible staff teleworks, avoided over $65.6 million in miscellaneous real estate costs since launching its remote work program after the pandemic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83e\ude84 Improved productivity<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The jury is still out on whether remote work is always more productive. Over the past three years, companies reported<\/u><\/a> anywhere between 19% decreases to 13% gains. The exact impacts depend largely on pre-existing process efficiencies and success with mastering asynchronous communication and remote collaboration. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Generally, companies with mature remote work practices<\/u><\/a> have more engaged, happy, and productive teams<\/strong>. This is mostly because their staff doesn\u2019t have to lose energy due to long commutes, noisy office spaces, or ongoing stress. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83e\udd29 Employee satisfaction<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Employee satisfaction increases as much as 20%<\/u><\/a> when given the option to work 100% remotely. Satisfied employees aren\u2019t just less grumpy \u2014 they\u2019re more engaged and perform better in their roles<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Dr. Camille Preston argued in her book, The Happiness Advantage<\/u><\/em><\/a>, \u201cHappiness improves almost every business and educational outcome: raising sales by 37%, productivity by 31%, and accuracy on tasks by 19%.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n

\n Further Reading:<\/span>\n
\n
\n \n \"120+\n 120+ Remote Work Statistics in 2026<\/span>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n
\n \n \"10\n 10 Tips for Building and Managing Remote Teams<\/span>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n\n\n

Challenges in remote hiring<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Despite the above benefits, many teams remain hesitant about going fully remote…and rightfully so. The shift to remote-first often requires major changes in operational processes, corporate culture, and legal setup. Here are the top challenges to overcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\udd0d Finding qualified remote candidates<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Assembling a high-performance global team is no small feat. You\u2019ll have to adapt your recruitment and selection process<\/u> for remote candidates. Think video calls over on-site meetings, skills tests on top of resume screening, and a structured interview process over casual chit-chat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ll also need to adjust your job descriptions and job promotion strategies<\/strong>, favoring specialized job boards and niche communities over general job aggregators like Indeed or Monster (the next section explores this in more detail). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\udea8 Legal complexities of international hiring<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Hiring cross-border requires familiarity with local employment laws and payroll management practices. If you choose to hire international staff as contractors, misclassification can land you in regulatory hot water. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Granted, specialized remote work services providers streamline the hiring process. Employer-of-record service providers like Deel<\/u><\/a> and Plane<\/u><\/a> help legally hire staff in countries where you don\u2019t have a legal entity<\/strong> and ensure compliance with all applicable regulations \u2014 from proper compensation to IP rights protection. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83c\udfc4 Building a remote onboarding process<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Limited face time and fractured communication can make it hard for new hires to settle into their roles. They may feel clueless about corporate policies and lack timely feedback or basic tech assistance with setting up their equipment and corporate accounts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To integrate new employees remotely, create a structured onboarding plan<\/strong> covering all the legal formalities, general orientation, and role-specific guidance. Good communication is key. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Communicate everything more than feels necessary. It’s better to sound like a broken record than to have a new team member who feels left out or doesn’t know what is expected from them.<\/p>\nAnnika Helendi, Toggl Plan<\/u><\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Ensure the new employee receives access to all important work systems: email, project management software, department-specific tools, HR platform, and corporate knowledge libraries. Develop personalized onboarding paths, which include introduction meetings with key people, must-complete tasks for each day, and check-in sessions with direct supervisors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83c\udf89 Managing a remote company culture<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Remote work culture<\/u><\/a> is like an invisible cord linking people from different locations, backgrounds, and values into one tight-knit allyship. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou need to actively work on defining the culture. It is a constant effort and should not be left self-organizing. It’s so important to keep people communicating, making sure they talk about their plans, achievements and also problems. It’s also very important to work on building trust and a safe environment for taking risks,\u201d <\/em>notes<\/u><\/a> Alari Aho, Founder of Toggl. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apart from promoting candid communication, you\u2019ll also need to create new opportunities for bonding remotely<\/strong>. This can be anything from thematic Slack chats (e.g., for new parents or pet owners) to group health challenges or virtual parties. <\/p>\n\n\n

\n \n \n \"Top \n Top tip:<\/span>\n <\/span>\n \n

Toggl hosts meetups around the world various times per year. We also participate in company-wide health challenges and share photos of our furry best friends on Slack.<\/p>\n

If you don’t have the budget for in-person meetings, however, another thing you can do is host remote events. For example, at Toggl, teams receive a stipend for remote pizza parties, where the company compensates the celebratory takeaway, and we munch together over Zoom.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n\n\n

\ud83e\udd1d Encouraging collaboration and productivity of remote employees<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Remote work requires building a virtual workspace where everyone can connect, exchange ideas, air grievances, and find resolutions. Without a strong collaboration process, you\u2019ll either lean into micromanagement (bad!) or employee surveillance<\/u><\/a> (even worse<\/em>). Or lose efficiencies due to information asymmetry and under-management. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To strike the right balance, invest in the right type of project management software<\/u><\/a> for your team. A simpler task management app may do for smaller, autonomous units (e.g., a marketing team). Meanwhile, larger departments may need more feature-rich platforms to streamline several different types of workflows (e.g., an HR team may want to have a full-cycle system that integrates recruitment and project management workflows). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likewise, find a suitable set of communication platforms<\/strong> \u2014 async messengers, video conferencing tools, and a knowledge management system for storing and exchanging text, video, and audio notes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to hire remote employees in 10 simple steps<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Toggl has been a remote-first company since 2014 \u2014 a bold but right decision for a startup that grew to a global business of 1.5 million users across four different products. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Without remote work, we would have struggled to scale. After all, Estonia is a country of just 1.36 million amazing people. We would have struggled to scale our product because people from 40+ countries bring at least 40X brighter ideas for growth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And our story is hardly unique. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Automattic, the creator of WordPress.com<\/a> and WooCommerce, thrives with a remote workforce of 1,900+ employees<\/u><\/a> across 96 countries. Buffer reached an annual recurring revenue of $19.44 million<\/u><\/a>, and GitLab successfully IPO-ed in 2021. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you, too, want to build a strong, thriving, and growth-driven remote-first company, here are our best tips. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Confirm the role can be done remotely<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

At least 35%<\/u><\/a> of all jobs existing today can be done remotely. These include the majority of knowledge work like software development, sales, finance management, marketing, and consulting, among others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Generally, a role can be remote if it doesn\u2019t require: <\/p>\n\n\n\n