One of the best things about having a remote team is that you can hire a perfect candidate for a lower cost, regardless of their location.

But if you want to maximize your profits, you need to figure out the best way to pay your remote workers. 

There are five key things you need to think about when choosing a payment partner to pay your remote team. These are:

• Countries they support
• Currencies they support
• Fees they charge
• Speed of payments
• Ease of use/ Accounting system integration

There are hundreds of ways to pay your remote team, but the majority of payment systems offer only domestic transfers or charge substantial amounts for transferring money internationally. Different money transfer systems charge different fees, so how do you choose the best one?

Well, you don’t have to worry about this because we did the research for you. We’ve come up with the top five solutions you can use and a handy checklist for you to check when considering how to pay your remote team. 

If you want fast transfers AND lower fees – read on. These are the best ways we've found to pay your remote workers.

Formerly known as TransferWise, Wise is one of the best money transfer systems you can use for paying your remote workers.

Aside from the low fees, the best things about TransferWise are the ease of use and transparency.  

Before you even register for a free account, you can set up a payment and immediately see the exact fee you will have to pay to transfer the money. Unlike other payment systems that often include hidden fees, TransferWise only charges you a small transfer fee and makes it crystal clear.

You can also open a multi-currency account and easily switch between more than 50 currencies, with a guarantee of mid-market exchange rates.

If you have Eastern European remote workers, TransferWise supports Croatian, Ukrainian, Romanian and Polish currencies as well as Euros and US Dollars commonly used to pay remote workers all over Europe and the rest of the world.

For example, if you want to send $1000 to your remote employee in their local currency, the total payment fees will vary from around 1% for the Czech Republic, Romania and Poland, to the highest fee for Ukraine at 2.3%.

However, TransferWise still does not support Bosnian or Serbian currencies, so if you have remote workers from these countries and want to use TransferWise, it would be best to ask them if it’s okay to send the payment in another currency. This is normally fine and here at JobRack we pay employees in both Bosnia and Serbia in USD. 

If you choose to send a payment without switching currencies, even the priciest option of transferring from your debit or credit card will be less than 1%.

Your employees will then deal with transferring the money to their local currency.

Another great thing about TransferWise is the payment speed. If you are sending a payment through a credit card, the payment should go through within 24 hours. If you are sending money from your bank account, it might take up to just two days.

Of course, always consider additional factors such as banking hours, weekends, holidays, or the time the receiving bank might take to process the payment. These things can make the process last a bit longer. 

TransferWise is one of the best options available, we use it here at JobRack, we love it,  and you can register for a free account here.  

Payoneer is available in over 200 countries with 150 local currencies. It is very popular with freelancers all over the world since it offers lower fees and faster transfers than PayPal.

After your employee registers on Payoneer and receives their first $30, Payoneer will charge them annual membership (which is $29.95) and send them their own MasterCard debit card.

Once they receive money, they can either use it to make foreign payments from their Payoneer account, withdraw funds by using Payoneer Mastercard or transfer funds to their local bank account. 

Payoneer takes up to 3% transaction fee, and the money is typically transferred in 2-5 business days. 

Many remote companies are completely satisfied with Payoneer. One of these is Transformity, a company that provides remote job opportunities all over the world. Although it was established in London, the company has team members in Bulgaria, Russia, Portugal, India and many other parts of the world.

Lilia Stoyanov, CEO of Transformity says:

The onboarding process with Payoneer was quick and easy and our members love it which increased the conversion rate. The payout process is fully automated which dramatically optimized the costs on our side.

But what about remote workers from Eastern Europe and different currencies?

In addition to converting the amount from the paid currency to the local currency of your worker using Mastercard’s conversion rate, Payoneer charges a currency conversion fee up to 3.5%. 

However, some Eastern European workers have also reported additional ATM fees of up to $4 and some difficulties with accounts blocked after a few received payments.

You are also probably aware of the 2020 Wirecard incident where it was discovered that about $2.1bn cash on the company’s books didn’t actually exist. Since Payoneer prepaid cards are issued by Wirecard AG’s subsidiary, this incident resulted in millions of pre-paid card holders around the world to lose access to their money with their accounts frozen and unable to make or receive payments or access their funds. Scott Galit, the CEO of Payoneer issued a statement that you can see here.

However, all withdrawal methods are now back, and Payoneer quickly enabled new funds to be added to the cards.

PayPal is known as one of the most popular methods for online payments. You can choose between opening a personal or a business account (which we recommend if you are an employer running a remote team). 

However, for paying your remote workers, there are some fees to consider.

If you are sending money from the US internationally, there is a transaction fee of around $0.30. All payments exceeding $100 to European countries are subject to an additional fee of $2.99. If you are sending money outside of the US, Canada or Europe, this fee is $4.99.

So for example, if you are sending $100 to your remote workers in Europe, you will have to pay a fee of around $3.30.

If you are located in the UK, any amount above £100 will include a fee of £1.99 for Canada, US, Europe and £3.99 for the rest of the world.

This only applies if you are sending money from your PayPal balance or linked bank account. If you are sending money from a debit card or a credit card, you will have to pay an additional fee equal to the 2.9% of the transaction amount.

So if you send a payment of $100 to your Eastern European worker, they will receive around $93.80.

Additionally, some Eastern Europeans have to pay additional fees when transferring the money from their PayPal balance to their local bank account and additional ATM fees for withdrawing money.

And of course – you have to take into account currency conversion. The currency conversion rate is around 4%, and PayPal supports Polish, Romanian and Czech currencies. However, if you are sending money to workers from Serbia or Bosnia, you will have to send money in a different currency and they will have to deal with the exchange rate themselves.

The transfer time is said to be 3-5 days, but many workers from Eastern Europe have reported that PayPal frequently holds the payment for up to 21 days, and the waiting process can be extremely frustrating.

Make sure your employee and you are both aware of these fees and make a clear agreement who is going to cover the costs.

PayPal is one of the most popular choices and it might be one of the safest ways, but it’s definitely not the cheapest.

TransferMate

TransferMate was established in 2010 and allows you to send money to 162 countries in 132 currencies worldwide. This includes Eastern European countries and even Bosnian and Serbian currencies which most money transfer systems do not support.

What makes TransferMate special is that it bypasses the traditional banking system and has its own network of local bank accounts. This saves time and reduces fees, and the typical transfer time is 1-2 days.

You can transfer money through bank account transfer or wire transfer, but the downside is that you cannot use your credit or debit card to send payments.

TransferMate charges a roughly $11 fee on all transactions, which is why they recommend sending more than $1000 at a time. It’s simple – the more you send, the more you save.

Gerry Clarke, the Finance Director of PwC states:

Paying into TransferMate’s local accounts has saved us both time and administrative headache. Even better, TransferMate’s rates are the most competitive we have found on the market.

Xoom

Xoom is a money transfer service that was established in 2001 and acquired by PayPal in 2015. However, unlike PayPal, it is especially suited for international payments. You can send payments in over 70 countries around the world using a bank account, debit card, or credit card.

The downside of Xoom is you need to upload your ID and a recent bank statement to send money, which is a bit complicated and might take more time. You can convert to most Eastern European currencies, but be prepared to pay additional fees for currency conversion.

Conclusion

To sum up, these are some of the best options to choose from when running a remote team. Now let’s take a look at the five most important factors regarding these payment systems.

With very low fees and a reasonable processing period, we conclude that  TransferWise is currently the most efficient method. There are no additional fees & the process is quick and easy. Your employees don’t need to have a TransferWise account – they just need a bank account and they can directly receive their money. 

Always be aware that no matter how you pay, your employees might have to deal with additional local bank fees and currency conversions. The transfer time might also depend on how quickly their local bank processes the payment. These are the factors that you cannot really control, but the most important thing is to communicate with your employees and set up the system that works for both of you.

So use this handy checklist when considering which payment system to use for your business:

Does it support the countries you need right now and might need in the future?

Does it support a broad range of currencies?

Are you happy with the fees they’re charging? 

Don’t forget to think about this from the perspective of your entire year’s payments. Even relatively small differences in fees when paying $100 – $1000 start to add up when you consider that you are paying a small team for over a year or longer.

Can they make payments promptly?

Is the system easy to use and does it integrate with your accounting system?

You don’t want to save a few dollars in fees but cause yourself hours of extra work every month manually recording transactions in your system.

We hope you’ve found this guide on how to pay your remote workers useful.

Now that you know how to pay your remote workers, you can start hiring more of them! You can find thousands of great quality candidates all at great value on JobRack. Click here to learn more.

If you are reading this article, you are probably already familiar with the numerous benefits of running a remote team, such as generally lower expenses and a wider talent pool. And yet, having a remote team still entails some additional costs that you might not be aware of.

In this article, we’ll go over some hidden costs of running a remote team.

We will also give you some tips on how to minimize these costs.

So, let’s start.

When it comes to remote teams, communication is the glue that holds everything together. Without the ability to pop over to a colleague's desk for a quick chat, remote teams need to rely on tools to ensure they stay connected and on track. This is particularly vital for global teams working across multiple time zones who need to stay informed and up-to-date on project developments.

So, when it comes to managing a remote team, don't skimp on communication tools! Remember that investing in the right collaboration tools can be the difference between a smoothly functioning, efficient team and a chaotic mess.

Regardless of the type of your business, you will probably need a basic messaging app such as Slack and a project management tool like Asana. Some business owners also use time-tracking software to track the productivity of their employees.

Thankfully, there are a lot of affordable or even free options available – and most of these apps offer free trials so that you can determine if they are right for you without paying a dime. If you need more than the free tier of these tools provides then make sure you account for and budget for these costs.

Having team members all over the world means that you will have to send payments to your workers internationally. While some common systems like PayPal may work well for domestic payments, sending payments internationally means paying additional transfer fees. 

Some Eastern European team members have even reported incurring extra ATM charges just to access their hard-earned cash. And let's be honest, those seemingly harmless 3% fees can really add up over time, putting a dent in your or your employees' finances.

The good news? There are various payment options available that can help ease the burden. From virtual bank transfers to cryptocurrency payments, the choice you make can have a significant impact on your bottom line.

Here at JobRack, we use Wise, formerly known as TransferWise. It supports many currencies and offers low fees and competitive exchange rates, making it a popular option for sending money to Eastern Europe.

Every hiring process takes time and money.

If you want to find a high-quality remote employee, you must be prepared to invest in the right platform for advertising.

No matter where you post your job ad, you will either have to pay a membership subscription or service fees. And different websites charge different amounts of money.

We Work Remotely, for example, charges $299 for posting a single job post on their website. Freelancers looking for a job on Upwork are charged up to 20% service fee with employers having to pay an additional 3% fee for payment processing.

So, the best thing to do is to find the right website for finding the remote workers that you need.

Don’t just think about the price; pay attention to the quality of workers the platform offers.

Here at JobRack, we are experts in finding the perfect high-quality remote workers from Eastern Europe. When it comes to the price, you can post your job ad for $249, or you can try our Done With You service and simply let us find a perfect candidate for you.

If you want to attract and retain the best remote talent, offering benefits is a must. Talented remote employees are in high demand and without benefits, you risk losing good employees to companies that do offer them.

However, for smaller businesses, this may be a financial challenge. Check out our list of 5 affordable perks that won't put a strain on your budget!

While there are a few extra expenses to take into account when managing a remote team, with proper planning, these costs are easily manageable. The benefits of hiring remote workers far outweigh the expenses, as you can still save significantly more money than hiring an in-office worker.

You won’t have to pay for office space, equipment, or employee travel costs Also, your workers won’t have to waste precious hours on commute time (which was, on average, 27 minutes in 2023).

And all the time and money you save on these things, you can reinvest in growing your business.

And what better way to reinvest than to hire a new employee that will help you expand your business? You can find excellent remote workers on Jobrack. We have thousands of high-quality job seekers looking for opportunities right now. Whether you are looking for developers, designers, virtual assistants, or any other remote workers, we guarantee we will find a great team member for your business. Click here to find out more.

I’m just back from my first team retreat ever, so as I’m putting together a summary for us to keep as a record internally, I thought it might be helpful to share some specific details for anyone else considering hosting their own team retreat.

This is a long one so if you need a summary then:

• I spent $17k on my first team retreat to Split, Croatia
• It was epic
• Catering was expensive
• The villa didn't need a pool
• A few of the team got Covid
• Ten beers can be used to show the team how our goals are easily achievable
• I feel hugely proud of the awesome people that work for me
• I'm so excited for what's to come.

First off, what is a team retreat?

Typically, it’s where you bring your team together in one place for anything from a few days to a week for a mixture of work and fun activities. 

Large corporate businesses sometimes refer to these as off-sites and where people work together in an office these are more commonly just a night or two.

Why did I want to hold a team retreat?

It’s been nearly four years since I bought JobRack. While in the early years it was just me and one team member, in the last 18 months we’ve hired a lot, and while not all have worked out we’re now at 15 team members with a few more on the way before the end of the year.

For a business of our size, adding 13 team members in a little over a year is quite an achievement and not without challenges. One thing that has been really important for me is how I want it to feel being part of JobRack so we’ve focused a lot on ‘team'.

There’s a range of things we do to help drive the culture I want, everything from afternoon tea and chat to team meetings where I get every team member to contribute something, through to gratitude shares in Slack. 

From talking to other people that have held team retreats, I was confident that this culture and feeling of being a proper team would be helped a lot by getting together in person and really getting to know each other. 

We’re also at a key point in our growth and getting people to step up in terms of their thinking and actions is something that’s going to be crucial. I felt that getting together would make it a lot easier for me to talk to them about where we’re going, how we’re going to get there and the opportunity for them to grow and develop as we do.

What was the theme?

I hadn’t thought about having a theme until a few days before when I read this article.

Oomph’s theme was ‘Celebrate and Elevate’ which instantly grabbed me.

That’s exactly what I wanted to do with the team:

1. Celebrate everything we’ve achieved so far
2. Elevate the team both collectively and individually

A quick trip to Fiverr and 24 hours later I had a ‘retreat logo’, imitation being the sincerest form of flattery and all that! (Matt from Oomph was highly supportive of this!)

Having this theme did prove really useful as it gave us a bit of structure to connect everything we were talking about as a team.

It also perfectly tied into my vision of the team stepping up in various ways which will free me up to focus on the things I really should, and want to, be doing.

How long did we go for?

I split the retreat into two portions:

First was management team time, so from Sunday to Wednesday it was just me, and my two managers.

This gave Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday morning for the three of us to spend time together, work through a range of things big and small and really get to know each other so much better than we have on Zoom!

Then the rest of the team arrived on Wednesday, staying through to Sunday when we all left.

This gave Thursday, Friday and Saturday with the full team.

One week in total away for me and the managers.

Five days away for the rest of the team including travel days. 

Where did we go?

We went to Split, Croatia, all staying in a big villa together. 

Choosing where to go was tricky. 

We started by surveying the team and asking them where they’d like to go.

Then we looked at accessibility. Where was easy to reach for as many of the team as possible?

Whilst not massively distributed (all our team are in Europe and the majority are in Serbia or Bosnia and Herzegovina) considering travel time was important to me especially as we were only planning a few days together.

We decided on Split as a good location for all to get to, close to the beach and with enough, but not too much, going on and accessible locally.

We really struggled to find a villa big enough in Split, this was difficult even if you cranked the budget way higher than I was happy with but eventually we got lucky.

We considered switching to Istanbul and doing a hotel-based retreat then realised that it was the relaxed ‘villa vibe’ we really wanted so continued the hunt in Split for the right place.

Whilst geographically Split was a good choice for us, due to the days we were travelling over half of our team ended up having to take indirect flights which wasn’t ideal. It all worked out ok but it added some cost and a lot of time to their travels. 

When did we go?

We chose the second week of September. This is outside of the height of the summer in Croatia so avoiding very high temperatures whilst still giving a high chance of good weather. 

What accommodation did we choose?

We went here: https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/41542144

An 8-bedroom villa around 25 minutes outside Split and a 15-minute walk from nearby restaurants and the beach.

Crucially it had outdoor space, a pool and enough separate beds for us, something a lot of villas don’t have (they say they sleep 16 but it’s in double beds, for instance).

When we surveyed the team, we asked if they were happy to share a room. Only one person (plus me) didn’t want to share so this made it a lot easier. 

We ended up with 14 of us on the retreat and had enough beds/bedrooms for everyone including three of us not sharing with anyone else.

One benefit of this villa is that it was actually three apartments which meant more social space to be able to hang out in smaller groups.

Lovely little pool but it didn’t get used!

How did we handle meals?

When it’s just a few people it’s pretty easy, although not always ideal, to manage things yourself. 

A collaborative shopping list and a trip to the supermarket and the job is done. 

With 14 people…. Not so easy, so I knew I wanted the meals with the full team to be catered for us. 

This was surprisingly difficult to arrange in Split (or at least where we were 25 minutes outside of Split).

A few other business owners had warned me that Croatian catering isn’t always great so I was already facing a challenge however from around 15 companies contacted none of them would / could cater for us. 

The villa owner did offer catering but it felt expensive ($19 for breakfast, $39 for lunch and $59 for dinner per person) so I was keen to at least have some other options. 

We didn’t manage to get any other options so we went with the villa option which worked out fine. 

We only did one dinner at the villa as it’s nice to go out, nice for people to have a choice of their meal and at $59/person we could get much better food elsewhere for a lower cost and have these other benefits too.

Even for a smaller group, I’d highly recommend having caterers.

Just knowing that breakfast and lunch were taken care of, knowing that we could be working or hanging out right up to the meal time and then we simply went downstairs and it was all ready for us just made everything simple. 

It also meant that all the clearing up was done for us too!

We did a supermarket shop for drinks and snacks. We bought too much but I’m not sure there was any way to know how much people will eat/drink so I’d always rather have more than less. 

One thing I hadn’t thought about was water. In a place where some people don’t want to drink tap water, 14 people can drink a lot of water in five days!

On the upside, carrying 14 six packs of water to and from the car gave me a quick strength workout!

In total we spent $2,905 on the catering for 1 x dinner, 4 x breakfasts 2 x lunches for 14 people which to me felt like a LOT of money. 

That said, it was worth it and I wouldn’t have changed anything as the convenience of having it there when we needed it far outweighed the cost.

What did we do?

I intentionally planned the time to not have too much work/business-focused time. 

I had a hunch that there would be a lot of value and fun in people just hanging out together which was part of the desire for a villa rather than a hotel. 

The random moments like late at night ‘one last drink’ around the pool, or early morning coffee chats were some of the best of the week and I felt that they simply wouldn’t happen if we were in a hotel and everyone was heading off to their own rooms away from each other.

Here’s what we did:

Sunday

Travelling day for me and my two managers. I arrived around midday, collected a hire car (super useful imo for the random trips like pharmacies and supermarkets), and took a trip to a stationary store and a supermarket where I met Slobi, my recruitment manager, for the first time ever!

Where’s the best place to meet one of your managers that you’ve never met before?

The supermarket of course!!

Suitably stocked up on snacks, drinks and food for the few days it was just the management team, we headed to the villa, then out for dinner and we collected Noemi, my operations manager, from the airport ourselves.

Slobi and I meeting Noemi at the airport

Monday

9 AM start for the three of us out on one of the terraces armed with a big list of things to discuss that we’d worked on together over the previous few weeks. 

The key thing we worked through was my vision for JobRack and the various aspects of the business. 

I really want to enable and support my managers to step up to more of a ‘head of’ level so we had a lot of discussion around what that means and what they’ll need to successfully make that step. 

A pad of A3 paper (children’s drawing paper I think it was), some marker pens and masking tape proved to be hugely useful as we could stick them to walls and windows creating our own ‘whiteboards’ wherever we needed them!

Midday - Stopped for lunch and general chat then we each worked separately on our normal work for the afternoon. 

A couple of hours’ break and then out for dinner locally. 

Tuesday 

We followed the same format as Monday and added in spending time thinking about the agenda for when the full team arrived.

We all agreed that keeping to just the most important topics was the most important thing.

One big topic we nailed was what we’re going to offer our team in terms of ‘benefits’. 

This was huge for me as it’s been really difficult to figure out what’s most important for people and will be meaningful vs offering benefits that get ignored or don’t make a real difference.

I’ll post more on this separately but once we’ve reached a key goal for three consecutive months then the team will all get:

• $100/mth contribution to medical insurance (that’s enough to get private medical in the countries our team are in)
• $50/mth laptop allowance
• 5% of salary pension contributions (on top of their salary)

These three are the ones that ‘remote workers’ most commonly miss out on by not working for an ‘in-country’ company that properly employs them so I’m pleased to have got to a good place with it. (It was subsequently well received despite an underwhelming initial reaction caused by some fear about the goal - more on that below).

Wednesday

Management time in the morning cementing the agenda for the days with the team, then an afternoon hanging out in the villa with the team as they all arrived.

Dinner was catered allowing people to settle in and us to relax and chat.

I did do a very brief welcome ‘speech’, just two minutes thanking them for coming, reiterating the theme and purpose of the retreat and encouraging openness and good conversation. 

As a big fan of going beyond small talk, I posted up a ‘conversation menu’ on the wall with a few questions to give a bit of inspiration if it was required. 

After a day of travelling with a few of the team having to take indirect flights this was the perfect first night as we could relax and focus on gentle chat rather than getting ready, going out etc. 

Thursday

My original intention was that Thursday would be a normal working day just with us all co-working together across the various spaces of the villa. 

We made some changes to this as the weather for the following days (when we were due to be out and about) wasn’t looking so good so while it was sunny on Thursday, we changed things around so we could make the most of the sun.

We did our first session for an hour in the morning where I focused on Vision, Goals and Benefits.

This was the point where I told them about the benefits they’d be getting once we reached our next significant goal.

This didn’t land as well as I expected (more on that in the ‘what I nearly messed up section)!

We then worked for a few hours before a quick 15-minute review of the morning and I had the chance to rectify the near miss of earlier before breaking for lunch. 

In the afternoon we walked down to the beach, some of us swam in the sea, others chilled on the beach and some just chilled in the beach bar with a few cocktails and good chat.

That night we went out for dinner in a local restaurant, had a stunning meal and plenty of wine that got the team singing along with the guitarist and singer doing rounds of the tables!

Friday

Team session in the morning from 9.30am to midday (with a coffee break midway) on values followed by time on What Will It Take (WWIT) for us to achieve our next goals. 

This was a great session talking about the different friction points we face with clients that slow things down and make things harder as well as some ideas on what we can do about them. 

I’d planned for us to break into smaller groups for discussion and ideas but it was flowing really well just as a group discussion so I kept us all as one group. 

With the weather forecast not looking great our afternoon boat trip had been cancelled so we had lunch and then went into Split.  The team had a few hours free time before we had dinner and drinks out in Split.

Once back at the villa around 11pm some of the team headed for bed whilst others had a few drinks around the villa and in some cases ‘in’ the very cold pool!

Saturday 

Our final day and very similar to Friday. 

The morning was another team session, this time out in the sunshine by the pool, talking about problem solving and feedback techniques that randomly resulted in some really really good conversations about discrimination and ‘preferences’ when hiring and both how to handle them and when and where we should take a stand as a business either publicly or with our clients (eternally tricky!)

Lunch we left to the team to split up and get whatever they wanted in Split. 

I’ve never seen someone so excited by Mcdonald's but they don’t have them in Macedonia so Slobi gets her fix whenever she visits another country!

The afternoon was back in Split, we had a walking tour arranged, then a bar, and a stunning dinner (Portofino is the most incredible restaurant in Split, if you go then ask for Nina the waitress, the epitome of 12-star service in every way!), one final bar and it was time to head back to the villa. 

Partway through our walking tour in Diocletian’s Palace in Split we took this epic photo on a raised balcony

Sunday

Travelling day - we all left the villa at 10am to make our way home on various flights and transfers. 

How did we get around?

With a group of this size and our location, figuring out how to get people to the right place at the time was key. 

14 people requires either 4 normal taxis or 2-3 large vehicles. 

Being 25 minutes outside of Split meant that Bolt / Uber wasn’t a reliable option (tbh it’s not always great in central London either!)

I wanted to make sure that the team were really taken care of when they travelled to and from Split so we arranged private cars to meet them in arrivals and to bring them the short distance to the villa. 

The same company handled our local trips and were super helpful when we made changes and wanted a few extra trips out that weren’t planned.

One night it was forecast to have heavy rain and storms so while the restaurant was only a 15-minute walk away I didn’t want to be risking it so had them come and take us and collect us later. 

This particular evening and transport felt a little ‘expensive’ - $50 for an 8-minute taxi ride. However, it just being handled made things so much simpler and relaxed all round. In the scheme of things, it’s not a lot of money but it’s interesting how it triggered me thinking ‘ouch that’s a lot for a very short taxi ride’.  

In reality, they had to travel 25 minutes from Split to take us that short distance so I think it was pretty fair overall. Definitely a case of remembering the overall feeling and vibe I want (relaxed and enjoyable) and not being too cheap!

I highly recommend finding a good local transport company and putting everything through them. They handled all our transfers and even handled getting one of our team from another airport a few hours away.

I also hired a car for myself just so we had one for the various supermarket trips, pharmacy trips and to have that extra bit of freedom if needed. This was really helpful in the first few days when it was just the management team as it meant we weren’t reliant on taxis and being specific with our timings. 

What was the budget?

When I originally started thinking about the retreat, I did some rough numbers and hoped I could do it for $15k.

As we started booking travel and accommodation, I revised this to $20-25k and really hoped it wouldn’t go above that.

It was really interesting to me to see how expensive (and difficult to arrange) some things were vs what I’d expected.

How much did it actually cost?

$17,608.82

We’ve been tracking the cost as we made each arrangement and I added up the last of the spending on the flight home. I was pleasantly surprised to see that even with being very free with drinks and meals out, the cost came in less than what I’d expected. 

This was helped by the fact our boat trip was cancelled due to the wind making it too choppy on that day but even with that we still would have been well within the lower end of the revised budget.

Cost breakdown:

Flights / Transport to Split: $5,259

Car Hire: $330

Villa: $5,522

Local transport/taxis: $530

Food, Snacks and Drinks for the villa: $525

Catering in the villa: $2,905 (1 x dinner, 4 x breakfasts 2 x lunches for 14 people)

Meals / Drinks Out: $2,120

Stationary: $30

T-shirts: $250

We had planned on having a photographer ($600) to take professional photos of the retreat and of the team to get some good photos for our website and also to make a short video too. I cancelled this as the weather wasn’t great so didn’t think we’d get good results for the spend.

We’d also planned a boat trip for an afternoon ($1650) which was cancelled due to weather. This was a shame as it would have been good fun but it was a pricey item and we still had a great time without it so no big loss.

What went wrong?!

Thankfully we didn’t have any really significant issues. 

The weather caused me a few mildly uncomfortable hours of having to re-plan things amidst a lot of uncertainty (weather forecasts in Split are notoriously unreliable due to the close proximity of the mountains). 

The forecast would say 80% chance of rain and in reality it was sunny and hot but we had to plan for the worst case scenario.

The most significant issue was when two team members felt ill on the Saturday evening. 24 hours after they returned home, one tested positive for Covid.

They had been sharing a room with another team member, flown home with four others and we’d all been in pretty close proximity for a few days!

Cue fears of a meme landing in Slack along the lines of: “I went on a team retreat and all I got was a t-shirt and covid!!”

In the few days after the retreat we’ve had three of the team test positive and two others not feeling great. 

Thankfully as of the time of writing this all are recovering quickly and not feeling too bad, and the rest of us are all negative and consuming every bit of vitamin C we can get our hands on! 

What nearly went wrong?

One thing that really didn’t land as well as I expected was when I talked the team through the benefits we were going to offer them. 

As we look to make sure they’re not disadvantaged through working ‘remotely’ and being ‘self-employed’ like most remote workers are, I talked through how once we hit our next key goal that would trigger us paying them $100/month towards medical insurance, $50/month towards laptop and home working equipment and 5% of their salary towards pension contributions.

This was a pretty big deal and I’d hoped for some enthusiasm from them!

I didn’t get it. 

It was all a bit flat.

After that session I had a quick huddle with my management team and we talked about it. What I hadn’t realised is that the team saw our next goal as unachievable. 

While it’s a very achievable goal, to them it was a big step up from where we are now so they were struggling to imagine it. 

Them not believing we could hit it meant that they didn’t believe they’d ever get the benefits. 

Some intervention was needed and I had to find a way to not only make them feel it was achievable but also to make them see a clear path to it and get them excited about it. 

For a bit of context, the goal in question is for us to fill 10 roles with amazing candidates every week through our Done With You service, and for us to be doing this by the end of 2022.

Not a crazy number and something I know is very achievable so long as focus on improving a few key friction points.

I had a hunch that they were all thinking very individually about the goal. 

So after a few hours of co-working, we got them all together just before lunch for a quick summary. 

I needed some props. Like in many situations, I figured beer could help so I went to the fridge and got a six-pack and a four-pack of beer. 

Ten beers in total.

I took the ten beers and gave them to one of my team, Nikola.

I asked him if he could help me out, if he could drink those beers for me.

All ten of them.

In the next 45 minutes. 

He looked a bit confused and a bit hesitant, he said he could but he’d be pretty ill.

Perfect answer! 

He couldn’t do all ten himself. 

So I split open the six pack and took one beer out and went to the person next to him and asked if they could maybe help out. Could they drink one beer over the next 45 minutes?

A positive answer and I moved onto the next team member in the circle. 

Now, this was John and I suspect he’s sunk a fair few beers in his time so I asked if he could handle two beers for us. An enthusiastic response from John and I took two more beers from the six pack and passed them to him. 

I kept going, distributing the beers amongst the team. 

A few minutes later we had ten beers split across some of the team all with 1 or 2 beers each.

Now I asked them how they all felt about drinking those beers in the next 45 minutes. 

They were all super happy. 

Some of them were smiling clearly seeing where I was going with this beer fun!

I then talked them through how us hitting our next goal of ten roles filled per week is tough if we’re on our own but if we split it across the team then it’s just 1 or 2 roles each. 

Not so scary. 

There was really great energy at this point, the team were smiling, they were all jumping in positively and it was a completely different vibe from just a few hours earlier. 

I brought up the benefits again and this time they were a lot happier. 

Phew! Crisis averted!

Out of the whole retreat, this was a key moment for me. 

Both in recognising something hadn’t landed well and for adapting quickly and coming up with a cool and fun way to get the team to think differently about something that was hugely positive for them. 

What would I do differently?

Everything worked out pretty well and the post-event survey hasn’t resulted in any major suggestions for us to change. The time we were together was about right, more choice of food would be ideal (always tricky with different tastes etc) and it would be nice to do an activity or two all together out of the villa but everyone was really happy.

One thing that I’ve realised is not a priority is having a pool.

When I was looking for villas, a pool was a must-have. 

I had visions of us all chilling around the pool, swimming/splashing about etc, a true chilled villa vibe.

In reality, we didn’t have that much time to be around the pool (apart from some late-night drinking and chats), the water was freezing cold, and so long as we have good outdoor space to hang out in this would definitely move to my optional list which would massively increase the villa options for us to consider. 

How do I feel after the retreat?

Overall, really really really good. 

Almost everything I’ve read about team retreats has included how positive the business owner feels afterwards. 

I’m no different! I feel really good for finally having met my team. I started to get to know them and crucially they’ve got to know me a little more. I made a conscious effort to have random one-on-one conversations with as many of the team as possible.

I also feel really proud of the specific things we progressed and/or completed. 

Vision, values, benefits, expectations, and goals not only completed but I feel really good about them and that they’ll really make a difference to us moving forwards. 

One of my goals is to feel more ‘professional’ and this was a big step towards that.

We also had some really interesting and deep conversations including one about prejudice in recruitment and how we handle that in a supportive and constructive way with both business owners and candidates.

I had some really surreal moments too. 

I bought JobRack back in 2018. 

It was very small. 

It had no team. 

For two years things went pretty slowly as I was working full time and had just one team member. 

Then in the past 2 years, things have changed hugely. 

I focused on it full time.

I launched a new service that offered people what they really needed

I hired more people. 

Suddenly this ‘little’ business I bought four years ago has a team of 15 smart people, who really care about what we do, and they’re looking up to and following me!

Scary! 

Humbling.

Awesome!

Every time the group was all together, or we took a group picture, I’d have this ‘holy shit’ moment of realisation that this is my team. 

Closing the retreat by thanking the team at dinner on the final night, I had goosebumps up my arms and I felt genuinely emotional. Pride. Gratitude. Excitement. A little nervousness! All the feelings!

Should you run a team retreat?

In my opinion…. hell yes, you should!

It can be a bit scary.

It can cost a significant amount of money.

But if yours is anything like mine you’ll feel epic afterwards, feel like you’ve got great value and be confident that you’ll get a whole ton of benefit both for you, your business and your customers. 

If you’re anything like me you’ll start thinking about the next one on the plane home!

Got questions?

Feel free to ask away and I’ll do my best to answer them. 

Knowing how to write a great job post is the first step toward finding the perfect person for your business. 

Your job ad is like a sales page. It needs to attract the right people and convince them to apply. This is super important if you’re to get the quality applicants you want. It should help them determine whether they are suitable for the position and whether to apply - which will also help you avoid getting irrelevant applications. 

In this article, we will show you how to write an effective job post for a range of different roles.

So let’s start with the basics.

Regardless of the role, here are the main elements you need to include:

Reading your job ad is probably the first time that your potential employee has even heard of your company. 

That’s why you need to start out with the basics. Write an introduction about yourself, your company, and the position you are offering.

Communicate your company values right away to attract the right candidates and filter out the wrong ones.

Remember, you need to put your sales hat on at this stage and really ‘sell’ the opportunity so you get the best candidates.

Consider whether you are happy to include a short video of yourself introducing the role as a way to really stand out and communicate with the potential applicants. This one has been proven to help with creating rapport with potential applicants much earlier in the hiring process as they get to see the person behind the job post.

This part includes the job description and the main responsibilities.

When writing the job description, highlight the most important details and try to convey an idea of how a typical day at work will look for your future employee.

Make sure to include all your expectations, so that your candidate knows exactly if the position is right for them. Consider including details such as: 

What will the candidate be responsible for? What projects will they be working on? 

Who will they be working with? Reporting to?

Will the new hire be trained in any specific areas? What tools does the team use? 

What will the role become or turn into?  What are the biggest growth opportunities that you see for someone in the role?

The more details you include, the more confidence you will give to your potential candidates -   and excite them to apply.

This is a list of skills that your future employee needs to have. 

Start out by writing the most important requirements, such as educational background and experience that are absolutely necessary. Then, you can add preferred skills that are not mandatory but could serve as an advantage to the potential applicant.

Also, don’t forget to think about their soft skills. What kind of personality would work best with your team? What kind of person do you want to work with? In the end, include a description of your ideal candidate to really grab the attention of someone who would be a perfect fit at your company. 

If you want your job post to attract as many great candidates as possible, include a paragraph about the benefits your company offers. This one is extremely important, as it is usually the first thing job seekers will look into, before they decide to read the full job description and make the decision whether to apply.

If you already know the salary you want to pay, then include the salary right away. Studies show that 61% of candidates see it as the most important part of the job description.

If you’re not sure how much you’ll need to pay, then you can set your post as salary negotiable, and you can ask job seekers that apply to give you their expectations.  This allows you to review quality vs cost and make an informed decision. However, even if you’re not sure about the exact figure, we strongly advise you to include a ballpark of what you’re willing to offer. This way, you’ll motivate candidates right away and have a bigger chance of the right people applying for the job.

Aside from the salary,  you should include information on other benefits your company offers such as paid time off, home office stipend, paid access to learning tools, company retreats, or potential growth opportunities within the company. You want to use your chance to communicate to your potential hire why would they want to work with you and what you can offer them. 

Lastly, you should always end your job post with instructions on how to apply, what to include in the application, and when the applicants can expect to hear back from you. The more information you include about the hiring process, the more comfortable will the applicants feel.

Also, pay special attention to formatting. Use bulleted lists and make sure your job ad is easy to read.

Now, let’s move on to some specific roles. 

Depending on the role you’re looking to fill, there are different aspects you need to consider.

Nowadays, hiring developers through job boards is more difficult than ever, as they are being actively recruited almost on a daily basis. However, if you decide to do it through job platforms (potentially with one that also provides recruiting help), then having a clear, detailed, and effective job post is absolutely crucial.

If you want to attract a great candidate, you can’t risk your ad getting lost in the sea of other similar developer job posts.

Want a great example job post? Check out this great developer job ad to get some ideas. 

The scope of work for virtual assistants and customer support specialists depends on the type of company.

Virtual assistants can do almost anything, from marketing to managing events. 

That’s why the job description is the most important part of the job posting. Since these roles provide different services and have a wide variety of skills, you can also include a list of things that you don’t want in a potential employee. 

This is an example of a great job ad for a virtual assistant.

Here is an example of a great job posting for a customer support specialist.

These roles are highly creative, so most of your candidates will appreciate it if you include more information about the company values and the flexibility of the position. 

If you are looking for a talented designer or a great content writer, always ask them to attach examples of their work with their CV.

Here are two great examples of job postings if you are looking for a designer or a content writer.

The right project manager will improve every aspect of your business. That’s why it is important to avoid too many applicants and focus on finding the right one.

If you are writing a job posting for a project manager, try to avoid generic descriptions. 

Everyone knows that a project manager needs to have good communication and organizational skills. 

Instead, focus on describing the details of your projects. If you have a preferred project management methodology, include it in your job ad. 

Here is an example of a good job post for an Operations Manager.

If you are looking for a new addition to your Sales & Marketing team, the most important thing is to be specific. 

Although it might seem easier to write about general responsibilities (such as converting prospects into customers), try to include more details about the position you’re trying to fill.

This will not only make your job posting stand out from the rest but will also help your potential candidates determine if they are the right fit for the role.

Here is a sample of a job post for a marketing position with a great job description.

This was our guide on writing a great job post.

By the way, did you know that 85% of businesses that hire remote workers have confirmed increased productivity?

That’s why JobRack is the perfect place for you to post your job ad. We have thousands of qualified Designers, Developers, Project Managers, and many other great remote employees that would be great assets to your team. Click here to find out more.

Remote work is not just a trend – it’s here to stay – so it’s time to develop your remote hiring skills and get the best workers available. There are numerous advantages of having a remote team - workers are more productive, teams are diverse, and you get a wider talent pool to choose from. But despite many benefits to having a remote team, remote hiring is not always easy.

Hiring employees without meeting them in person means you need to make an extra effort to get to know them before deciding who joins your team.

Also, it’s important to hire the right person the first time, since replacing a worker takes a lot of time and money. In fact, high turnover leads to a drop in morale among your team (not to mention that it can also cost you around 40% of a junior employee’s salary!)

Here at JobRack, we offer thousands of high-quality candidates – but even with all the help we give you, it’s ultimately up to you to choose your new employee.

That’s why we’ve created this list of the best questions you can ask during an interview & find out the most about the previous remote experience of your candidates. 

Have you ever had any experience working remotely?

Although remote teams are generally more productive, there are a few tricky things to consider. If a person is easily distracted, cannot organize their time well, or gets lonely without physically being around their co-workers, working remotely is probably not the best idea for them.

That’s why it’s important to find out if your candidate has had any previous experience. If not – don’t worry, that’s not a dealbreaker. It just means you need to really make sure they’ll be comfortable working as a part of a remote team. These are the things you need to think about:

• Will they be comfortable collaborating with their co-workers even if they’re working from different time zones?
• Do they have a home office where they can focus without distractions?
• Do they organize their time well in everyday life?

If your candidate is well-prepared to handle these challenges, they’re a good fit for a remote position.

Tell me about an issue you had when communicating with your co-worker?

Asking questions about difficulties in previous experiences is a great way of assessing candidates’ skills. You’ll learn how they deal with problems and whether they have what it takes to communicate with the rest of the remote team.

Don’t get us wrong – conflicts are inevitable, and sometimes even useful for facilitating creativity among the team.

But when hiring remotely, it’s important to find people who can communicate well. They need to be looking to problem-solve, not focus on shifting the blame onto someone else.

Asking them about previous difficulties with their co-workers can help you determine if they can compromise and how well they’ll do with your team.  

What is one issue you’ve had to overcome to improve yourself professionally?

A quality worker is willing to admit when they are wrong, learn from the experience, and grow professionally. With this question, you’ll be able to see how self-aware your candidates are regarding their qualities and weaknesses.

In our experience, attitude is more important than tons of experience and a perfectly written CV, so don’t shy away from really getting to know where your candidates come from – and where they plan to go.

Do you have experience using tools for remote work?

With a team scattered around the world in different time zones, remote work relies heavily on communication.

Check if your candidates have ever used messaging apps like Slack or project management tools like Asana, and whether they’re tech-savvy enough to learn to use all the tools they need for the position you’re offering.

If they don’t have experience, don’t worry. The most important thing is that they’re interested and willing to figure it out!

What kind of work environment do you enjoy?

Every remote team functions differently – and the way you run your company may not be for everyone.

For example, do you offer flexible hours?

Do you constantly direct your workers? Or do you prefer them to self-manage and come up with solutions on their own?

Do you enjoy throwing virtual parties every once in a while?

If your candidate prefers a different atmosphere to what you’re offering, you’re going to have issues with them regardless of their skills.

When hiring someone new, always consider your company culture. You need to look for someone with hard skills, but also someone who will communicate well and fit in with the rest of the team.

These were our top 5 interview questions for hiring remotely – you can test them out right now and find your new employee right here at JobRack! We highly recommend highly-skilled Eastern European remote workers. Click here to find out more.

When hiring remotely, it’s not always easy to determine whether the candidate is right for you. While your talent pool is much larger, so is the number of applicants – and it’s not easy to assess their skills by simply going through their CVs and having a short interview.

In fact, 30% of workers admitted to lying on their resumes. Also, relying on an interview where they tell you about their competencies, rather than show you what they can do is still not enough to give you a clear idea of whether they’re suitable for the position.

That’s why offering test tasks is our #1 tip for selecting and hiring the best remote workers. By offering test tasks, you get to see the quality of their work and their communication, and you can directly assess their skills and see exactly what they can do. 

It’s very important to always pay for test tasks. You should never expect any of your candidates to work for free.

So, test tasks are crucial for remote hiring. But what kind of tasks should you use?

There are some competencies – like communication skills – that every remote worker should possess. These should be determined during the interview process. 

The test task you’re offering should depend on the position you’re looking to fill. That’s why we’ve gathered a list of tools and services you can use to help you test your candidates. Read on!

How to Test Virtual Assistants

Virtual assistants are among the most versatile workers, so it’s very important to check if they are familiar with the tools you’ll need them to use. If not, that’s not a dealbreaker – the important thing is that they’re able and willing to learn!

If you need your VA to communicate with important clients, you can have them do a quick English language assessment, either for general or business English. There are also many free online tools that can help you assess their typing skills:

• TypingTest.com
• The Typing Cat
• Key Hero

The best way to test VAs is to delegate, so give them a chance to do something they would normally do if you hired them. For example, you can give them an online research task where they need to gather data and add it into a usable format. If you need them to work in Excel, you can send them a spreadsheet with very specific instructions on what to do – data sorting, highlighting or proofreading.

It’s best to give them tasks that will show their skills, but try to give them a task that you need completed, as you will be paying for their work anyway. 

How to Test Remote Developers

For most roles, test tasks are conducted to avoid hiring candidates who lack skills but can sell themselves through resumes and interviews. For developers, it’s the other way around: test tasks are important so you don’t miss out on great candidates who just don’t know how to stand out on paper or in an interview.

On the other hand, many developers also try to embellish their resumes with programming languages they have little experience with. That’s why some employers choose to offer live coding tasks including screen sharing to really understand their candidate’s approach to coding. This may be stressful for those who prefer working on their own, and it may be time-consuming for you (depending on the number of your candidates).

There are many online tools such as Codin Game or Codility, designed specifically for testing remote developers. While you need to pay a few hundred dollars for some of these, many offer free trials (Qualified offers a 14-day free trial with up to 5 free assessment results). Testdome is another popular platform offering tests for a wide range of skills, including programming, accounting, customer service, project management, and more.

How to Test Content Writers

Content writers need to be creative, attentive to detail, and have extremely good writing skills. It’s very difficult to determine if the candidate possesses these skills through an interview. Also, if you’re hiring remotely, the chances are that some of your candidates are not native English speakers. That’s why it’s important to offer your potential content writers a test task.

One of the basic test tasks that you need to give them is a sample article. Simply give them instructions to write an article similar to those they would normally write for you.

A big part of content writing is research; so you can also give your candidate a list of questions and some time to do their research on the topic. 

These tasks should help you assess their English skills, but you can also do that through a separate English test.

If you want to take an extra step and have your candidates professionally assessed, you can do that through Mettl. This company offers assessment tools for technical and web content writers across different industries, while also determining whether they can creatively use charts and graphs. You can request a customized pricing quote based on the features you want to use, and there’s also a free trial available.

How to Test Graphic Designers

Graphic designers are usually evaluated based on their portfolios. However, a test task can help you gauge their competencies in various programs – and also show you how creative they can be when given a specific task.

Here are some online tools you can use for testing graphic designers:

• InterviewMocha – tests in Adobe, Coreldraw, AutoCAD and more
• Expert Rating – reasonably priced tests for around 90 different programs
• AssessHub – offers aptitude tests assessing both technical and creative skills

These were some of the awesome tools you can use when hiring & testing remote candidates. If you are looking for more general tools that offer an assessment of candidates regardless of the position you’re looking to fill, some great online options include TestDome, Criteria, TestGorilla and Eyardstick.

Although it’s great that you can try these tools for free, in our experience, a few simple test tasks are usually enough to successfully filter candidates on your own. It’s best to select a few talented workers and offer them a similar task. Always offer to compensate them for their time, even if they don’t get hired. This way, they’ll take you more seriously and put in effort as if they’re already a part of your team!

Now that you are ready to test remote candidates, you can hire more remote workers, build your team and expand your business. You can find skilled remote candidates right here at JobRack – click here to find out more.

Here at JobRack, we make the process of finding a great employee simple. However, many business owners come to us with one important question:

How much should I pay my remote workers?

This guide is to help you decide on a fair and competitive salary.

Eastern Europe is an extremely attractive option for outsourcing for many reasons – including excellent quality of work, big talent pool, and lower cost of living. The lower the cost of living, the lower are the average salaries for that country, which means that you can have a happy, talented, and well-paid team for a lower cost than if you hire in the US.

So, let’s look at the cost of living across Eastern European countries.

• The Baltic Countries

Among the three states placed on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, Estonia is the most expensive one, while Latvia has the lowest cost of living.  Monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment in the city center would cost $650 in Estonia and $750 in Lithuania or Latvia. For comparison, that’s over 5x lower than if you were to get a place in New York!

• The Balkans

The Balkans include eleven countries in the southeast of Europe: Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Romania, Slovenia, Bulgaria and Greece. The cost of living is similar in most of these countries, especially for those areas that used to be a part of former Yugoslavia.

In Albania, you can get an espresso for only $1.5 or rent a great place in the city centre for around $1000. Croatia and Slovenia are the most expensive countries of this group (you would need to pay around $2 for that coffee, and the same apartment in Zagreb or Ljubljana would cost about $1500).

• Eastern Slavic Countries

With a low cost of living and an amazing talent pool, Russia, Ukraine and Belarus are among the top outsourcing destinations with technical talent. That means that extremely talented developers and IT specialists from these countries can pay $15 for dinner at an inexpensive restaurant or get a delicious cappuccino for $3!

• Western Slavic Countries

If you decided to rent a great one-bedroom apartment in Poland, Czech Republic, or Slovakia, you would have to pay around $2000 per month.

• Other Areas in Eastern Europe

Other than these areas, we also offer remote workers from Moldova, Cyprus, Hungary, and Georgia.

These numbers vary from city to city, but the prices are significantly lower than in the UK and in the US. It's also important to remember that quality remote workers also have access to many remote opportunities from different areas of the world, and tend to go for opportunities that offer them a fair salary and a comfortable lifestyle. Although the cost of living is one of the factors when determining a salary, it is not always the most important one. For example, although Belarus has a relatively low cost of living, the success of its tech-industry makes their developers among the highest-paid in the region. 

With offers from all around the world, talented remote workers can find well-paid positions regardless of where they live.

Here at JobRack, we gathered information from thousands of our remote workers and our satisfied clients, and found the average figures for paying remote workers from Eastern Europe:

As you can see, the average salary depends on the experience and skills of your workers and the position you’re looking to fill. 

It's important to note that this is a gross salary offered to the employees, so they'll be responsible for paying taxes and their insurance. If you're serious about having a loyal and strong team, you can offer benefits on top of the base salary. Receiving a monthly amount dedicated to health insurance or a pension fund will definitely make a huge difference for your team, and they'll be more likely to stay with your company for a long time!

To help you decide what you’re looking for, let’s also take a look at some of the job posts we had here at JobRack, and how our clients decided on the salaries for the positions they were offering.

• Software Developer

With a serious talent shortage in the US (there are around a million unfilled job openings for tech jobs!), this is THE role to outsource to regions of the world with a surplus of high-quality technical talent. 

Here is an example of a job post where one of our clients wanted to fill a junior position with a negotiable salary. They outlined that they are still a relatively small, self-funded company looking for a WordPress developer and explained that the candidates do not need previous experience as long as they are resourceful and willing to learn. On the other hand, here is an example of a job post where a company needed a senior lavarel developer, a key role for which they offered a salary of around $6500.

• Designer

This company looking for a junior graphic designer offered a salary of $8 per hour (around $1,300 per month). The responsibilities included building landing pages, with no coding skills needed. 

On the other hand, we had a client looking for someone with 3+ years of professional experience creating interfaces for websites or applications, and they offered a salary of $2,500 to $3,500 per month.

• Project Manager

If you’re not sure of the exact salary you’re offering, you can list it as negotiable. 

However, it’s always a good idea to give some clue as to what the figure would be since a lot of remote workers would be more inclined to apply for the position if they know it’s in the right ballpark for them. 

This ad said that the salary was negotiable, but listed that it would be between $2600 – $3400 per month, depending on the skills and the experience of the new hire. This client was looking for a Senior Project Manager, offering a salary between $2500 and $3500.

• Customer Support

Customer Support salaries usually range from $1,000 to $2,500. In this example, the starting salary was $1,500. On our own job post, we offered a salary of $1000 for a flexible position of a customer support manager who would help us ensure that our clients have an excellent experience.

• Content Writer

One of the great things about Eastern Europe is that remote workers from these countries have excellent English skills. The salaries range from $1100 to $3,700 for full-time positions, and you can check out one of our clients’ job posts for a content writer here, or a job post for a more senior position of a content manager here. 

• Sales & Marketing

Sales and marketing roles include a variety of different positions, so let's just take a look at a few positions.

In this job post, one of our clients offered 2,500 to 3,000 euros per month to find an Amazon PPC Specialist with experience in Amazon Ads and Google Ads. Another client was looking for an Outreach Coordinator who would handle research and communication with website owners, offering between $1,500 and $2,500 per month.

For a Senior Digital Manager, this client offered a salary between $3000 and $3500. Also, note that this job post also offers many benefits that are likely to attract many quality applicants.

• Virtual Assistant

This is the most versatile role of all, as you can find an assistant to help you with almost everything you need in your business and personal life. Virtual assistants usually get paid between $1100 and $2,200, depending on the tasks you need them to do. You can check out this ad right here for an example job post.

Lower cost is just one of the many reasons hundreds of satisfied clients have successfully hired through JobRack.

Hiring a new employee is an investment, and you will want the best value for a good cost.

With strong educational systems, a rising tech industry, compatible time zones and great internet connections and infrastructure, remote workers from Eastern Europe are reliable, well-educated and talented individuals that have proved their worth again and again. 

Once they get a good opportunity, they become dedicated and loyal members of the team.

That’s why Eastern Europe is the perfect place for outsourcing.

Here at JobRack, we have thousands of high-quality remote workers just waiting to help you in your business. Click here to find out more.

Did you know that people spend four to five hours per day using mobile apps?

When Apple launched the App Store in 2008, around 500 initial apps forever changed the way users lived their daily lives. By the end of the year, there were more than 100,000 downloads. Today, there are around 1.96 million apps available for iOS users and 2.78 million available for android users.

With such figures, it’s no wonder that more and more business owners from all over the world are hiring teams to build apps for their businesses. Although developing an app is not cheap, there are ways to minimize costs.

Regardless of the type of your business, having a mobile app can help you stay competitive and relevant in today’s market.

For example, having an app for your e-commerce business means that you can directly increase sales and produce a better customer experience.

In fact, statistics show that 60% of consumers prefer mobile shopping apps over mobile websites due to improved user experience. There are over 2 billion people using their smartphones for shopping – and having a mobile-friendly website is no longer enough.

So, having an app is great – but doesn’t creating one cost a lot of money?

Not necessarily.

Most surveys show numbers between $25,000 for simple apps to up to $500,000 for complex apps. Most of these figures are calculated on the basis of an hourly rate of a US developer (around 50$ per hour), so outsourcing can help you reduce these figures. There are also some other factors you should consider when calculating the cost of your app. Those are:

• Type of the app (e-commerce, delivery app…)
• Your team (whether you choose to build your own team or hire an agency)
• Location of your team
• Number and type of features you want
• Number of platforms you want your app to support

A simple app may take a few weeks to create, while a complex one might take several months or longer. You also need to consider whether the finished product will need constant maintenance.

Let’s focus on the team you’ll hire to build your app. 

There are two main options if you choose to outsource: you can build your own team or you can hire an agency.

Although agencies offer a pre-built team that guarantees great cooperation, many business owners decide to hire remote workers and build their own teams.

There are no overhead costs and there is a lot more flexibility when it comes to new ideas and last-minute changes. Additionally, if you chose to build a team of remote workers outside of the US, you will save a lot of money since developers from other parts of the world charge much lower rates for the same work.

The number of developers you’ll need will vary depending on the complexity of your app. You may do it with just one developer or you may need a lot more. Most teams consist of the project manager/team lead, developers, designers, and QA experts. 

These are the average salaries (in $k) of mobile app developers in the most commonly known areas of the world according to Business of Apps:

As you can see, the salary of your developers will depend on their location. 

Most surveys show that the average hourly rate for US mobile developers ranges between $60 – $80. Some claim that it can go up to $150 per hour. If you chose to outsource to somewhere with high-quality remote workers with lower costs instead, you can pay much less for the same work.

It’s important to find a balance between quality and cost – you don’t want to outsource to the cheapest possible location just to save some money. However, there’s an area of the world that is the focus for any business wanting high quality at a lower cost.

When choosing the country, consider the following things:

• Are the time zones suitable so that your employees can efficiently communicate?
• What is the quality of work?
• Is the internet connection stable and fast?
• Are there any cultural differences that might get in the way of effective collaboration?

Right now, the best option for outsourcing is to choose remote workers from Eastern Europe. You won’t have to deal with cultural differences, language barriers, or unsuitable time zones. Most importantly, you will get great quality for a lower cost. 

The average salaries for software engineers in Eastern Europe vary from $25,958 to $41,170 a year. At the same time, salaries in the US are around $70,000 a year.

For a mid-level UX Designer, the United States has one of the highest figures at $98,000 – $134,000, while Eastern European countries have average salaries ranging from around $50,000 to $60,000.

For QA experts, the average salary in the US is around $100,000. In Eastern Europe, you can find excellent QA experts for half the money!

This way, you can build an app for a much lower cost than you may think – and cost is just one of the many reasons why Eastern European workers are simply the best in the world. You can read this article to find out more.

If you want to start developing an app with your Eastern European team right now, you can find excellent team members right here at JobRack. We have thousands of talented remote workers looking for remote opportunities – click here to find out more.

With a long year behind you, the holidays are the perfect time to surprise your remote workers with thoughtful holiday gifts.

We know what you’re thinking – isn’t giving gifts reserved for those who work in an office?

Not really. 

Having a remote team means that you need to make an extra effort to bond with your team, and holidays are a great opportunity to show your appreciation for their hard work.

Remember – gifts are more than just material items, they are ways to boost morale and make your workers feel valued!

But how exactly does it work? How much should you spend? And how do you send it out?

When it comes to the price, that depends on your budget. If you can’t afford to pay for a gift + shipping for your entire team, don’t immediately write off this idea, as there are always ways to cut back on the costs.

For example, streaming services and media subscriptions are very affordable options that your workers can enjoy virtually! However, if you want to get something more personalized, it doesn’t hurt to know a bit more about how your workers across the world celebrate winter holidays.

Although January 1 is recognized as New Year’s Day in the majority of the Western World, many cultures celebrate traditional holidays on dates according to their own calendars that are movable in the Gregorian calendar.

For example, China will celebrate New Year on January 22 with a fifteen-day long festival Since the Islamic calendar includes 354 days, New Year falls on a different date of the Gregorian calendar each year. The same goes for Jewish New Year, which was celebrated in September this year!

If you have remote workers from Eastern Europe, you may be curious to know how they celebrate Christmas.

While Catholic countries celebrate Christmas on December 25, in Orthodox countries (Ukraine, Russia, Belarus and Serbia) Christmas is celebrated on January 7.

Bulgarians celebrate Advent – four weeks before Christmas – from November 15th until Christmas. Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) celebrate Advent by lighting one candle each Sunday until Christmas day.  Also, if you ever visit Croatia during this time, we strongly recommend visiting Zagreb’s traditional Advent market!

The truth is, the holiday spirit is in the air throughout the winter in most of these countries. So whenever you choose to send a gift to your remote workers, they will surely appreciate it!

If you want to know more about your remote employees’ countries and traditions, you can organize a virtual party and have each of your employees bring their favourite holiday dish. They can share stories about their traditions and later bond with their co-workers by swapping recipes!

Despite the differences, all of these countries have similar ways of celebrating. People prepare traditional food, visit places of worship, and spend time with their families. That’s why the holidays are the perfect time to spread holiday cheer by giving gifts to your remote workers! Here are some ideas:

• Media Subscriptions

Media subscriptions are a great option if you want to avoid shipping fees. It’s not easy to get a personalized gift if you don’t know all your employees’ hobbies, but Spotify Premium ($9.99 per month) or Audible Premium ($14.95 per month) are affordable options that anyone can enjoy.

• Streaming Services

Nothing gets you into the holiday spirit like Christmas movies! That’s why Netflix, Hulu or HBO services are great options for employees who like to relax and binge-watch holiday movies with their families during the weekends.

• Course Subscriptions

Providing opportunities for your worker’s professional growth is important for two reasons: they’ll feel like they’re progressing in their field and become loyal to your company, and you’ll know that your workers are constantly improving their skills. That’s why giving them a subscription to Skillshare or a similar learning platform is a great holiday present.

• The Escape Game

The Escape Game gift card is a perfect holiday gift for remote teams that love to organize fun virtual activities. Your workers can choose from several themes and then work together on finding clues and solving missions. The price is $256 for a team of up to 10 people. Also, you can include this game as a fun activity in your virtual holiday party!

• Personalized Items

Whether it’s a mug, a thermos, or a pillow, giving your employees a personalized item has a special meaning. It will remind them of their co-workers and strengthen their bond. You can photoshop a photo of your entire team, order it placed on an item on Etsy and send it to your employees! This way, they’ll have something to remind them of their co-workers, even when they’re miles away.

If buying a gift for each of your remote workers costs more than you can afford, you can always go for a game of Secret Santa. This way, each of your employees will have a chance to get something – and give something in return. It will also help them bond and learn more about one another.

Also, are you sending out a gift through the mail? Make sure to include a handwritten note to make your gift extra special!

These were our ideas for holiday gifts for remote workers.

Businesses can get busy during the holiday season, as well as it being time to plan for the year ahead, so if you want to expand your team and hire more employees, you can find them right here at JobRack! We have thousands of quality remote workers ready to make a difference for your business. Click here to find out more.

From scheduling meetings to managing social media, there are numerous tasks your virtual assistant can take on to relieve some of your stress. Hiring a VA means you won’t have to waste time on administration and will be able to focus on what’s important – searching for clients and expanding your business.

All you have to do is find the right candidate and hire them. Sounds simple, right?

Well, even if you have an impeccable hiring process (you can find some tips on that right here!), hiring a new worker means that they will have to go through onboarding and training before they actually become a productive part of your team.

In fact, studies have shown that it takes around 8 months for a new employee to reach full productivity. That’s why onboarding a new virtual assistant is very important – and we’ve gathered some tips to help you improve your process. Read on.

Introduce Them To The Company

During the hiring process, every candidate learns some general info about the company they’re interviewing for.

Once you hire a person, it’s important to teach them more. Onboarding a new virtual assistant means that you need to introduce them to your company culture, policies and values, and make sure they understand what your goals are. This will motivate them and build their loyalty towards your company.

The more they know about the company, the more they’ll feel passionate about their new role.

You should also introduce your new worker to the rest of your team as soon as possible.

It’s best to organize a video chat where your employees can meet face-to-face and get to know each other. There’s nothing better than planning some virtual water cooler activities to help your team get to know their new co-worker – and with the holidays coming up, you may even consider throwing a virtual holiday party!

Give Them Access

Since virtual assistants work 100% remotely, it’s important to give them access to all the tools and platforms right away.

Think of the following things:

1. Communication with the rest of the team
2. Project management tool
3. Company e-mail (if you have one)
4. Password-sharing software like LastPass
5. Any other tools they’ll need to do their tasks (now or in the future)

The last thing you would want is for your assistant to waste time on their first day because they don’t have access to an important document or don’t know how to contact a team member. 

If you provide access to all these tools right away, you’ll avoid delays that may hold back the entire team, especially if they work from different time zones!

Provide Instructions

Onboarding a new virtual assistant requires some time and effort. They are among the most versatile workers since their responsibilities vary depending on the tasks you want to delegate.

If they’re not that experienced, or if they had previously worked in a different industry, they may not be familiar with the specific standards of your field.

That’s why you need to take time to instruct them on how your business operates.

For general things that every new worker needs to know, it’s best to create an SOP that you can keep and use in the future.

This way, you’ll make sure all your workers have the same info and you won’t have to go through the process of writing long messages on Slack every time you hire a new employee.

You can also create video tutorials in which you’ll do the tasks yourself and explain what you’re doing as you go along.

Your VA may not need step-by-step instructions, but it’s always better to give more instructions than not enough. This way, they’ll be able to see the entire process and look back if they have any questions.

Give Feedback

Feedback is extremely important during the onboarding process.

Have regular calls with your virtual assistant to make sure everything is going smoothly and give them a chance to ask questions.

Don’t be afraid of giving them tips – if you avoid providing constructive criticism, your new employee will simply assume they’re doing everything right.

That’s why it’s important to set clear expectations and correct every mistake early on.

However, don’t focus on the negative sides. Always acknowledge their hard work and make sure your new worker feels appreciated. This will give them a huge boost in morale and motivation!

These tips will help you get off to a good start and build a successful working relationship with your virtual assistant. A good onboarding process will also help you improve your retention and create a happy and productive team.

In case you need to hire a Virtual Assistant, or you need a Developer, a Designer, a Project Manager, or any other remote employee, we have thousands of highly talented remote workers right here at JobRack. Click here to find out more.