Quality could also be an issue. I hired some excellent people in India but they would have power-cuts every now and then, ridiculous internet speeds and inability to write good english.
Ask HN: Why do US companies mostly hire remote workers in USA?
11–20 of 26 posts
Re: Ask HN: Why do US companies mostly hire remote workers in USA?
#12Earlier quoted context omitted.
Cultural issues too. Wait until someone from a country with a different view on women in the workplace shares topless pics of his gf on the engineering slack channel. Or sends engineering candidates a coding test that shows a picture of a naked woman (in ascii, but def naked). You'll get to have all sorts of fun with HR and your lawyer.
I went on the French Hired.com yesterday, and asking me my race is simply illegal here, and having as option stuff like 'native american form Hawaii' (from memory, it was in french, making even less sense) did not really feel culturally sensitive. On the other hand, having my boss commenting on the look of a female engineer in the lunch room did not really make me feel good. edit: but I would say that the american cu…
In the US, asking your race is allowed (but optional for you to complete) for reporting employment statistics.
Re: Ask HN: Why do US companies mostly hire remote workers in USA?
#13Earlier quoted context omitted.
I went on the French Hired.com yesterday, and asking me my race is simply illegal here, and having as option stuff like 'native american form Hawaii' (from memory, it was in french, making even less sense) did not really feel culturally sensitive. On the other hand, having my boss commenting on the look of a female engineer in the lunch room did not really make me feel good. edit: but I would say that the american cu…
In the US, asking your race is allowed (but optional for you to complete) for reporting employment statistics.
In the US, asking just about anything is allowed. Certain information is generally unlawful to use in hiring decisions; though, so if you do ask it and don't fall into one of the exceptions where it is allowed to hire based on it, you probably want to both say up front and be able to demonstrate by evidence when challenged in court that it is (1) used for some specific purpose other than hiring decisions, and (2) separated from the identifying information after receipt so that it could not be used for hiring decisions even if those making that decision wanted to.
There is a popular myth that the things that are illegal to use in hiring decisions are illegal to ask, which isn't true (this probably comes as a slight distortion from managers receiving legal advice that those things should not be asked because asking them increases the risk to the company, which is true not because they are illegal to ask, but because asking produces the risk that a jury will believe a charge that they were used in hiring decisions.)
Re: Ask HN: Why do US companies mostly hire remote workers in USA?
#14Timezones, for one thing.
Although, I've seen a lot of US/Canada only postings as well, so Mexico and S. America excluded.
I have worked with a lot of good folks in S. America, in fact I know a team there that is better at text analysis than anybody I know in the states who isn't already busy working for the NSA.
Re: Ask HN: Why do US companies mostly hire remote workers in USA?
#15They don't. US companies mostly hire remote workers in India and China, not in the US. When they do it overseas, they generally work with a local company to make the legal and logistical aspects simpler.
Re: Ask HN: Why do US companies mostly hire remote workers in USA?
#16ymmv, but in my experience, local devs are the best--culture, language, in person meetings, and timezones matter. Also, quality is usually better in my experience with local devs
Re: Ask HN: Why do US companies mostly hire remote workers in USA?
#17Payroll is a huge headache. I worked at a California-based company that hired a Canadian, and I think they spent more money sorting out all the legal/financial issues than they paid him.
Re: Ask HN: Why do US companies mostly hire remote workers in USA?
#18Earlier quoted context omitted.
Although, I've seen a lot of US/Canada only postings as well, so Mexico and S. America excluded.
I have worked with a lot of good folks in S. America, in fact I know a team there that is better at text analysis than anybody I know in the states who isn't already busy working for the NSA.
Yes, so these places are excluded not because of time-zone or skills gap, but something else.
Re: Ask HN: Why do US companies mostly hire remote workers in USA?
#19I think it is quite common for east coast companies to hire European remote workers. I work in a Java team comprised of 7 people currently for a US Boston based company and 6 of the 7 are based in the EU (2 in UK,2 in Spain, 2 in Czech Republic).
There are certain barriers to hiring but it allows you to pick some really great engineers up that would just be impossible to do in San Fran etc without a huge budget.
Re: Ask HN: Why do US companies mostly hire remote workers in USA?
#20Payroll is a huge headache. I worked at a California-based company that hired a Canadian, and I think they spent more money sorting out all the legal/financial issues than they paid him.
Simply not true. It is very easy to work as a Canadian in the US. This is exactly why we have the TN visa.
Because of NAFTA, the US and Canada share a ton of workers.