Remote work has become standard practice for SaaS companies across Europe and beyond, but async-first remote work represents something entirely different. Many organisations struggle when they try to apply traditional remote hiring methods to async environments, only to discover that what worked for synchronous teams simply doesn’t translate. The shift to async-first operations requires rethinking not just how we work, but how we identify and recruit the right people who can thrive in this model. Understanding these differences isn’t just helpful, it’s essential for building distributed teams that actually function well.
What makes async-first remote work different from traditional remote hiring
Traditional remote work often means working from home while maintaining the same synchronous schedule as office-based colleagues. You’re still expected to attend video calls, respond to messages immediately, and be available during standard business hours. Async-first remote work flips this model completely, prioritising written communication and giving team members the freedom to work when they’re most productive, regardless of time zones.
The fundamental differences that distinguish async-first operations include:
- Decision-making processes – Async environments rely on documented discussions and threaded conversations rather than real-time meetings, creating a permanent record of reasoning and context
- Project progression – Work moves forward through detailed written updates and clear documentation rather than quick desk chats or impromptu video calls
- Response expectations – Team members might be working while their colleagues sleep, making hours-long response delays normal and expected rather than a source of frustration
- Communication primacy – Written communication becomes the primary collaboration tool, not a supplement to conversations
These operational differences create a ripple effect throughout the entire organisation. Traditional remote hiring practices fail in async settings because they’re designed to identify people who can replicate office behaviour from home, focusing on candidates who perform well in video interviews and can think quickly in real-time conversations. Async-first companies need people who excel at written communication, can structure their own time effectively, and don’t need immediate feedback to move forward. The mindset shift required is substantial for both employers setting up hiring processes and candidates adjusting their work approach, affecting everything from how you evaluate talent to what qualities predict success.
Essential skills and traits for async-first SaaS talent
Success in async-first remote work demands a specific set of competencies that go beyond standard SaaS role requirements:
- Written communication excellence – Candidates must express complex ideas clearly, provide sufficient context without being verbose, and structure thoughts so others can understand them hours or days later, as writing becomes the primary tool for collaboration and problem-solving
- Self-management capabilities – Team members must set their own priorities, manage energy levels, and deliver results without constant supervision, requiring professional maturity that isn’t always necessary in more structured environments
- Documentation habits – Everything needs recording because colleagues may not be online when questions arise, meaning naturally creating clear records of decisions, processes, and reasoning without being prompted
- Proactive problem-solving – Without the ability to quickly ask for help, team members must research solutions, try different approaches, and make reasonable decisions independently before escalating issues
- Time zone awareness – Understanding how to plan work so others can contribute when they’re available and recognising that “urgent” means different things across distributed teams
These competencies work together to create a profile of someone who can genuinely thrive in async environments. While technical skills remain important for specific roles, these foundational capabilities determine whether someone will flourish or flounder in distributed teams. Candidates who possess these traits can work effectively without the immediate feedback loops and spontaneous interactions that characterise traditional office or synchronous remote work, making them invaluable assets to async-first organisations.
How to assess async work capabilities during recruitment
Evaluating whether candidates can actually work well in async environments requires moving beyond standard interview techniques. Your assessment methods should directly test the skills that matter most in distributed settings:
- Async interview formats – Have candidates respond to questions via written messages or video recordings over several days, immediately revealing how they communicate without real-time pressure and whether they provide thoughtful, well-structured responses
- Work sample tests – Create projects that require candidates to document their process, ask clarifying questions through written channels, and present work in formats that someone in a different time zone could understand and build upon
- Communication assessments – Evaluate writing quality by examining whether candidates can explain technical concepts clearly, provide sufficient context, and maintain concise yet complete communication
- Red flag identification – Watch for candidates who express frustration about delayed responses during hiring, struggle with detailed written answers, or consistently push for synchronous meetings instead of async communication
- Experience probing – Ask specific questions about working independently, handling ambiguity, and solving problems without immediate support to understand their actual async capabilities
These assessment approaches give you genuine insight into how candidates will perform in your actual work environment, rather than simply measuring their ability to impress in traditional interviews. By testing async skills directly throughout the recruitment process, you create a realistic preview of the role whilst simultaneously filtering for people who have already developed these competencies. This multi-layered evaluation ensures you’re not just hiring people who sound good in theory but selecting individuals who will genuinely excel in your distributed, async-first culture.
Building an async-friendly hiring process from application to onboarding
Your hiring process should mirror how your organisation actually works, demonstrating async culture whilst efficiently evaluating candidates:
- Job description optimisation – Explicitly mention async-first culture and required skills, being clear about expectations around communication styles and independence so candidates self-select appropriately
- Asynchronous application review – Have hiring team members evaluate candidates and share feedback through written channels rather than scheduling meetings to discuss every applicant, speeding up decisions whilst demonstrating your culture
- Flexible interview scheduling – Allow candidates to complete interview stages during their preferred working hours and let evaluators review responses when convenient, eliminating the challenge of finding overlapping time zones
- Written collaborative decisions – Use structured feedback templates where interviewers document assessments and threaded discussions to address concerns, creating better records and enabling more thoughtful evaluation than rushed meetings
- Comprehensive onboarding – Create documentation new hires can work through independently, pair them with mentors who excel at async communication, set clear response time expectations, and provide real projects for practising async collaboration with support
This end-to-end async approach transforms hiring from a series of synchronous bottlenecks into a smooth, efficient process that respects everyone’s time whilst accurately representing your culture. When candidates experience genuine async collaboration from their first application through to their first projects, they understand exactly what they’re joining and can make informed decisions about fit. Meanwhile, you’re constantly evaluating their async capabilities in realistic scenarios, ensuring that by the time you make an offer, you’ve thoroughly tested the skills that will determine their success in your organisation.
Common async hiring mistakes SaaS companies must avoid
Many SaaS companies transitioning to async-first operations stumble over predictable pitfalls that undermine their recruitment efforts:
- Over-reliance on synchronous touchpoints – Conducting most of the process asynchronously but insisting on multiple video interviews doesn’t reflect the actual work environment and may screen out excellent candidates who don’t perform well in real-time video settings
- Poor documentation practices – When hiring team members don’t clearly document feedback, decision criteria, or next steps, candidates experience the worst aspects of async communication without seeing its benefits, driving away top talent
- Cultural misalignment – Hiring people with technical skills but lacking the temperament for async work, such as brilliant account executives who struggle without immediate interactions and quick feedback loops
- Inadequate trial periods – Failing to properly assess fit because async work skills take time to evaluate, making longer trial periods or contract-to-hire arrangements essential for seeing how candidates perform over weeks rather than days
- Unrealistic adaptation expectations – Companies expect new hires to immediately work at full async capacity whilst candidates underestimate how different this working style feels, creating frustration on both sides without honest discussion about learning curves
These mistakes share a common thread: they all stem from not fully committing to async principles during the hiring process itself. When companies treat async work as merely a modification of traditional remote work rather than a fundamentally different operating model, they create confusion and select the wrong candidates. Avoiding these pitfalls requires genuine commitment to async methods throughout recruitment, honest communication about what the work actually entails, and patience with both your process and your candidates as everyone adapts to this distinctive way of working.
Building successful distributed teams for async-first SaaS organisations requires rethinking recruitment from the ground up. The skills that matter most are different, the assessment methods need to change, and the entire hiring process should reflect your actual working culture. When you get this right, you’ll access a wider talent pool and build teams that genuinely thrive in remote settings. If you’re looking to strengthen your remote SaaS team with people who can excel in async environments, having expert guidance through the recruitment process can make all the difference in finding candidates who’ll succeed in your specific culture.
