Aside from hiring the best specialists, there's also an issue when it comes to keeping them, as turnover in IT is an unbeatable occurrence. On average, developers in Moscow change their workplace once every eighteen months. When we talked to leaders of remote teams about turnover, most of them could barely remember any previous employees. CTO's are all for getting rid of those who are simply not up to the company's standards, and think that is one of the keys to the success of a remote team, whereas strong specialists don't leave these kinds of teams on their own.
First of all, they hold on to working remotely on a project that's interesting to them: there are still few quality offers, and managers, who are willing to hire remote workers and pay them a competitive salary are at a very clear advantage.
Second of all, on these teams, developers feel their own contributions a lot more, and that is often the determining factor. If you are a manager and are still convinced employees lean towards a larger salary, you know nothing about your subordinates.
Daniel Pink, author of "Drive: what really motivates us", declares that, for example, in a creative profession, money is only one small part. Autonomy (ability to decide for oneself), the opportunity to become an expert, and mission (to be a part of something big) are the real currency.