Software development has accelerated in recent years and shows no signs of slowing down. If you own a successful software development firm in the United States or Europe, chances are your customer base is growing and, preferably, your product sales are increasing.
However, you are surely facing stiffer competition than ever before. This emphasises the critical nature of staying on top of your game and developing new and creative software in order to scale your business quickly and stay ahead of your competition. And that presents a problem.
The apparent approach is to hire additional local software developers in order to meet expanding client demand and expectations in your business. However, when you consider the high cost of hiring and the small pool of accessible local developer expertise, that choice becomes less enticing.
Which leaves just one viable option – outsourcing. There are numerous advantages to offshore hiring, which make it the ideal alternative for cost savings, rapid scalability, and focusing on core skills. By hiring offshore developers, you’re not simply accessing lower-cost talent; you’re also establishing a highly skilled software team that serves as a value-add extension of your organization.
- Why should you hire Offshore Developers?
- How to Hire Offshore Development Team?
- How to get started with hiring offshore developers
- Interview round
Why should you hire Offshore Developers?
Establishing an internal software development team is a difficult task. It takes a great deal of time, effort, and overhead to manage and hire the offshore software developers you require. That is why many offshore development companies choose to focus on their core business tasks and outsource software engineering to offshore developers.
The following are just a handful of the reasons why you should hire the best offshore developers:
According to Deloitte’s Global Outsourcing Survey, 72% of businesses prefer outsourcing software development to in-house development. The following are the reasons for this:
1. It is a cost-effective technique for product development.
According to tech giants, 46% of the software development industry startups fail due to a lack of funding. This issue is unlikely to occur if you engage an offshore development company or offshore web development teams. You will save money on overhead costs such as office rent, payroll, insurance benefits, vacations, and recruitment fees, among other things. Rather than that, you will direct cash to the most crucial domain – developing an MVP. Additionally, because of the reduced cost of living, developers in offshore countries often charge significantly less than their peers in the United States and Western Europe. Hiring a dedicated development team from Eastern Europe, India, or Latin America can cost up to twice as much as hiring one in the United States.
2. Enhanced productivity and time savings.
Not only can an offshore development team decrease expenses, but it can also accelerate the development process, saving you valuable time. As you are probably aware, time is critical for any company, as each one is born into a competitive environment. Additionally, you will save time on training new staff with a dedicated development team, as each outsourced developer already possesses the necessary abilities. Finally, you will save time by outsourcing project management chores and human resource activities such as employee retention to a vendor development business. As a result, you will be entirely focused on work.
3. More talent than is available on-site.
IT outsourcing enables you to tap a bigger pool of talent than would be available on-site. For instance, the majority of developers in California are already employed by technology behemoths. They earn big salaries, have appealing benefits, and feel relatively safe and secure with their existing companies, but startups imply risk; thus, it is considerably more difficult to hire engineers for a company in the United States of America. On the contrary, offshore countries in Asia and Eastern Europe are brimming with talented engineers eager to join your firm.
4. Flexibility
Scaling your in-house team or changing the technology stack to accommodate the project’s stage and scope will be hard. However, because such shifts are common in startup environments, adaptability is critical. The good news is that outsourcing developers are adaptable and can simply be shifted between projects, particularly if you work with them through a development shop.
5. Less conflicts
Typically, startups are the outcome of personal interactions between co-founders that develop into business relationships. Due to the fact that business contacts differ from personal interactions, this might result in disagreements and misunderstandings. For instance, a guy you’ve known for years may exhibit a darker side of their personality while conducting business. On the other hand, an offshore development team can assist you in avoiding such disagreements throughout the MVP development stage.
As you can see, outsourcing development can help streamline your startup. After all, outsourced teams produced products such as Skype, Slack, and Github, among others.
How to Hire Offshore Development Team
After reducing the search region, it’s time to move on to the hiring stage, which can be even more perplexing. After narrowing the list of teams to those that meet the business’s standards and needs, the next step is to determine which team is the best. Interviewing is the best method, and we will discuss the most critical components of the procedure next to ensure that it goes smoothly and results in the intended outcome.
1. Define your objective
You must establish clear objectives for the candidates. This requires teams to be aware of the tasks they will undertake and be prepared for the challenge. Ascertain that they understand and are prepared to meet their objectives and expectations.
2. Effective Communication
In today’s digital age, meetings can be held seamlessly and without incident. Nonetheless, it is critical to design a communication system that makes sense to everyone. Offshore teams and remote working appear to be growing in popularity as a result of the capacity to connect with anyone quickly. That is, with so many virtual tools available, it is possible to simulate a face-to-face conference and annotate a drawing board in front of all users. Naturally, the tools that will work best for your team will vary according to your unique requirements. Effective communication is critical to your team’s success and is made slightly easier with the usage of accessible technologies.
3. Managing Time Difference
India and Ukraine are two countries where the software development sector is booming. This means that offshore developers are rarely free agents for an extended period of time. As a result, an efficient hiring procedure is critical. You do not want to miss out on a qualified prospect due to unexpected delays! If you believe you’ve discovered a diamond in the rough, don’t be afraid to invite them for an interview.
Additionally, you can provide candidates with comments on their performance on tests and interviews. This should be done as quickly as possible, preferably within two or three days. Though it may seem unnecessary, offering a full analysis of your candidate’s performance even if they are not picked will not only help them cope, but the efforts you make to review the candidate also contribute considerably to developing a positive brand for your organisation.
How to get started with hiring offshore developers
Thus, how should your hiring process be structured, and what are the characteristics of an ideal offshore development team? The following is a checklist for hiring developers or building dedicated teams for a startup:
1. Write a comprehensive job description
Ascertain that you’ve described the functionality of your project, as well as all the necessary talents for a developer to perform the job.
2. Establish compatibility between them
It is not uncommon for applicants to perform really well on technical examinations but then underperform a few months later. Unless there are unusual conditions, the most frequent issue is a cultural mismatch. When it comes to employing offshore developers, cultural compatibility and connection are critical.
You should be familiar with the fundamental principles, objectives, and practices that characterise your organisation. The top offshore developers will share your company’s work ethic and ideals.
Avoiding cultural mismatch requires a thorough hiring process. Employ individuals that will devote time and effort to your company’s vision. They must be motivated, devoted, and driven to meet their responsibilities.
3. Avoid the Cheapest Quote
Regrettably, organisations frequently choose the cheapest quotes. Ascertain that you do not commit this error. Concentrate on cost-effective rates rather than low rates. With low-cost estimates, you may wind up spending extra for the project as a result of someone else having to rewrite the poorly written code. And, once again, never be shy to request developers’ Stack Overflow or GitHub profiles to verify the code’s quality.
Interview round
1. Structured interview process
The interview process is the next stage. To conduct a good interview, one that truly assesses candidates’ competency, you must first create a list of subjects and questions to ask them.
Did you know? Recruiters believe that soft skills are more important than technical skills 92% of the time.
This not only ensures that all critical factors are covered but also speeds the interview process. While first impressions are critical, they do not tell the entire storey. Your questions assist you in developing an accurate image of the candidate’s abilities. Conduct at least a few technical tests, as these are non-negotiable core skills. You can then schedule a personal interview to ascertain their attitude and personality compatibility with your firm before making a decision.
2. Able to use various tools
This is the first point to consider before beginning the process of hiring offshore developers. Match their skill set to the required technology stack to weed out those who are incapable of achieving your business objectives.
Because you’re recruiting offshore developers, the most critical technical talent is their ability to build efficient code. There are numerous online coding test systems available — for example, HackerEarth, Codility, Talview, and HackerRank. The optimal approach will vary according to your development process and commercial requirements.
Technical examinations that force programmers to code in real-time show their expertise directly. By seeing their approach to an issue, how they overcome hurdles, and how they describe and comment on their code, you may conduct an in-depth analysis of their skill set.
You can also incorporate real-world business scenarios to test your applicants. While examinations should be challenging, they should not be so difficult that candidates are unable to finish them on time. If the exams do not conform to your expectations, remain adaptable and make necessary adjustments.
3. Give candidates a reason to work for you
In an ideal world, candidates would emerge from interviews eager to accept the position. Regrettably, the reality is frequently quite different. Competition for competent offshore developers is at an all-time high in nations like India and Ukraine, which means that obtaining top tech talent is not easy.
The interview process should be bidirectional. This is where candidates can gain an understanding of your company’s culture. Bear in mind that while you are analysing the prospect, they are evaluating you and your firm as well. They’re determining whether working for you is the best option for them. Candidates are not only evaluating their work environment at your firm. Additionally, they seek opportunities to work with cutting-edge technology for the most inventive companies in their industry.
Therefore, before you engage offshore developers, consider the following: what makes your business unique? What distinguishes your company’s mission from others? How do you position your business in such a way that the greatest developers want to work for you?
Wrap Up
In a word, leapfrogging the competition has become more critical than ever. As a result, a growing number of businesses are opting to outsource their development requirements offshore.
However, before you sign a contract with an offshore development centre, explicitly identify your requirements, the required skill set, and budget. Additionally, you should consider agile development with an offshore team that possesses the following capabilities:
- A track record of success
- Access to the most recent source code
- Dedicated project managers
- Professionals with experience
- Fixed price model
- Standards of excellence
- Extensive deployment
- Proactivity