Tips for hiring the right offshore software developers for your product development

So you need a technology product , to be developed as soon as possible, at minimum cost. Can you really afford to hunt for individual developers, bring them together and nurture a team from scratch?

Finding and hiring developers is not an easy task any more - highly qualified, experienced and willing candidates seem to flood the job market and there seem ever more firms & consultants promising to hire the right people for you.

But one cannot approach the hiring of a technical team as though purchasing a product that is satisfying a few well defined criteria - say, just the single offshore freelancer who quoted the lowest price. The stakes and the risks are much higher - you have to realize your goal quickly, for which you are going to spend your time, effort and money in the next few months. You alone know the critical factors, challenges, potential pitfalls, and so you have clear expectations from the hired team..

So how does one go about looking for their dream developers ?

The traditional way...

Resume/CV sourcing

CVs/resumes and Linkedin profiles are still the first step in the search but not the most important one anymore.

• Niche technology communities abound online where the true enthusiasts interact, ask and answer questions, for example , StackOverflow, Askbot etc.
• There are various websites where frequent contests are held such as TopCoder, Coderbyte, Kaggle, HackerRank and many more where coders can prove their mettle in specific domains.
• Online code repositories such as Github, Sourceforge and BitBucket are also an indispensable source of genuine “techies” - self-learners and self-starters.
• International freelancer networks are a good source of independent professionals who showcase their experience and skillset.

Their experience, recent activity details, types of projects and reputation levels in these sites can give a better picture of their merit than shop ordered resumes and CVs.

Candidate profiling/pre screening

The potential candidates are contacted for a preliminary conversation on educational background, qualifications, experiences, aspirations etc and more than a few clues as to possible domain expertise, communication skills, team skills etc can be garnered.

Candidate evaluation

The shortlisted candidates can be put through cognitive/aptitude tests, hands-on coding tests, phone/video/face-to-face interviews and so on. There are again, enough platforms & tools out there to help you in these stages of recruitment.

Finally, the most satisfactory candidates are selected.

So the project starts now? Not yet….

The Notice period ensues and you wait a few weeks.

The notice period is over. Now?

The hired developers are inducted into the project, provided with all the infrastructure be it onsite or remote , the requirement details and individual introductions. The critical factors now revolve around the team synergy and evolving culture which can make or break the entire engagement. You have your fingers crossed.

And then the project is on..

Studies find that there is a significant time gap till a newly formed team starts performing at optimum levels, with maximum productivity.

The question is can you afford to wait for so long?

Leasing tried-and-tested teams ...

Another, quicker and more efficient option is to hire experienced dedicated teams, often placed offshore and who would be having experience developing solutions in the particular domain - business and/or technology. Cabot has been at the forefront of team-leasing initiatives for a long time now. We ensure that we hire the best talent but more than that we put in effort to be able to guarantee you the best team possible.

Our eclectic bunch of specialists have been delighting clients in various industries ranging from healthcare software development to e-commerce across the Americas, Europe and Middle East? It is our business to keep abreast of upcoming technology trends and relevant industry regulations so that there is minimal delay in on-boarding.

How Cabot Makes the Hiring Process even simpler !

Cabot’s talent acquisition team relies on the use of tech recruiting software, Interview Mocha, to ease the hassle of the hiring process. This software offers a test for both soft and technical skills. It is meant to test an applicant’s likelihood of succeeding in a potential role.It helps to identify the top-notch talents within minimalistic time.

Before the actual engagement, you get to give our team a free assignment - a short trial period with the team, to develop a sample use case maybe, whereby you can get a feel of the expertise and team vibe we will be bringing to the table. More than anything else, this can help in deciding the most suitable team to deliver your dream.

Why this service model works for you, as a client

Strange as it may sound, the outsourcing company would have more stake in your project’s success compared to even your own employees, not to say, individual freelancers. The leasing client is, after all, a most valuable asset and so reliability and quality of its services will be the first priority of the outsourcing company. Building a reputation is important for the outsourcing company. This is their primary business and delivering quality output in minimum time would mean more assignments and more revenue unlike for freelancers/in house employees who may have more incentive to drag on indefinitely. These companies would spend real time and effort when hiring the teams.

Advantages over the traditional team hiring process

• There are no issues related to matching of skills & competencies, establishing trust/cooperation and culture, adjusting to the environment etc since all these have already been done with.
• The savings in time and therefore cost would be enormous.
• The traditional recruitment process may take weeks for a single candidate, then the wait for the notice period to get over, and finally the time for the new employees to settle in and achieve full efficiency - all this you avoid.
• Easier scaling - in time, if you wished to cut down/expand the team, the team strength and/or hours can be easily adjusted accordingly with minimum fuss by a team outsourcer
• You are also free from the HR, IT infrastructure, back office and other supports required by the development team.

The only task for the hirer is to oversee the project and have it completed profitably.

Inherent advantages of leased teams

These are the advantages you will inherit on running successful remote teams

• Effective collaboration: A well organized and experienced team will have proper communication and collaboration processes in place and issues such as an unplanned absence of a teammate will be taken in stride, without affecting the budget.
• Easier monitoring: Be it managing attendance or tracking effort hours logged in, there will be better, reliable reporting
• Better skillset and relevant experience: The team members will have been picked carefully and trained/certified for specific domains and projects.
• Work quality assurance: Outsourcing firms also ensure that the members have multidisciplinary skills across the entire SDLC cycle and knowledge of quality standards to be compliant with.
• Better infrastructure: when compared to freelancers spread across the globe or working from home; offices have better Internet and other telecommunication infrastructure
• Legal protection: Since you are only the leaser, the hassles of employment contracts and related issues of the developers will all be handled by the leasing company,

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Conclusion

In short, if you are looking for a quick technology solution to be developed and supported with minimum time and effort, leasing an offshore team would be the way to go. While you focus on your core business activities, they will do what they are good at - delivering and managing technology solutions to suit your requirements.