#software shop

“To embrace a vision one must truly embody the vision in a personal and public way. If you don’t believe in the vision, it will fail. If you don’t show your colleagues/team that you believe in the vision, it will fail. Embracing a vision means sharing the vision with the team and getting team buy-in so the entire team has a stake of ownership in the vision (no one can accomplish something entirely on their own). So to see a vision through there must be clarity, task specifics, and inclusion of the team.” - Ryan Greenwald DV Product Manager

What’s expressed when either outcome surfaces is a nod of acknowledgement, followed by the switch of a gear to continue to turn the wheels of great minds. While these minds may be great, it is left to the product to impress its user.

“Greatness should be found in every aspect of every part of everything we do. The tiniest pieces of a rocket are what allows us to reach Mars. Continuous observations about the rough seas around it add up to a ship that avoids the storm and makes its destination.

People aren't watching what we do at every moment, we're the only ones who know that we're always doing our best work. Be mindful, present, and aware of what you create. No need to tout your own greatness, that's a missed opportunity to be doing more great things. After all, if it's not great, what is it?”

- Brian Hubbell Senior Software Engineer & Lead Architect at DV

Recruitment agency

First option is the recruitment agency that can be the additional support for in-house recruitment. Although the process of hiring can still take more than a month, it’s probably, still,  the fastest option of getting help. The additional advantage is knowing all the associated costs upfront (agencies are transparent with their pricing) which can help in predicting the necessary budget. What’s more, many recruitment agencies work in a “success fee” mode which means that you only pay for the staffed position - that decreases the risk of spending money without hiring anyone.

On the other hand, the remuneration of the agency can be quite high. It depends on a country, but usually a commision that varies around 10-20% of candidate’s annual salary is a standard. You also need to remember that the agency is helpful when it comes to preliminary selection of candidates but after that their job is over. Conducting technical interviews and final responsibility for making the best choice is left to you.

Why cooperate with the recruitment agency?

HR recruitment agency might be the best option when you’re in a desperate need of increasing your recruitment pipeline fast and your budget is quite big. Also, when you’re looking for someone that can join you directly in your office.

Freelancer

Another option is hiring a freelancer that can join your team for a short period of time. There are many ways to find a perfect contractor - you can try networking or searching portals such as toptal.com or upwork.com that are collecting experienced freelancers. The recruitment process of a contractor can be faster than with the in-house recruitment. Also, existing databases of candidates, make checking their backgrounds easier. With in-house recruitment it’s more difficult - every time you have to ask for references from past employers. What is more, freelancers usually have lots of experience and different sets of skills because they change projects quite often.

There are some major cons of hiring freelancers though. Their availability is a big issue - they may work on few projects at the same time or even disappear when they find a full-time job elsewhere. It is also your responsibility to manage such person and do check-ups. You need to be sure that a freelancer is in constant connection with the team and knows what to do. Also, costs of hiring a local contractor are quite high. And yes, remote contractor can be cheaper but disadvantages we’ve mentioned above can grow to really serious issues. Last, but not least - a freelancer’s loyalty is rather low. When the project comes to an end a freelancer disappears from the team together with all meticulously gathered knowledge and know-how. With the next contractor you have to start the onboarding and training again.

So when it’s good to hire a freelancer?

Hiring a freelancer might be a good option when you need support for a short period of time - few weeks up to few months. It’s also easier when your project’s tasks are fully described and new developers don’t need a long training before they become productive.

Local software shop

Cooperation with a local software shop is a great option because of the stability of such partnership. Those companies hire many employees and that lets them be elastic with regards to developers assigned to your project. Usually the quality of their work is high because of their competences and track record. Also, some firms are like one stop shops - they have extra competences, so you can carry out your project only with them. Strategic planning? Market research? Design and UX? They can help you with almost anything you need.

But the biggest and usually the most disqualifying issue with the local software shop is the price of the cooperation. It’s the most expensive option from all mentioned above - agencies in the big US cities can charge even $200 per hour!

OK, when it’s a good option?

If you have a standalone project that can be developed in parallel to your current work (such as systems maintenance, bugs repairs, customer service requests), local software shop might be the way to go. It’s also a good option if you would like to work with a partner with broad competences, not only software development. Finally, this option will also work if you have an IT department within your company (because you don’t need it!) and you can implement a project through external partners.

Remote software shop

Might be the best option if you are looking for a reliable, solid and experienced partner but your budget is not limitless. In addition to the advantages listed in a previous paragraph, you have the access to truly talented people from different parts of the world. There is a huge competition for the best talents on a local market, that’s why extending your search area may help. With a remote dev shop, you have a great opportunity to build a long term cooperation - lower costs allow to set up a sustainable arrangement without the need to worry about optimizing costs in future. At Sunscrapers, for example, we can set up dedicated teams for our clients which, at the end of a day, is very similar to opening up an actual remote office.

The disadvantage of this solution might be the lengthy process of singling out the best software shop from many available options. It’s really important to conduct the process carefully and comprehensively, because there are many companies of questionable quality that are better to be avoided. That’s why you have to be 100% sure that communication with the chosen partner and his workflow will not cause problems. Also, you need to remember that distance might make things more difficult - with remote work everyone has to put in a little bit more effort.

When to cooperate with the remote software shop?

It’s simple - If you’re looking for a long term solution, want to keep your budget on a reasonable level and are not afraid of trying out a remote partnership.