The year 2023 comes with many financial and economic concerns for startups and businesses worldwide. According to Crunch Base, investments in early-stage startups dropped by 11 per cent in the first quarter of 2022.
This unfavourable change in investors’ involvement in startups is due to a global economic decline following a spree of unprecedented events, including the COVID-19 pandemic, evolving Eastern Europe startup laws, the unfortunate yet constant political turmoil across the globe, and more.
With these developments, business owners and startup finders must find ways to maximise profits with minimal operational and hiring costs. When it comes to finding affordable software development talents, a recommended solution for tech startups in 2023 is to hire offshore developers.
This article underlines why hiring offshore developers might be better for tech startups and businesses. Most importantly, you will learn how to hire professional developers to build a dedicated team that handles your company’s software development projects.
What is an offshore development team?
An offshore development team is a group of professional developers working remotely from another country. Outsourcing software development projects to remote development teams helps businesses reduce overhead costs and development costs, as salaries in some countries (or regions) may be much lower than what businesses would have to pay for local developers.
Moreover, an offshore team of developers is more flexible than in-house teams, mainly because you can opt for short-term contracts and hire more remote developers on demand. This helps companies complete as many software development projects in as little time as possible, and at significantly reduced agility compared to an in-house team.
Is it helpful to hire offshore developers?
Whether it’s better to hire offshore software developers depends on various factors, such as the nature of the software project, the level of expertise required, the expendable budget, and the timeline for the project.
Typically, hiring offshore software development teams increases speed, as offshore development services are often more ready to hit the ground running in comparison to new in-house hires. Besides, you can get access to a wider software developer talent pool offshore, which may not be available locally.
If your company needs 24/7 software development and support, it might be better to hire an offshore software development company, as the differences in time zones can help you get your software development projects going, even during non-working hours in your time zone.
However, there are also potential downsides to consider and avoid. Communication and language barriers may exist, leading to misunderstandings and delays. Also, you may have to deal with cultural differences that can significantly affect the development process and project outcomes. Plus, legal and regulatory issues that need to be addressed can come up when working with an offshore team. So, it is important to find an offshore outsourcing partner that fits your criteria and can deliver work to the standards you are used to.
It’s vital to always assess your company’s requirements and goals to determine which outsourcing model is best for you. In most cases, investing in an offshore development company often proves to be beneficial for tech startups and businesses that require skilled developers, before they get a proof of concept and are ready to invest in building a team for the long run, allowing them to postpone investing large amounts of money in expensive team building.
Should you hire offshore developers in-house or through a trusted partner?
Like every other aspect of business, you must take great care when it comes to hiring talents for your software development project. Is it better to hire an offshore team in-house, or should you outsource to a reliable engineering partner?
If you have the expertise and resources to manage an offshore team, hiring offshore developers in-house may come in handy. However, note that you have to consider the following factors:
- Do you have a structure that supports hiring an offshore team internationally?
- Can you bridge the communication gap that is common in offshore teams?
- Can you coordinate an offshore team to create a seamless workflow for your business growth?
If you have a structure that supports hiring, managing, and collaborating with an offshore software team, you might give it a try. Hiring offshore developers in-house gives you greater control over the development process, as you will have direct communication and oversight of your team.
However, if you do not have the necessary expertise or resources to manage an offshore team, you should hire through a trusted technology partner. At Zartis, we provide unparalleled support and expertise in managing offshore development processes, from communication to project management and quality assurance. Additionally, we help you meet legal and regulatory requirements, and also protect your intellectual property rights.
What are the factors to consider before you hire offshore developers?
Before you hire offshore developers, here is a checklist to help you make choices that suit your business goals and requirements. We added some tips that can help you verify each candidate:
1. Technological expertise and skill set
Ensure that the offshore developers have the necessary expertise and skill set to meet the specific needs of your project. Some in-demand software engineering skills are mobile app development, digital transformation, Google Cloud development, application integration, etc. It’s essential to look for developers with experience in the technologies and frameworks relevant to your project.
Tips:
- Examine their resumes to discover their experience and skill set.
- Request recommendations from previous employers.
- Organise technical interviews and code reviews.
2. Communication and Collaboration
Effective communication is vital when working with an offshore software development company. If communication is not seamless between you and the offshore team, it can potentially cause delayed or non-satisfactory project outcomes.
Discover the team’s language proficiency and the time zone differences between your company and the offshore team. Also, consider investing in collaboration tools to ensure clear and prompt communication.
Tip: Add a simple communication test (both oral and written) to your interview procedure.
3. Cultural values
Cultural differences can affect the development process and project outcomes. Do some investigating to ensure consistency in cultural values between your company and developers in offshore countries. This will help avoid misunderstandings or conflicts during your collaboration.
Also, determine the work model of the offshore development team. Do they use the agile software development methodology which is highly recommended for software teams? Aside from that, find out their work culture/mindset. Are they problem solvers, learners, or innovative in their approach?
Tips:
- Ask for the social media handles of potential hires, and run a check on their cultural ideals.
- Look out for reviews from other companies that have partnered with them.
- Give them a hypothetical problem and have them demonstrate how they’d solve it.
4. Data, security, and regulations
Ensure that the offshore team has measures in place to protect your organisation’s intellectual property and sensitive data. Also, check the legal and regulatory requirements for data privacy in your company’s location and the country where the offshore team is based.
Additionally, you should learn about the regulations guiding hiring talents from the country where offshore software developers are based. According to Science Direct, startups find it challenging to understand evolving Eastern European regulations. Thus, this is a critical area you want to be sure of.
Tips: Read the terms and conditions or privacy policy of an offshore team on their website.
5. Budget and timeline
When hiring offshore developers, look for remote teams with rates close to your budget. We recommend finding talent in Latin America, Eastern Europe, or Africa, as the software developers in these places have impressive skill sets and relatively lower salary rates.
Apart from the budget, notice periods and onboarding times are also important factors to decide whether you can hire quickly in a specific location, through a specific partner. Having these conversations upfront will help you avoid disappointments and unnecessary delays.
How to hire offshore developers: Zartis Technologies as a case study
Hiring offshore developers is challenging. Although we have outlined what to look out for when hiring an offshore development team, it is better to use a reliable offshore development partner with a track record of helping startups build an effective software development team.
At Zartis, we follow a fail-proof methodology to help our partners find the best offshore developers, suited to their requirements.
Below are the steps we follow:
Step #1: We prioritise matching technical experience
When you tell us the role you want to fill, we run an assessment on your technology and frameworks, and we evaluate potential candidates’ tech stacks. This process helps us find dedicated developers with matching technical expertise for your company. Zartis’ talent consultants and technical team members collaborate during interviews to make sure that we help you find the right candidates.
Step #2: We ensure cultural compatibility
During our recruitment process, we evaluate each candidate’s work mindset and how they align with your company culture. Some software engineers work better with well-documented and established processes. Others have a more flexible, creative, and agile mindset.
We understand that developers thrive in a work environment that encourages and nurtures their personalities. We consider this factor when determining the right candidate for your company.
Step #3: We find candidates that continuously learn
Many recruiting companies prioritise skills and experience in their hiring processes. For us, we do more than just find skilled and experienced software developers. Our assessments challenge candidates to learn and create solutions to dynamic problems.
This stage is where we rule out developers not up-to-date with the current trends in the industry. Moreover, this stage helps us find tech talents who can think out of the box and create technological solutions for the future.
We strictly adhere to this rule because our primary objective is to ensure that our partners have nothing but a satisfactory experience throughout the software development process.
Step #4: We evaluate candidates’ domain expertise
Some of our partners are businesses that are industry-specific, requiring software development experts armed to the teeth in the specific industry. Our recruitment experts, aka Talent Consultants, are experienced in finding software developers with proficiency in specific domains. Regardless of your industry, we can help you find the best fit for you.
Zartis is a trusted engineering company for hiring reliable offshore partners
Many successful startups and tech businesses deploy nearshore and offshore development teams for their custom software development projects. Your business can significantly benefit from the offshoring outsourcing model too, especially in terms of cost, speed, and quality.
However, finding the right offshore software team on your own can be a daunting task. Let us help you hire offshore developers that are perfectly suited to your requirements, culture, and budget. Also, gain the advantage of avoiding extra fees for devices, infrastructure, HR benefits, and more.
We have helped 100’s of companies in European countries build an engineering team, either for one-off projects or long-term collaborations. We have over 10 years of experience making businesses successful with the right engineering teams. Contact us today to help you build a reliable dedicated development team!
