The effects of the Covid-19 pandemic have changed the way companies operate nowadays. To mitigate the losses due to the ongoing health threat, many businesses opt to work with outsourcing vendors, who can provide them with a dedicated development team. It’s a remote team assigned to work on projects for the clients. It’s a viable option for many entrepreneurs because it minimizes costs without compromising the quality of work.
But how do you choose the best remote team for your projects? Here are five steps that you can follow to ensure that you hire a dedicated development team with the most suitable members for the job.
Research, compare, and select
The first step can be overwhelming since you need to research and compare several outsourcing companies. But this task can go faster if you already know what you’re looking for in a remote team. You can start by checking the top firms in a specific category or employ a keyword-based targeted search. They will show a list of companies that provide dedicated development teams.
Compare the companies based on their respective portfolios, industry focus, services, prices, and reviews. Do this step until you’re satisfied with your choices. You can also check platforms (GoodFrims, CrowdReviews, Clutch.co, Sortlist, among others) that use various metrics in ranking outsourcing companies.
Check the team’s portfolio
Once you have chosen the outsourcing company, check the portfolio of every dedicated development team. Find out their fields of expertise, skills, working experiences, previous projects, references, and other details that you need. You have to be critical in this step to make sure that you get the best team to work on your projects.
If you have found a team that piques your interests, conduct brief interviews with each member or all of them together and gather enough information about their skills and experiences. As much as possible, every team member should be able to do their tasks with minimal supervision.
Ensure an uninterrupted communication
The dedicated development team must have a strong internet connection. It is an offshore team, which means that the members work in different places. You need to make sure that the remote team stays online whenever necessary, and having access to the internet is the only way to do that.
Moreover, choose a communication channel like Skype, Messenger, Google Chat, and Slack where members can log into and communicate with each other. There should also be one person (usually the project manager) who controls the projects and communicates directly with the client. It can be a hassle to get updates from every team member, so appointing one person to keep the client updated helps save time.
Don’t settle for the cheapest price
Hiring a dedicated development team is an investment. It’s the reason why you can’t rush the selection of the remote team. If you want the best, you need to have the budget to cover the expenses. And you have to make sure that the team is worth the cost. It’s not enough to hire a team that only charges $10 an hour. You should already see that as a red flag. It can speak volumes of incompetence and unreliability, and it won’t be surprising if they can’t finish the job.
Base your selection on the market’s average hourly rate, which is a minimum of $20 an hour. However, the prices greatly differ depending on the region, the job positions, and the type of job. For instance, the average hourly rate for software development in North America is $50 and $66 for Western Europe. It’s much cheaper in Africa and Asia, having an average rate of $31 and $28 an hour, respectively.
Read through the contract
Before formally hiring your chosen dedicated development team, read and study the contract to ensure the protection of your interests. The following details should be indicated in the document:
Names of the team members
Tracking tool that records the work hours
A two-month notice period if there are changes with the members
Code transfers to the servers
Regular updates with the project manager
Non-disclosure agreements for the protection of sensitive data
Signatures
In most cases, the outsourcing companies handle the contracts and other legal aspects of the business.