Published on May 10th, 2023
It’s not a surprise that recruiting the best people on your team is one of the most important factors for the success of any startup. However, finding and securing the most qualified people is among the toughest challenges that entrepreneurs will have to tackle particularly when you consider the limits of the existing talent source.
Naturally, it is possible that you could locate an offshore company and outsource all software development. What do you do if you have an internal technical staff and just need to enhance it with certain skills or know-how? This is where you can use the model for extended teams for your help.
iTechnolabs have successfully set up numerous expanded teams to serve our customers. In order to help you navigate through the most frequent mistakes and help make your extended team perform for you, we’d like to provide some of our most effective techniques and tricks.
What exactly is the term “Extended Team?”
The extended development team is not project-based, and it will not be terminated after the project has ended. It’s an ongoing collaboration with your team as well as the extended team offshore.
There is no one standard definition of the team. Different companies offer various models. But, there are certain characteristics that set it apart from other models of cooperation.
- The extended team is intended to augment the internal staff and not replace it. In this instance the most important skill that is both technical and business is onshore, and the extension team is located offshore, filling in the gaps within your core team.
- You control the entire development project. Additionally, there are continuous and clear communications within the team (between your staff in-house and developers from off-site). They’re all part of a unison unit.
- This means that the responsibility is distributed across everyone on the team (both on-site and offshore). Each team member is equally involved in the creation of the product and is equally accountable for the product’s success or failure.
Why should I engage an extended team of developers? The most important benefits to think about
Before we get into the advantages of extended team members, we’ll take a look at some scenarios where this type of model could be most beneficial for your company.
When to utilize an extended model for teams and what to do when you need to contract out
A large development team could look like traditional outsourcing, however, there are many differences that make it an extremely beneficial option for certain businesses.
Team augmentation can work best for you in the event of
- You plan to develop your project further in the near future and continue to assist you and make updates.
- The project is unique to your business it’s not something you need to shift the attention of your internal teams.
- You need the expertise that isn’t available in the local market
- The market in your area doesn’t have affordable prices for the expertise you’re looking for.
In the end, your business can reap the greatest benefits of this approach. If you already have a development team you wish to strengthen by bringing in talent for long-term projects.
Alternatively, you can utilize software team augmentation in case you don’t have an on-site team and you’d prefer to have complete control over the development process, and also communicate directly with engineers.
In situations where you want to have control of your business at your fingertips isn’t the most important thing, outsourcing might be a viable option. As opposed to the extension of teams, outsourcing permits you to transfer responsibility for most of the operations to your service provider, and you will receive a top-quality product at the end.
The Advantages of Teams with an Extended Team Model
The details of the model of an extended team yield many competitive advantages:
1. Access to the best international talent pool
The choice to expand your team eliminates the need to select local developers. You can look over the best technology talent in the global market and find amazing engineers, while potentially cutting down on development costs.
For businesses in countries such as Israel and the US, where technology talent is far behind the demands of the business. Staff growth is the best method to increase the quality of your staff and stay within your budget.
iTechnolabs offers more than 250 developers from around the world to fulfill the needs that you require for the project. The diversity of cultures, coupled with the most advanced expertise, allows you to discover the perfect match instead of being confined to a specific area.
2. You can control the hiring process to be in line with your preferences
You can participate during the selection process, personally interviewing and screening prospective candidates. This way, you will know whether the developers you choose to hire possess the necessary skills and can be a part of your team.
In the same way, it is not necessary to start from the base to recruit tech talent. iTechnolabs conducts the initial selection process for you and creates a pool of the most qualified candidates for your job. Instead of looking through every application, it is enough to review the best of the crop before making the final choice.
3. Inspiring and committed developers
The developers are entrusted to your project on a full-time basis and don’t have to be juggling multiple tasks and are able to focus all of their time on your project. This means that the extension team members become integral to your organization they are aligned with your corporate philosophy and culture and are working toward an agreed-upon purpose.
In addition, team augmentation leads to the sharing of responsibility for everyone on the development team. If the employees of the remote group participate to the same degree as your internal team working together to solve problems and develop the product, the desire to succeed increases on both sides.
Your teams are also beginning to adjust to functioning as a well-oiled machine, filling in the gaps of each other rather than simply completing their tasks.
Do you want to increase the size of your in-house team?
We have successfully established many expanded teams on behalf of our customers, we are able to assist you in setting up your own development team that is extended and then fine-tunes your processes according to your requirements.
4. Flexibility and transparency in managing your resources
You can oversee your team members on your extended development team in the way you like. There are no intermediaries between your team and the developers. You can send your needs directly to them and resolve any problems that might occur along the way.
This model demands transparency across all levels, which helps build loyalty. It also allows you to evaluate the performance of every developer. Most often, your team is able to eliminate any disparities by catching them early.
If an individual isn’t able to integrate into your organization the replacement of a developer can be simple and easy because of being able to adapt the model for staff augmentation.
5. Payment model that is transparent and efficient
When you join an extended team, you will agree to an annual fee fixed that covers the developer’s salary, operational costs, and bonuses. It allows you to not only set your budget more in advance but also to keep an eye on your expenses more efficiently.
Also, you don’t have to be concerned about managing the payroll of your expanded team of development, as generally, the service provider takes care of the payroll for you.
6. Installation and operation with no hassle
If you are looking to expand your team by adding iTechnolabs, we take charge of all the operational duties and supply your developers with the necessary conditions so they are able to perform optimally. Your developers will work in an office well-equipped with a well-lit and comfortable work environment.
In order to further reduce the hassle and time of establishing teams, we offer
- the process of recruitment with the maximum control you’d like;
- offices;
- all the technologies and gadgets the developers need for your work
- management services that manage the staff on site;
- Accounting and payroll for the team that is extended.
7. The main benefit is the ease of starting with a high-scalability
Thanks to iTechnolabs, your own development team can be established within a few weeks (as opposed to the months required when employing locally). Furthermore, once your expanded development team is set up and has begun to work you can increase its effectiveness and increase or decrease the size of your team based on the requirements of your project.
The model of augmented teams in contrast to hiring locally provides a greater degree of flexibility in hiring decisions since it is based on a current needs basis. Since you only pay the developers you recruit and you are able to calculate exactly how many staff members you’ll need in the near future, you can either increase your team with fresh engineers or eliminate those who are no longer required.
When you have iTechnolabs handling the operational aspects of staff changes this process is quick and efficient.
Do You Want to Expand Your Team with Our Extended Team Model Method?
iTechnolabs have a vast history of developing a scalable and efficient team of developers for a startup as well as companies across the globe. With our experience and access to an extensive pool of talent, we can assist you in setting up your own development team, and then fine-tune your operation to suit your specific needs.
