You’re managing a complicated project and need developers for your team? Not keen on hiring new folks, but afraid to outsource? Take it easy – we’re here to take care of those doubts. This article is the answer to your concerns.
We all know how hard it is to find a skilled web- or mobile developer. It’s as difficult in London or New York as it is in Warsaw. The brain-drain phenomenon was neatly described by NetGuru’s Bartek Ciszewski, who reflected upon the case of London, being one of the most impressive modern tech hubs, draining talents from all over the world. American IT expert from Silicon Valley we met recently made a good point, though it’s slightly politically incorrect: “Finding a good developer in the EU or the States is just as impossible as finding a husband in NYC”. Carrying on with this romantic tune, we’d like to share a certain love story between Leaware, our Polish software house, and Flow Pilots – a Belgian company, founded in 2011 and specializing in the development of user-centric and mobile applications. We’ve been cooperating for 4 years now, sharing Leaware developers’ know-how with the FP team and working on various IT projects.
MYTH #1: introducing outer developers is hell. The allure of Xamarin
This is how Dewi Van DeVyver, operations manager at FP, remembers our first encounter.
The key point of this story is Xamarin – something that our developers know very well. When asked about all the projects we did together through all those years, Dewi points out that it was the specific know-how of our Leaware team that made her decide upon future cooperation. Polish developers are known for their skills, it’s not an accident that they were ranked third in a recent global coders’ research.
“Apart from their abilities, the team was also very open to all the technologies and processes that we were introducing. Whether it was Jira, Atlassian, Scrum, or Agile, each challenge was accepted with eagerness and engagement.”
Dewi highlights that the main problem with hiring new developers in Belgium is making sure you keep having a job for them. Sometimes you have periods where you have a lot of work, but sometimes it falls back. The partnership with Leaware helps to tackle these peak moments. It also helps to overcome the period where we are searching for new developers ourselves. The way we built our cooperation depended entirely on Flow Pilots’ needs. Leaware developers worked on their projects not only at our home office in Torun but also in their Antwerp headquarters, taking part in crucial meetings and getting to know the Belgian team.
“It was very important for us to really know the people we were working with, to know them personally, by their names – to see what they look like and what they are capable of. They were not just Skype avatars, but human beings, that made part of our team, even though they were thousands of miles away”
says Dewi, describing how the FP team built its confidence in Polish developers.
MYTH #2: You can’t control an outer developer as well as Your employee
For Dewi, trust is essential:
“Leaware is a special partner for us – we know each other very well, and we can be frank and have honest discussions. It was crucial for us from the very beginning – we were not looking for cheap outsourcing options, we wanted a partnership based on sharing knowledge and skills. The fact that Leaware developers had the full support of the Torun team at home was yet another advantage – they could discuss and consult problems as they appeared on the way. Today it feels as if they were a part of our team, just as if they worked for us full-time. I’m sure it’s due to our common work ethos and culture – we have the same approach to responsibility and I feel that they identify with the projects, and use their energy to achieve the goals we set together”
It was also important, that Dewi could count on Leaware in terms of coordinating the workflow of the developers, staying in touch with our project manager, and discussing immediately every doubt. It seemed especially important in those periods when the developers were working at our Torun office. She could rest assured they were at their desks, working on what was scheduled.
“For me, it felt great that I could visit the Leaware office, get to know the whole team and its structure, see their environment and working conditions, to know that these guys are not lone wolves, but that they are part of a team, that they work hard but also go have drinks together. It made the cooperation much easier, friendlier and human”
– admits Dewi.
MYTH#3: Asian developers do it better (cheaper)
When reflecting upon the financial advantages of our cooperation, Dewi can see many. Belgian law is strict about one thing – if You’re forced to immediately let go of some of Your employees, You’re obliged to pay huge sums of money; meanwhile, IT projects are very fluid in terms of the budget. Even if it’s a big client, it happens that the budgets are cut on the way:
“The risk factor is considerable. But with Leaware it’s all clear from the beginning: we set a budget for every project we work on together. I get the feeling I have new developers on board, working full time, and when the crisis comes, I don’t need to worry about some additional costs. Plus, all the extra stuff appearing on the way, such as new functions or shifting business expectations, is discussed immediately with the team.”
Dewi agrees that the market is tight, and the temptation to cut costs is always there, but what was essential for FP was common to work culture, trust, and great communication.
” We wanted to avoid misunderstandings as much as possible, and we wanted constant and easy communication, so the language skills and no time difference were yet another advantages. Polish partner is a perfect solution – we share the same work ethos, and Your developers have this great education and experience. The opportunity to meet the team face-to-face in Poland, shake hands and see that they have nice working conditions, cool office space, and fantastic team spirit, was wonderful. We could see they were trustworthy and we became friends – that’s why we keep on developing new projects together!”
We hope it was helpful and that we managed to answer all Your concerns. If You have any questions considering that model of cooperation, and You’d like to know what our developers can do for You, check this out! Or just contact us 🙂
