Over the last decade, the software industry has grown leaps and bounds. With numerous applications, it’s penetrating virtually every aspect of life. As software continues to gain relevance and prominence, the sector will continue growing in the coming years. As the demand rises, tech startups can launch and scale significantly in a few years, albeit with a great strategy. However, before you can capitalize on this growth, you must overcome the primary challenge facing the industry; a shortage of highly skilled software engineers. This is why 61% of HR professionals in companies hiring software developers suggest that it is their biggest challenge. Due to the unique circumstances involved in hiring software engineers, ordinary recruitment processes do not yield desired outcomes. Considering that it’s significantly harder to attract top talent or offer competitive very competitive salaries, many startups are turning to nearshore software developers.
Read on to learn the pitfalls of recruiting developers, especially as a tech startup, and why you may want to outsource software engineers.
Coding and Recruitment
If you are a tech startup, it’s likely are that you are a group of coders with an innovative app ready to take the market by storm.
But before you can launch your product to the mass market, you need to ensure that it is at its best version. This means that there are no coding errors, and the app is fast and efficient to meet user needs adequately. Moreover, you should also have the necessary structures to provide mass support once you launch.
With this comes the need to bring in other software engineers to share the workload and increase expertise. At face value, this may seem like an easy task. All you need to do is put out a job listing, and you’ll have your coders in no time.
However, there’s a considerable obstacle that will hold your efforts back. Being coders, it’s fair to assume that recruitment is not your area of expertise. Whereas you can interview candidates and fill in positions, that’s not what recruitment is about.
Candidates
When recruiting, you want candidates with the right skills and expertise to add to yours and those who are a perfect culture fit. As a startup, getting it right the first time is especially important as your brand is not powerful enough to attract customers. As such, there is no room for error in product development and customer satisfaction.
Also, recruiting software developers comes with unique challenges. If you combine these with your inexperience, the odds of you getting it right become even slimmer. So instead of getting out of your comfort zone, why not turn to nearshore software developers. This will allow you to focus on what you do best-coding- and still get highly skilled developers.
But first, take a look at the factors that should make you consider outsourcing software engineers.
1. Small Pool of Candidates With Relevant Technical Skills
One of the primary challenges in the tech industry is a workforce shortage. The rise in demand for software engineers is outpacing the increase in the number of developers.
According to the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA), there were 3.9 million tech job postings in the US in 2020. However, the number of candidates with the necessary qualifications was less than half that number.
Moreover, even among the existing pool of graduates, only a small proportion have the necessary skills. And, most of the ones with the right qualifications are already employed, leaving you with an even smaller pool of qualified candidates to choose from.
So, bearing this in mind, how much do you fancy your chances of landing the best software developers as a first-time recruiter while competing with seasoned tech recruiters? More so, in a market where skilled professionals are scarce.
Whereas nothing holds you back from trying, the process will end up being long and tedious and distract you from coding. With this in mind, leveraging the talents of those who have a recruiting background or a pool of ready-to-go developers are more logical options.
2. High Recruitment Costs and No Results
In addition to being a tedious undertaking, the recruitment process is also costly. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) conducted a study on this. Their findings suggest that the average cost per hire is $4,129.
Due to the shortage of qualified professionals, hiring a software engineer is even more expensive as you will have to go through more candidates to make a hire. Spending such amounts as a startup with little chance of getting the ideal candidates is an unnecessary risk.
Moreover, it may deplete an already small budget that you can otherwise channel to key functions such as product development and marketing.
If you spend too much time on a task that’s not part of the core functions of your company, you’ll also lose out in other areas. It is for such reasons that many tech startups now opt to use nearshore software developers to meet skill gaps.
3. Competitors With Better Offers
With the number of jobs exceeding available developers, skilled software engineers have plenty of offers to choose from. Therefore, even if you are lucky enough to find one or two ideal candidates, they may receive better offers from competitors.
In addition to a higher salary, a better offer may entail other perks, some of which you may not be able to match as a startup. They include:
- Employee discounts
- Signing bonus
- Flexible working conditions
- Casual dress code
- Daycare
Using Freelance Recruiters When Hiring Software Engineers Is Not a Great Idea
Now that you know that coding and recruiting are not a good match, it’s time to consider alternative methods of accessing the talent you need. One option that may come to mind first is using freelance recruiters.
This approach involves bringing in a third party who specializes in recruitment to handle the process for you. All you need to do is provide them with the description of your ideal candidate, including the necessary skills and qualifications.
They’ll then begin the search and leverage their networks to get you a list of potential candidates from which you can make hires. Although it sounds much easier, it is not a great idea when searching for software engineers.
This is because only a few highly skilled developers are available, and recruiters do not care too much about the quality of the candidates. For them, this is a job from which they’ll earn once you hire a candidate they bring forth. As such, they’ll rush to bring candidates instead of searching for the one who’s best suited for the position.
Outsourcing When Hiring Software Engineers
So, if recruiting and hiring freelance recruiters are not the best way to get the talent necessary to propel your company’s growth, what is?
Well, the solution is quite simple. Instead of spending too much time and resources searching for software engineers to hire, you can outsource such services to nearshore software developers. This gives you access to highly skilled software developers without the need to hire them.
With an outsourcing agency that’s committed to meeting your long-term talent needs, you’ll enjoy benefits such as:
1. Access Skilled Developers
In a market severely lacking in skilled developers, the candidate you may end up settling on while hiring may lack some critical skills. On the other hand, outsourcing assures you of getting all the skills necessary to complete your project.
This is because agencies have a pool of highly skilled developers with a diverse range of skills. As such, your projects will benefit from multiple inputs, resulting in better outcomes. Moreover, software developers in outsourcing agencies learn from each other and benefit from regular training.
3. Save on Recruitment and Training
Aside from the salaries and recruitment expenses involved in building a team of developers, there are other costs that you will incur when hiring. These include investing in the right technology, adding new workstations, or seeking additional facilities to accommodate them.
You will also need to organize regular training to bridge skills gaps in your team. However, if you use IT staff augmentation, you will not need to incur any of these costs.
4. Time Savings and Flexibility
The good thing with outsourcing software developers is that you will not have to wait for a tedious recruitment process. Within a week of realizing the need, you will have developers ready to handle your projects.
Another element that makes hiring software engineers risky is that the project load will differ from time to time. Even if there’s a decline in the number of projects, you still have to pay salaries.
Since outsourced developers are not permanent employees, you will enjoy the flexibility of scaling your team up and down as needed.
Engaging With the Wrong Outsourcing Vendor When Hiring Software Engineers
Due to the rising popularity of outsourcing, many vendors are providing such services. However, not all are equipped to meet your needs. First and foremost, you need to choose a vendor that specializes in IT support. This ensures that they have the necessary skills and technology to support your growth.
As you grow, it is important that your vendor can continue meeting your needs without compromising on quality and efficiency. As such, you should focus on agencies that can meet your future needs as well.
Why Choose Nearshore Developers When Hiring Software Engineers
To reduce operating costs, most outsourcing companies are based in countries that offer cheap labor. Though the idea of reducing costs is always welcome, this approach is not worth it, as it comes with other challenges that impede collaboration.
For instance, teams in different regions will find it difficult to collaborate due to time zone differences. A problem that language barriers may also compound. As such, you are better off with nearshore software developers.
ParallelStaff is an outsourcing agency with over 50,000 software development experts ready to assist you with your projects. Reach out to us today to access highly skilled software engineers.
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