How to Hire An Offshore Development Team: Step-By-Step Guide

We have penned down a complete manual covering the steps of hiring an offshore development team. This blog also comprises significant aspects such as benefits, offshore team structure, when and how to hire offshore development teams, the difference between hiring offshore developers from the marketplace VS agency, and many more to assist businesses in making a wise decision.    

Introduction – Hiring Offshore Development Team

In today’s modernized world, hiring offshore development team has become a trend to speed up the development process at a reduced cost. It is also a viable option for businesses looking to embrace advanced technical proficiencies by accessing a large pool of resources. Hire Offshore development team offer these benefits and provide expertise, scalability, wider access to talents worldwide, flexibility, and others.

Offshore development is beneficial not only for large businesses but also for small and medium-sized businesses. But if you are considering hiring an offshore development team, let us tell you it will not be easy. You need to research a lot about the best offshore development partner along with the suitable hiring model and required expertise. Below, we have provided a complete guide to hire offshore development team to make your journey a little bit easier. Keep reading-                     

What is the Offshore Development Team?

Offshore development refers to outsourcing the software development process from another country. Businesses need to assemble a skilled and proficient team of developers when they take these offshore development services; this team is called an offshore development team. The team can consist of different members such as developers, testers, designers, marketers, etc. Resources included in this teamwork from a different location and can be hired at a lower cost.  

There is a wide range of services businesses can avail by hiring offshore developers ranging from website development & maintenance, UI/UX design, app & software development, cloud app development, and so on. Make sure to pick reliable offshore development companies to get cutting-edge and modernized solutions. Some of the most preferred offshore software development locations are the UK, India, Vietnam, Brazil, Argentina, and Eastern Europe.   

Why You Should Hire the Offshore Development Teams? 

Acquiring offshore development teams enables ventures to allocate their tasks to other resources placed at different locations. It leverages them with several benefits such as hiring competent coders, saving costs and time, entry to a vast market, less hassle, and many more. That’s why businesses hire offshore development teams to satisfy their project requirements.   

Let us provide you with more reasons explaining why you should hire an offshore development team, have a look below-

Highly Expanding Market

The offshore development market is spreading so fast beyond our imagination. The overall size of the offshore software development market was esteemed at US$122,257.5 million in the year 2021 and is estimated to be US$283,457.5 million by the year 2030 at a 10.13% CAGR between the year 2022 and 2030. Looking at these stats, you must have an idea of why it will be beneficial to hire offshore development teams.

Reduced Cost & Time

Both time and cost are significant aspects to consider while going for offshoring. Businesses can easily cut the expenses for setting up infrastructure, buying hardware & software, and others. In this case, you have to pay for the work hours spent by your offshore developers.     

Additionally, businesses can contact experienced offshore development companies for faster time-to-market because your offshore development team and in-house experts will carry out different tasks. 

Extended Expertise 

With diverse and extended expertise, different cultures, and experiences, businesses can hire experts from offshore locations to fulfill their project needs. This diversity will give a whole new perspective to your project along with the best results. When you decide to choose an offshore team, you are facilitating with the best software developers who will help you to protract your business operations. As an added benefit, outsourced developers are also aware of the latest trends and technologies enabling you to stay ahead of the competition.    

Understanding of Newest Technologies

When you hire offshore developers, you need to assess their knowledge and proficiency in cutting-edge technologies and tools. It is hard to find skilled software developers in line with your relevant niche but at least you have a chance to search the international market for it. You can go to both developed and developing countries to find a suitable resource with specific expertise and skills.       

Higher Flexibility & Work Efficiency

The market trends come and go; still, you must cope with them to be in the race. When a market changes, business requirements will also change simultaneously. To fulfill those requirements, you need to update your resources as well. In this case, hiring offshore developers is a better option rather than continuously scaling up or down your in-house team. 

Be it any technology or niche, you can always prefer to hire offshore software development team. It will also increase your work efficiency and productivity by fastening up all the project tasks and enhancing cooperation.     

Bonus Read – Best Practices for Managing Offshore Development Teams and Resources    

When You Must Consider Hiring Offshore Developers?

Going offshoring is a crucial step to take; hence, you should hire offshore developers in some specific cases only. What are these cases and when you should consider hiring offshore companies? Let’s read about some of them below-

Limited Budget

Budget is the most considerable aspect of handling a project. If your firm has a limited budget, it must be a challenge to hire experienced and expert professionals in your locality. It will be good to hire offshore software developers from developing countries as they have lower wages in comparison to developed nations. Also, you don’t need to pay for their infrastructure, electricity, purchase of software license (if any needed), etc., it will directly reduce the cost. 

Required Skill Set

Some projects require a specific skill set including proficiency in the newest technologies and programming languages, what will you do in this situation? Assigning all the tasks to your in-house experts can be complex sometimes and if they don’t know a specific area, then, it will be very time-consuming to provide them an understanding of it. 

To avoid all these intricacies, hire developers from offshore locations and share your project requirements with them to get better results.   

Expanding Business

It becomes necessary at times to scale up your business and its operations. For this, you need to embrace various advanced strategies and approaches such as the adoption of the latest tech stack, cost deduction, accepting new & unique ideas, and others. Here, going for offshore development services will help you to work with experts who have advanced knowledge & efficiency in the latest technologies, resulting in easy business expansion. Also, costs will be alleviated automatically when you don’t have to rent out an office or pay for hardware/software.     

Need for Higher Productivity

The need for higher productivity suggests that completing a task on time with less overhead cost is more beneficial, rather than implying that the in-house team is not working properly. Be it a project or core competencies, an enterprise should consider these aspects and go for a streamlined development process rather than sticking to an old and time-consuming approach. 

Hard to Meet Customers’ Expectations

When customers contact your firm with their project, they have some expectations such as the use of updated technologies, less budget, expert developers, on-time delivery, continuous updates, support after launch, etc. Hiring offshore development companies will help your firm to allocate all the tasks differently and can easily manage to fulfill all the expectations of customers.  

Offshore Development Team Structure

After all these details about offshore development services, it’s time to know the offshore development team structure. An offshore team must be comprised of experts who can do specific tasks such as development, designing, and testing. Below, we have provided a general offshore development team structure defining key roles:  

Project Manager

The project manager will fill the gap between offshore development experts and clients by communicating project requirements and updates. He/she will monitor all the project activities and milestones to achieve on time. Things like setting goals, budget constraints, smooth coordination, scaling up or down the team, etc. will be analyzed by PM.  

Front-end Developers

While getting offshoring services, the front-end development team helps to implement interactive and engaging visual elements to the software so that it can grab the attention of target audiences. Using core technologies like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, etc. will help experts emphasize responsive UI design leading to better user experience and satisfaction.       

Back-end Developers

Software developers are the backbone of the project as they execute all the functions. Back-end developers are accountable for implementing server-side software elements along with writing codes and integrating APIs. They leverage different technologies and programming languages such as Java, Swift, Python, PHP, Node.JS, Databases (MongoDB, MySQL, etc.) for software development. 

QA Engineers

After the development, it is the responsibility of QA engineers to test the solution based on its performance, functions, compatibility, and uses. They ensure the developed solution is of high quality, fulfilling all the requirements, and working smoothly in the same way as decided. They also evaluate bugs and solve them to make the solution work seamlessly.  

Best Places to Hire Offshore Development Teams Online

Obtaining offshoring services from a reliable partner is such a tedious task as you need to deal with multiple things such as in-depth search, analysis of competitors, cost comparison, etc. Continuing this series, finding the best online sources to hire offshore development team comes to the top. 

Let us help you with the best online places where you can find offshore developers easily. They are the following-

Google 

Google your search queries with the right terms and it will provide you with the finest solutions. You just need to enter the keywords related to your requirements for software development into the search console, for example- terms like “hire offshore software developers”, “offshore software development services”, “offshore software development team”, etc. will benefit you. If you want to search for an offshore development team in a specific country or region, add the place after entering the relevant term to get accurate results lined up with your development needs.  

LinkedIn Network

This social media network has a large base of users and combines different tools enabling a strong professional set-up for resource hunting. Enterprises can use LinkedIn to contact the best offshore developers and tech professionals worldwide as per their software development requirements and budgets. In recent times, this social platform has become an essential tool to search talents around the globe in different niches, but do you know how you can do it? Have a look at below points:

– You can join LinkedIn groups relevant to outsourcing, offshoring, and software development for IT experts with similar goals and interests. It will enable you to access a wide pool of potential candidates whom you can hire for your project.

– You can enter related keywords, hashtags, phrases, and apply filters (location, designation, etc.) in the search bar of LinkedIn. It will provide you with exact results that you can pinpoint if they fulfill your specific criteria. 

– You can search offshore development companies by considering their locations, working experiences, number of employees, etc. while having a look at their description to find a suitable one. 

– Get connected with like-minded people and industry experts directly by messaging them about your requirements. This collaboration can bring value to both of you by creating genuine relationships that lead to finding the right offshore developers.      

Freelance Workplaces

If you don’t want any other party to control your project activities, you can go for freelancing and build your own small team to accomplish your project requirements. You can take the help of various reliable freelancing portals such as Upwork, Fiber, Toptal, etc. to hire offshore development team with specific expertise and knowledge. Before hiring, you can assess their previous work, portfolios, and proficiency to make a wise decision. 

B2B Portals

Before creating an offshore software development team from any tech firm, you need to verify it on portals like Goodfirms and Clutch. It will help you to get authenticated information about them as each reliable IT company is listed on these B2B portals. Applying different filters will slacken off your search to only selected options as per your needs. You can shortlist good candidates among them based on technologies they work on, service type, customer reviews, expertise, etc.                  

Take Help from the Community 

Engaged with the different communities as they have access to a vast pool of experts businesses can hire to form an offshore software development team. For this, you can get help from social media channels (Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter), forums (Reddit, Quora, StackOverflow, and Stack Exchange), IT industry events & meet-ups. You can also request references from your friends or colleagues.          

 

Best Geographic Locations to Hire Offshore Development Team

There is a wide range of experts around the globe to get hired by businesses. But before going to hire offshore development team, you need to consider their geographic location as it must strike a balance with some significant project aspects such as cultural compatibility, cost estimation, and technical proficiency.

Let’s read about some preferable geographical locations with particular advantages-

Eastern Europe

Outsourcing with Eastern European countries benefits businesses in numerous ways; they get to have highly knowledgeable resources proficient in the modern-edge technology stack. Eastern European countries have a vast IT outsourcing market along with a shared cultural similarity & technical expertise with North America and Western Europe. 

If you hire offshore developers from Eastern Europe, you can get skilled experts within the range between $30 and $60 per hour. This cost can be higher compared to Asian countries but it is lower in comparison to Western Europe and North America.

Enterprises can get required professionals from Eastern European countries like:  

Poland | Ukraine | Estonia | Bulgaria | Czech Republic | Romania | Hungary | Serbia | Slovakia 

Latin America

Latin America is experiencing growth in its IT outsourcing market with the help of highly skilled offshore developers available in countries like Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, etc. Due to the closeness and minimal time zone difference with North America, Latin America is the preferred choice for many businesses. The cost of hiring offshore developers from Latin America will range between $40 and $70 per hour. Below are the top countries in Latin America for offshore software development:    

– Mexico | Argentina | Peru | Brazil | Colombia | Chile | Costa Rica | Panama

Asia

Many businesses prefer to hire offshore developers from Asian countries due to the benefits such as lower costs, adept offshore developers, and many more. With the global work culture and good communication, Asian developers are proving themselves to be an ideal choice for IT outsourcing services. In Asian countries, the cost of hiring developers ranges from $25 to $50 per hour which is lower compared to other countries. 

Here are some top countries in Asia to choose for offshoring:  

– Vietnam | India | Indonesia | Philippines | Malaysia

How do you hire an offshore development team and developers?

After analyzing all the essential offshoring aspects, let’s learn how to hire offshore developers or development teams. Be extra attentive to the hiring process as it will determine whether you will get the desired outcome after the project is completed. Here, we have covered all the significant aspects to consider while hiring an offshore software development team or developers:

Conduct an Interview

The main purpose of the interview is to evaluate the skills and knowledge of a candidate. Businesses can also assess the work efficiency, previous samples, and communication skills of offshore developers via an interview before hiring them. 

Technical Round–

Want to skip the interview part? You can go for a technical screening round or both, if you have time. In this part, you can assign them a task related to the specific skills required for your project; it will help you filter out the talented ones. Give them limited time to complete the task; it will provide you with an idea about their capabilities. 

Time Zone & Culture–

Before making any decision to hire offshore software development team ensure they have convenient time zone and culture differences; otherwise, it will affect the entire team’s collaboration leading to unsatisfactory results.     

Cost and Delivery Time–

Estimated project delivery and cost are two important factors to consider before acquiring offshore development services. For cost, you can select a suitable hiring model among fixed price, Time & material model, and dedicated development team. Deciding on these factors before starting the project will help you to strategize your resources and set expectations accordingly. 

Sign the NDA–

You must sign a contract (NDA) between you and your hired offshore developers or team for project security and data confidentiality. Signing the NDA ensures congeal work procedures, legal compliances, and processes with transparency & trust with your development partner.    

Read More: Onshore VS Offshore Software Development– Key Differences

Hire Offshore Developers from Marketplace VS Agency

If we talk about obtaining offshore development services from a marketplace VS an agency, it’s a tough decision to make. Opting for an offshoring marketplace will leverage you with several benefits such as cost-efficiency, fewer intermediaries, specific expertise and skill set, and many more. But as a disadvantage, you will have to put extra effort into managing the freelancing team hired from the marketplace. 

On the contrary, hiring offshore developers from an agency will benefit you with an Agile and structured process. Businesses prefer to collaborate with agencies compared to freelancers as they just have to monitor the development process instead of managing the developers throughout. Hiring through an agency will facilitate you with a coordinated development approach, designing strategies, quality assurance measures, and flexible support. 

Though it can cost you a little bit higher, in terms of security and streamlined project management, these are a one-stop destination for enterprises. Ultimately, it is entirely based on your project requirements, including cost, tech expertise, required team members, etc.             

Can you Give Up on In-House Hiring for Offshore Outsourcing?

When it comes to giving up on in-house hiring for offshore outsourcing, the final selection depends on various factors such as budget constraints, requirement of experts, specified tech proficiencies, and others. If you want to hire offshore developers, it will help you to get an affordable, high-quality, and feature-rich solution, while hiring in-house experts will facilitate you with cultural understanding, proper management, real-time communication, and so on. 

We will recommend you go for offshore outsourcing as it is more beneficial to get the tasks done efficiently in comparison to in-house hiring. It will lead you to save a large amount of money that can be used to complete other significant tasks.   

Why Choose Developerperhour as Your Offshore Development Team?

Over the years, Developerperhour has been known as a reliable firm to hire offshore software development teams. We provide different offshore development services comprising designing, development, testing, and support, for start-ups, medium-sized businesses to large enterprises. We also have rich experience and proficiency ensuring a diverse range of IT outsourcing services and customized solutions. 

Our development team is comprised of skilled professionals helping businesses boost productivity, handling complex issues, and gaining competitive advantage. We work according to your business requirements with flexible timings, seamless communication, and continuous updates. Give us a chance to collaborate with you and we assure to deliver you a high-quality and feature-rich solution.       

Conclusion

After going through the above article, you are now aware of why it is beneficial to hire an offshore software development team and how to hire it. Enterprises will get a competitive edge worldwide by obtaining offshore development services from proficient and adept developers. As per research, offshore experts are the main reason businesses are initiating large-scale projects, as they can hire skilled professionals from different locations at a lower rate. An offshore software development team will assist you in managing and completing all your project requirements within a limited period and pay scale. Thus, don’t hesitate to go for offshoring, as you will experience rapid business growth via easily expandable operations. Hurry up and grab the opportunity! 

Frequently Asked Questions