Founder's Grit by Gaper.io (2022)

Omicron Gives Businesses Second Chance to Hire Flexible Tech Teams

Editor’s Note

The beginning of 2022 may have unclouded certain aspects of the future of our pandemic-ridden world, but it was not without some new exogenous disturbances for businesses - this time from the labor market. The most recent woes of small and large businesses alike comprise the shortage of tech talent, the demand for flexible work systems, and better compensation packages. The solutions to these dilemmas were seen aplenty during the past two years: make use of team augmentation services to bring remote engineers onboard, adopt WFH/hybrid work systems permanently, and of course, do not underestimate the value of your team members. Are we seeing the beginning of a business world where labor market is global and inequitable barriers are lowered?

by Ayesha Irfan

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law microsoft

Gaper’s

to From Lessons from Remote Work

and, more

| Gaper

Chats with Rosalyn Amtzen

Director

of

BD,

Mark Allen, had an

insightful little

chat with the

CEO

and President of

Amaxra, Rosalyn

Arntzen.

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A Law Degree to MicrosoftAn ‘Organic’ Career Growth

Rosalyn grew up in Australia, in a family of lawyers. She too went through Law schoolbut decided that perhaps that was not her calling. She then took on nuclear chemistryand computing as her sub–majors. A young Rosalyn then took a 10-week holiday to the UK, which turned into 12 years in the country. Her stay in the country allowed her to develop a keen interest and knowledge about personal computing (whentechnology was still in its nascent stages). She worked for a number of computer providers and financial institutions before joining Unisys and then ultimately Microsoftin the area of consultancy. She moved back to Australia and continued her professionalassociation with Microsoft there for three years before moving to the US for theWindows XP launch. describes her career path as an organic one where one stepnaturally led to another in bringing her to where she is now.

Amaxra

After working with Microsoft as a full-timeemployee for 15 years in three countries, Rosalyn decided to venture out into new avenues of her professional life. This entailed starting her own business in themiddle of a recession. What seemed uncertain and tricky at first, is now asuccessful women-owned, diverse business into its 15th year of operation.

Starting in late 2007, Amaxra became aMicrosoft solution provider and a direct supplier. This was followed by the company winning the Diverse Supplier of the Year twice in 2016 and 2019 - a significantacclaim given how competitive the supplier arena is.

While the company has played roles in other areas as well, its main objective remains to be the provider of people resources to big corporations, as well as helping small businesses that don’t hire contractors but someone to manage their IT, security, CRM, etc.

Lowered Barriers and Remote Work Amidst the unfortunate negative blow that pandemicdealt the world, some of its by-products, remote work being the foremost of them, have lowered some of the barriers that previously existed in the business world but also our social structures (gender roles andexpectations from each parent, for example). If not for the catalyzing of remote work, such changes wouldhave otherwise taken years to manifest. Now, she notes, when big corporations demand people return to offices, people switch over to working for their hybrid/remote competitor.

Another insightful bit shared by Rosalyn was the customer side of things. While it was easy to judge someonesitting in a chair in an office, old management practicescould not quite identify how productive those workers were being. With remote work, however, managers areforced to evaluate what deliverables they are going tomeasure employee performance by. It is no longer someone’s presence in an office that proves their value to a company. If your team member needs to get ahaircut at 2 pm, it does not matter as long as they aredelivering value and productivity to the company.

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Just like Gaper, the future is also remote for her and her company with a healthy dose of hybrid meetups whenever needed. It is perhaps this flexibility that makes or breaks a business in the end.

Interestingly, this also applies to customers. Initially, theyused to come into the office and judge the company basedon the snapshot view of everyone and everything theygot: the furniture, the size of the conference room, you name it. Now, they are forced to look at more appropriatesources to make such assessments: referrals, happy clients, company performance.

But no one misses the commute; everyone appreciates the agility and flexibility.

Doing Outsourcing Right

operations between both companies.

Future Outlook

Amaxra operated with a hybrid work model for a goodamount of time where some teams were completelyremote. Over time, the office began seeing a decline in thenumber of folks that ventured there every day. Eventually, when its lease was up during the pandemic, Rosalyndecided not to renew it. Inperson work is now done at co-working spaces whenever needed. The team also meets up for lunch twice a month.

Rosalyn sheds light on an oft-misunderstood aspect of business - outsourcing. Whenoutsourcing certain functions of your business, you may see some cost and time savings and think that your job isdone. It is done if the party you are outsourcing toactually knows their stuff. Make sure you have reallywell-defined service level agreements. Have a crystalknowledge of their expectations from you, and be equally clear about your expectations from them. And though this mode of work is becoming increasinglypopular now, it might not be something that everyone getsright on their first go. Some businesses may also need a manager to mediate the

Rosalyn is one of the flexiblebusiness leaders who have cracked the remote work and remote management formula. Just like Gaper, the future isalso remote for her and her company with a healthy dose of hybrid meetups whenever needed. It is perhaps this flexibility that makes or breaks a business in the end when it gets tested during uncertain times. No one can say muchabout the future, but what we can do is learn from the grueling tests that the pandemic forced us to face. These changes could very well be the breath of fresh air that our businesses and society have so desperatelyneeded for decades now.

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Successful hybrid worksphere

In talk with Theresa Klassen

Gaper’s Director of Business Development Mark Allen sat down with Theresa Klassen, cofounder of Worksphere.

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Work Sphere

Gaper’s Director of Business Development Mark Allen sat down withTheresa Klassen, co-founder of Worksphere. Worksphere enablesbusinesses to create a safe and flexible hybrid work space. It also offers safety features that push notifications for people to take their symptoms screening, vaccine tracking, capacity planning and capacity limit to their intersocial distancing. Businesses can see these insights to see if they are meetingregulatory needs and make sure their office is the right size for the teams theywork with. Worksphere manages distributive teams for clients, managingavailability of space for their remote distributive market.

The past couple of years have generated a need for tools formid market sized businesses that didn’t have a need for an office management platform before and who are now more flexible with hybrid systems. Before the pandemic, the company followed more of an in-person, office-based work system five days per week. Worksphere now provides a hybrid option: a space where employees can come in, and collaborate when they all need to sit around a white board or have lunch with colleagues once a week. Ittracks what days employees are coming in, when they arecoming in, and who else is coming. One can filter byteam and department and see the relevant data.

It also compares productivity data.

Prior to Worksphere, Theresa worked as Director for Operation and Customer Success for a tech-enabled platform, Leash. She manages sales teams and customer success now at Worksphere.

WORKING WITH A HYBRID SYSTEM

Worksphere was founded at the start of the pandemic in 2020. It was working primarily with HR facilities & office managers. But soon it adopted a hybrid system of work. The hybrid model provides a convenient means for people to have balance in their lives. Worksphere has akind of blended team where

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employees come to the office a couple of days a week butwork from home otherwise. The company has a workplace management platform that allows employees to schedulein-office time to reserve desks.

REMOTE WORK FOR THE FUTURE?

On whether Worksphere will continue with the remote system, Theresa thinks they are equipped with a hybrid model better than anybody.

According to surveys,70-80% people prefer a split office space on a remote schedule. For companies that want to be competitive in terms of attracting the best talent and also for companiesthat want their

employees to feel happy and have balance in their lives, this is really the right way to go. Remote system also allowsbusinesses to be more efficient about their time and money. The added flexibility also opens up more options for companies in terms of how they want to use theiroffice base.

THE FUTURE FOR WORKSPHERE?

Theresa and her team have seen immense growth withWorksphere in the past year.

Interestingly, she notes thatemployee sentiments don’t tend to stick when it comes to coming to the office. So, while the easing of pandemic

restrictions may make people eager to come back to theoffice, they only end up coming once or twice a week.The business’ flexibility has allowed it continue serving itsclients despite the pandemic uncertainties. This is yet another lesson in the array of those that we learnt in the past two years that keeping room for change will onlybenefit you in the long run.

When According to surveys, 70-80% people prefer a split office space on a remote schedule.

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Aaron Smith

On Empowering Businesses Through Better Marketing, and Remote Work Advice

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one during the time that was focused specifically on email marketing. After itwas acquired, Aaron reignited his entrepreneurial journey and started LiftScience, a business that built effective marketing automation plugins forenterprise digital marketing teams. The business was able to grow further afterjoining hands with another Seattlebased company Shaw + Scott. Leadinginto the pandemic, the business branched out into Sageflo. A New Journey When the Pandemic

Starts

Sageflo has two lines ofproducts: one for local marketing teams, Theirservices empower businesses that may not have sufficient marketing experience to send professional, brand-approved marketing messages through digital channels.

There is no way to sugarcoat it - the fact that Sageflo tookoff in parallel with the pandemic of 2020 was horrible . Such an exogenous shock forces founders to focus on what is absolutely critical for their business. It compels you to be more disciplined and prudent in how you go to market with your business. Their initial

helping big brands that werein real need of services to help them sustain their business through the economic uncertainties. The first few months were difficult and stressful, but the business made it through well and is now on a comfortable and stable footing now.

Transitioning to Remote Work:Clients, Team, Management, Culture

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very rare thing at the time.Shaw x Scott was also a completely remote company even before the pandemic.

In terms of actually working remotely, Aaron has a very crucial piece of advice that applies for one’s relationshipswith their clients, boss, as well as fellow company employees. You have to prove to your company and boss

bane of existence for a lot of people. But it is also observed that remote work may start tocontribute to loneliness for a whole lot of people after a while. It took Aaron two years to develop a healthy way of approaching remote work. He offers two pieces of advice: Have a separate space for work in your home where the only thing you do is work. This ensures that one is able to

room for change will onlybenefit you in the long run. clearly transition between the work mental state to spending time on leisure, family, etc. To further help with this, he suggests playing some musicat 5pm (or whenever you are done with work) to further establish that distinction. For managers, and/or leaders of people, respect your teammates and employees.

organizations to fulfill theirmarketing needs to achieve their business aims and objectives. This clientcentered strategy continuesto be the primary driver for Sageflo’s team’s motivation.Their services are geared towards removing the stressassociated with marketing and free up the time that their clients would otherwise spend on these efforts.

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A Law Tech In 2022:

Should your business form a software development partnership?

It is 2022 and you as a business owner/founder would probably agree that the past two years have transformed work systems for good. In particular, those working in the tech sector or with tech teams as part of their work would find that this industry has undergone significant changes when it comes to hiring. Not only have companies chosen to allow their teams of engineers to work remotely, but a lot have taken their hands off of hiring completely by forming software development partnerships. While this is not a new concept exclusive to pandemic times only, it must be remembered that oldschool outsourcing has gone out of fashion.

It should not be conflated with newer ideas of partnerships, distributed teams, and hiring 2.0.

Understandably, there is still a good deal of uncertainty, confusion and skepticism around the idea of letting someone else do your coding for you, especially if they are working remotely. However, software development partnerships, if executed well, can end up being incredibly beneficial for your business in the long run. This article explores this concept and makes some suggestions on how businesses seeking teams of developers and engineers can go about starting a software development partnership.

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A Law Tech In 2022. Should your businessForm a Software Development Partnership?

What is a Software Development Partnership?

A software development partner is a company that helps you work with a team of software developers and engineers on along-term or short-term basis so that your software development projects and tasksare completed successfully. It works exactly like an in-house tech team - the only difference is that, with a partnership, the recruiting, hiring, and managing process isno longer your hassle to deal with. The development team you work with is alsoremote.

Gaper is an example of a company that works in a software development partnership with other businesses.

A software development partner has the experience, tools, and resources dedicated exclusively to recruiting, hiring, vetting, and training developers and engineers as well asthe necessary management know-how. This ensures that remote teams and projects are managed and executed expertly and efficiently.

Typically, software development partners fall under the umbrella of outsourcing that is used by startups and small companies that do not want to expend the time and monetary resources needed to put together and house a tech team.

Your role as the client is to communicate and discuss your project and objectiveswith your partner. This is the single most critical aspect of this relationship and itssuccess. Once this is taken care of, the rest is smooth sailing if your softwaredevelopment partner is a reputable one.

Should You Go For a Software Development Partnership?

Companies, big and small,often choose to develop software development partnerships for several reasons and needs that helpthem meet their business goals. You should go for asoftware development partnership if:

You need a team of vetted and professional developers and Yourengineers local job market is facing a supply shortage

You do not want to deal with the lengthy, tediousprocesses of hiring

You do not have the financial resources to hire in-house teams of developers and engineers

The economy/business landscape is developing fastfor example, the demand for blockchain developers has grown exponentially thanks todevelopments in associated sectors (in particular, fintech)

You struggle to keep up with innovation and new technologies in your sector

You wish to move towards a more flexible and remote mode of work

You want to dedicate your time and energy to marketingand client acquisition rather than hiring and managingtech teams

Budget and deadlines:

Companies sometimes lack a cost-effective budget plan,particularly when it comes to startups, which have a limited capital to invest to begin with.

A significant quantity ofmoney is required to begin the software development process.

Identifying business needs, software planning, design,software development, premarketing campaigns, post-

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launch marketing, cold outreach, social media campaigning, advertising, and so on are all part of the software development process. To be effective in software development, they all require a lot of human work, time, and money. If you w2ant to avoid overruns and an unexpected increase in development costs, a software development partner would be ideal!

Another reason for companies to seek out a software development partner is inadequate project management, which results inrepeated delivery delays. The development team frequently completes development work on schedule, but they wait for the last step release, which has been delayed for a longtime.

Software companies that employ the Agile technique,which ensures a speedier product launch, are perfect. Instead of long-term planning, this flexible technique allowsfor immediate user feedback.

10 factors to consider when setting up a DevelopmentSoftwarePartnership

When getting into a software development partnership, it is important to go about the process in a streamlined andwell-coordinated manner. There are businesses like Toptal that closely resemble the business model of freelance marketplaces. If this is your preferred method of hiring, you must also be ready to test the developers that you are going to hire.

This is because it is a bit tricky to determine the quality andskill sets of freelance individuals online. It may also be very time-consuming to build a team out of them. If this is not your cup of tea, alternatives to Toptal and similar platforms can come in handy.

This essentially means lookingfor good software development companies that help you hire teams of engineers either on a projectbasis or for as long a term as you require. This approach isoften considered to be more reliable and one that offers a better return to your spending.

When in initial meetings witha potential partner, ask them how they vet, test and investin the technical and soft skills

Software companies that employ the Agile technique, which ensures a speedier product launch, are perfect. Instead of long-term planning, this flexible technique allows for immediate user feedback.

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of their teams. See if they are open to letting you do yourown evaluations trial runs with the developers.

Here are 10 important things you should consider:

Your Requirements Project/Work

You need to be clear about the requirements and plan that you intend to fulfill with the help of the software development team. While a good chunk of planning will also take place in collaboration with your partner along with anybusiness development discussion if needed, you still need to be prepared.

Try and outline everything in numbers as much as possible: timelines, goals, cost, team dynamics, etc.

Set a Realistic Project Scope In addition to the overall requirements, have a comprehensive idea of what you would like your end product to be. Keep in mind the human resources you will be using and the time you are giving them. It is also ideal ifyou make a rough draft of the end product (in whatever manner that is appropriate) that your team can then useas a visual reference.

If you have any specific development languages ortechnologies that you intend for the end product to be developed using, communicate that. If there are any suggestions by senior engineers about feasibility, beopen to incorporating them in your idea and plan.

Your project’s timeline

This also includes the time that the project will take to finish. In this case, let the tech team and senior engineers take the lead as one needs some experience in development to gauge howlong a certain project will take.

Don’t hesitate to break your project down into time-baseddeliverables. It helps both you and the development team to assess the project at every stage rather than doing so atthe very end.

Remember that this kind of work can be prone to certain setbacks and delays so be flexible about your timelines.

Discuss the Budget

This is something that you need to figure out for theupcoming year i.e. how much do you intend to spend on your software development partnership by the end of the year. This in turn depends on the amount and frequency of work you will need getting done, the expected return you expect from the finished project, and your othermiscellaneous needs from your partner.

This is often the point where businesses end up with partners that deliver substandard work. It may be appealing to save a few bucksat this stage, but poor outsourcing services alwaysend up costing you more in the long run. Don’t make thequality-cost tradeoff.

Keep in mind the Internal Staff and Team Dynamics It is imprudent to think that tech teams don’t have

anything to do with other factions of a business. While software development partners like Gaper take careof most of the variables associated with managingand guiding a tech team for businesses, some interaction with other company departments can still happenat some time.

For such cases, first, determine how your internal teams will be affected by the onboarding of an external,remote tech team. Assess the work dynamics of your own internal developers if you have any. See if any other department in your company will have to be in regularcontact with the tech team. If this is the case, make sure you have the appropriate tools and systems that help this integration and communication.

The Technical Stack Determine which programming languages andtechnologies will be used in your software development project. Make a list of them, and consider writing a briefdescription of how they would be used in your proposed project.

As a result, you'll be able to express your requirements more effectively with possible software development partners and identify the ideal professionals for your project.

Type of Outsourcing

Gaper’s services also include staff augmentation. In such a setup, you get to hire adevelopment team for a contracted period of time and

also undertake the tasks of managing this team. Thismay also involve the new team working alongsideyour existing teams in your company.

Managers and foundersoften prefer this approach if they have the timebecause it affords them a great deal of flexibility andcontrol over the teams working on their projects.

Of course, the task of closely managing teams can be left to your software development partner too if they are well-reputed andcredible.

Does Location Matter?

One qualm that managersand business owners have with software development partners is the issues that they fear will arise due to geographic factors. Some software companies have a fixed time period during a day when everyone is supposed to be working on tasks that involve dependencies and need active interactions.

Nearshoring may help you get more affordable teams

You can also assess related soft skills like teamwork, time languagemanagement, skills, and other factors necessary for successful product development.

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country, some partners may be able to arrange that aswell. Of course, in this case, you can go for onshoring,nearshoring or offshoring. The former entails hiring remotedevelopers from your own country. Depending on whereyou are based this may or may not be a pricey decision.

Nearshoring involvesoutsourcing from nearby countries. This may help you get more affordable teams relative to your home country without having to keep up with timezone and sometimes cultural and language differences.

Offshoring is outsourcingfrom countries far away from your own. A popular exampleis American businesses working with software housesin India. If you are able to partner up with a credible company, you won’t have to worry about work quality, soft skills, and time management.

high volume of work for a remarkably low cost, it may mean red flags for the standard of work. Comparing Potential Partners

Once you've got a good ideaof what you're looking for, it's time to start looking for asoftware development partner.

Marketplaces for Freelancers The world is at your fingertips with online markets. Individuals may use their platforms to market their services and improve the

communication and payment process.

Finding a developer is simplethanks to websites like Fiverr, UpWork, and Toptal. Keep in mind that the quality of the outcomes might vary, andadaptability isn't always one of these platforms' strong

Software Development Firms A software development team might provide your project additional flexibility. Hiringthrough a company is a great approach to ensure you're obtaining high quality personnel while also givingyou the flexibility to have as much or as little control as you want over your software development partner.

Many businesses are expensive, but Trio is an example of a smaller development firm that is shaking things up byproviding a quality development experience at a fair price.

Onboarding a Partner

After you have evaluated and onboarded your partner, allthat's left now is to draft the contracts to be signed onceyou've examined your software development partners and picked the best

These are thrilling times to be alive. After you've signed the contract, stay in touch with your outsourcing partner and utilize your timetable todetermine when the project will begin.

What Makes For a Successful Development Partnership?

Three things determine the success of a successful business partnership: Communication Flexibility Transparency Trust Communication

In the case of a successful software development partnership, communicationgood is essential not just between

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the business development parties, but of course, also amongst the in-house and external development teams. Any engineer or developer will bear witness to the fact that no good code came out of a team that did not have a healthy flow of communication. It pays to be open-minded when working with people that have different personalities and communication styles.

This also applies to the business managers on both ends. Being open about yourrequirements and capabilities, even if it might be awkward ordifficult at times, will pave the way for a smooth work roadahead.

Your communication may involve video meetings or anoccasional in-person meeting

over lunch or tea. As managers and leaders, youare also responsible for helping initiate communication between your teams and introducing them.Implement appropriate communication tools and systems in place for remote teams.

Flexibility In the world of software development and engineering, it is common for hiccups and uncertainties to affect a team’s progress. If your development partner is suggesting changes to timelines and projectfeatures, be open to hear them out and find a middle ground.

Trust

A good partnership onlyblossoms into a fruitful one if

there is trust between the parties. For communicatethis,as much as possible in the early stages ofyour relationship. To build realistic expectations, have the team members be open about their work styles so as not to be disappointed later about a seemingly latedelivery or work ethic. Basically, treat your partnerand the external team as a part of your own company.

This applies within developer teams too. Everyone has different work and codingstyles and preferences. It is just important to be awareand accepting of them. If something needs to bechanged, feedback given in a healthy manner is essential.

It may be a good activity toinvolve your partner in

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Be innovative and creative about your ideas, but also realistic and wellinformed. It may transpire that both have some overlapping aims and visions which mutual business support may help foster and achieve.

relevant and related business decisions. At the most informal level, perhaps you could simply ask for theiradvice. To cement a more formal relationship, perhapshave a senior member from the other party be a part of an important meeting.

Transparency Never hide informationimportant about work or team dynamics that is crucial to your software development partnership and the progressof a project. As a rule, make sure everything related to aproject and business relationship is communicatedalways to the concerned parties no matter how trivial or insignificant they may seem at the time. This saves everyone from shocks and unexpectedoutcomes later on and

prevents anyone from playing blame games.

This applies equally for business developers and software developers. Particularly in case of the former when prices andtimelines need to be discussed, make sure you are clear in your explanation of why you are chargingsomething for a service or why you are not able to pay more for something else.

Similarly, developers need to be particularly clear about what they can or cannot do when coding. Anything elsethat might affect their workflow or quality of workshould also be communicated.

If anyone asks a difficult question, or if a sensitive

matter of any sort needs to be discussed, pluck up the courage and communicate truthfully. Nothing ruins abusiness relationship or professional workflow morethan hidden truths.

To wrap the above pointers, it is important for both parties to be clear about their longterm objectives. This usuallyclears up a lot of misunderstandings anduncertainties that the aforementioned factors generate. Be innovative and creative about your ideas, butalso realistic and wellinformed. It may transpirethat both have some overlapping aims and visionswhich mutual business support may help foster andachieve.

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Conclusion and FAQs

A few questions that business owners and managers might have are answered below. If you still have queries about such a business partnership and are interested in getting into one, feel free to set up acall with us.

Q. What is a software development partnership?

A. A software development partnership entails gettinginto a business partnership with another company that helps you hire individuals or teams of software developers and engineers. You may choose to vet and managethem if you like but the partner company can also do it for you.

Q. What are the advantages of a software development partnership?

A. You save the hassle of hiring especially if you do not have a senior software engineer onboard. You save infrastructure and management costs. You can obtain talent that is otherwise rare or not easily available in your local market. You are also saved the task of building up a team from scratch. A goodpartner can end up aiding you in achieving your ownbusiness goals and objectives as well.

Q. What are the disadvantages of a software development partnership?

A. Some managers do not like

giving up the overseeing role as it reduces control, thoughsome companies allow you to manage teams closely. Youget to face some setbacks if factors like time zones, language barriers, and poor work ethic are not addressed in the early stages. It may cost you more in the long-term ifthe software development partner you choose is not transparent or reliable.

Q. Where should I start if I want to hire remote developers and engineers? A. You can choose to start off by setting up a meeting with Gaper and see how the work dynamics suit you. You can also look up other companiesthat offer team augmentation

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services. It is recommended that freelancers are hired as a last resort since it is not only tricky to assess their skills, butit is also hard to create a team that will work and collaborate on a long-term basis with you.

Q. How much does a software development partnershipcost?

A. The cost of such a business collaboration depends entirely on the scope of your work and the kind of services you are looking for. It is of utmostimportance to discuss this aspect thoroughly andevaluate the resources associated with these costs before you enter such a partnership.

Q. Are software development partnerships reliable?

A. If chosen and assessed smartly, yes. Partnerships where you find that there are red flags transparency,regardingengineer skill sets, and other aspectsrelevant to the work will end up being hard to sustain.Reliable companies will not hide information, nor will they refuse to answer any of your qualms about their work.

In conclusion, a goodsoftware development partnership takes work but ifnurtured and dealt with in a professional manner, can end up being an incredible success for both parties.

Need Help? FAQ

Skepticism surrounding such partnerships remains. Many owners and managers do not like relinquishing their controlover hiring and management. While this is understandablecompletely and common, not all businesses can afford to follow this approach. For such entities, there are readymade solutions for hiring top talent and competent engineers and developers that empower them to do business in otherwise tough markets. Because remote work and WFH engineering and development is normalized now, it is up to you to integrate this flexibilitythrough good business partnerships.

Reliable companies will not hide information, nor will they refuse to answer any of your qualms about their work.

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Omicron Gives Businesses Second Chance to Hire Flexible Tech Teams A Note on Flexibility and Why it is Essential Page l 24

could have every member located in a different location. The main feature here is remote work.

Omicron Gives Businesses Second Chance to Hire Flexible Tech Teams

It appears that we are not done with COVID. Where the virus itself was a completely unforeseen, exogenous shock to the business and economic world back in 2020, its variants seem to be unexpected disturbances in their own right that no one seemed to be prepared for. As we prepare to bid goodbye to the year 2021, it appears again that companies are having to struggle with the decision stay remote after the holidays. Since Gaper is in the business of providing distributed tech teams to its business clients, we will stick to addressing this side of things. Put simply, the tech sector actually underwent some pretty significant changes during the pandemic with regard to how experts and professionals are hired. Many companies, mainly startups but also FAANG, adopted the route of hiring remote engineers and developers instead of going through the hiring and managing process themselves. Why? Apart from being less resourceintensive, hiring such teams empowers businesses with flexibility that is essential to smooth running, and sometimes survival, during uncertain and slow times.

What Are Distributed Tech Teams?

Though the concept garnered a significant amount of acclaim and ubiquity during the past two years, it is worth going over it once again. Distributed teams are teams where members are working from various locations in the world remotely. The team could be entirely from the US or Japan or

Tech is an area of work that allows a great amount of work to be done remotely, where there is little to no reason for teams to work in-person. If you are unsure about how a distributed team would/could work with your company, feel free to set up a little call with us to discuss the business development, management, cost and other aspects of our hiring and vetting process.

Should Your Business Hire Flexible Tech Teams?

But let us go over a few pointers that might help you determine whether you should consider introducing more flexibility into your business through remote teams.

If you find that you are having to recruit a specialized HR team or professional to help you in hiring a tech team for your business, consider hiring through companies like Gaper or others in the business before putting yourself and your business through the tiring and resource-intensive process.

Similarly if you think it would be tricky to manage a tech team and/or you may have to hire a manager or senior engineer to oversee your team, look for a third party to do so before undertaking everything yourself.

The above is particularly

crucial if you, as a business owner or leader, want to direct more of your time and effort towards marketing, networking, client acquisition, and other business development activities. Don’t waste your time on very tedious and difficult hiring and managing functions.

Also pertinent to mention is the recent skill shortage especially in areas like cyber security and blockchain development. If you’re struggling with labor supply, definitely contact companies that are in the business of looking for tech talent on a global scale and that may be able to help you fill positions that you can’t do yourself.

And finally, if you’re simply looking for a tech team, it is a good idea to bring a distributed team through businesses like Gaper onboard to ensure you have flexible setups in place. As recent times have shown, these come in particularly handy when you are forced to go remote and rearrange your business activities on a sudden notice.

The Cons You May Have to Face

It is also important to address misgivings that people have about hiring remote teams. Many believe that remote times come at a cost of quality, the longevity of services, and other important aspects key to smooth business operations. These notions have developed over the past few years that saw a rise in the concept of

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equipping businesses with full-time, tailored tech teams. These engineers are also vetted and assessed for tech and soft skills. Senior personnel are expected to have a certain level of business development knowledge as well.

You may have to face these cons if you hire your remote engineers from less reputable

unforeseeable economic shutdowns. It is ensuring that businesses are not halting work just because their hiring processes are out of style. It keeps turnover low as employees are less likely to quit places that are more accommodating of their lifestyles.

extent to which it is incorporated smartly into your teams and operations.

Conclusion

The future of tech is remote.”

This is more relevant and crucial now than it was ever before.

A lack of flexibility almost always translates into business problems. It strips you of the ability to adapt and grow at the required pace. Flexibility means something different for every business. What ends up counting is the

In conclusion, as Gaper’s VP of Sales said two years ago, “The future of tech is remote”. This is more relevant and crucial now than it was ever before. A significant amount of businesses that had to shut down during the pandemic were guilty of forcing old means of hiring and doing work despite the fact that their competitors had implemented flexible features in their business. Don't get us wrong: the economic downturn was absolutely ruthless to a lot of businesses in that it did not afford many much time to bring about any operational changes. Nor is it feasible for certain job roles to be populated remotely. But for those companies that are now having to look for tech talent but are forcing them (some are ‘luring’ them) to come back to 9-5 office routines will

struggle in one way or another. Indeed it is no wonder that skill shortage or the ‘great resignation’ was the main marker of the final quarter of this year. Flexible tech teams are now not only ensuring better productivity and efficiency for companies but also containing the high turnover rates that others are so desperately trying to deal with.

Software companies that employ the Agile technique, which ensures a speedier product launch, are perfect. Instead of long-term planning, this flexible technique allows for immediate user feedback.