Here you go again, scrolling through an endless flow of irrelevant resumes trying to uncover a hidden gem. But you also know that finding this gem is not enough. Screening, interviews, and onboarding provide no guarantee of discovering the right fit.
In fact, there are many potential pitfalls:
- Your promising candidate can still fail in tech assessment
- You might find a misalignment with your company's values
- Reference checks might uncover some negative traits
- The compensation negotiations can fail
But even if all these pitfalls are avoided, there are many new ones before a developer is fully integrated into your team:
- They can struggle to adapt to the company's processes and ways of work.
- They can fail to collaborate effectively with other team members.
- They can fail socially within the team.
- They might feel unfulfilled and start seeking opportunities elsewhere.
At Smartexe we’ve been exploring both models for 20 years now. So, without further adieu, here are the parameters that will help you find the optimal model for you.
The Advantage of an Individual Hire
Niche Skills and Knowledge: It’s easier to find individuals with expertise in niche technologies or domains. Adaptability to Company Culture: Individual developers are usually easier to integrate into a company's culture and work environment. Autonomy: Positions demanding autonomy can be filled by self-starters who enjoy working independently. Less Administrative Load: hiring an individual developer typically involves less administrative overhead.
Our experience at Smartexe shows that individuals often excel in roles requiring deep expertise or creativity. They thrive when given autonomy and ownership over their work. Yet, in most cases, where more than one person is needed, we see the advantage of hiring an organic team.
Pros of Hiring Teams
Quick Integration: Teams adapt faster, and can start delivering results from day one. Enhanced Collaboration: Organic teams have already gone through the process of building rapport. They know each other’s quirks and have developed collaboration best practices. Higher Commitment: Good teams have strong internal commitment which increases productivity and reduces procrastination. Complementary Skill Sets: Teams working together for a while learn how to cover each other’s blindspots and weaknesses. Easier to Manage: Organic teams need much less executive attention than new ones. The Power to Create Change: It’s hard for an individual to influence complex corporate dynamics, but companies do know how to learn and be inspired by successful teams
The Cost Myth Debunked
Contrary to popular belief, hiring a team isn't a budget-buster. In fact, it's often more cost-effective than piecing together individuals. Teams hit the ground running, slashing onboarding time and boosting productivity from day one.
The Main Obstacle to Hiring a Team
As you can see from the points above, we are huge supporters of hiring teams. And while, in some cases, we approve individual developers to fill some of our clients' positions, we usually try to keep our developers in organic teams.
Thus the only major obstacle to hiring a team is usually the availability of a team with specific experience and a mix of skills…
Looking to hire strong and committed developer teams? Give us a ping to see what teams are available today.
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