Forem: Varun

Outsourcing vs Insourcing: What’s the difference?

Varun — Thu, 19 Nov 2020 08:16:44 +0000

Outsourcing vs Insourcing: What’s the difference?

Insourcing

The process of hiring an in-house employee to fulfill a role in your company is called insourcing. These employees will be on the company payroll and will enjoy the perks and benefits that are typically offered.

Firms typically hire in-house employees for core business functions - i.e., ones that are related to providing direct value to the customer.

For example, in a bicycle manufacturing company, the roles directly involved in production - like the site engineers, mechanics, etc. would all be ‘core’ roles.

Outsourcing

Outsourcing is when you hire an external individual (like a freelancer) or agency (a contracting firm) to complete a specific job or even recurring jobs.

Typically, but not by rule, companies outsource jobs that are non-core. For example a SaaS company outsourcing the maintenance of its office building, or a manufacturing company outsourcing the development of its website. In both these cases, the company is said to outsource their non-core functions.

Similarly, across industries, businesses tend to outsource their end-to-end software development to development agencies, or 'dev shops'. Here, the dev shops take up the product development in its entirety, and the onus is on them to deliver the finished article.

If companies prefer to wield more close control over the product, they prefer to hire freelance developers to augment their internal tech team. By hiring freelancers to supplement their existing team rather than replace it, quality standards can be easily controlled.

Bottom line, companies choosing to outsource or insource certain skills comes down to whether:

There is a pressing need for the skills to be in-house, or
An external entity can do a better job in one or more parameters: skill, time, money, and/or effort.

Problems with in-house hiring

Hiring in-house is often preferred by most companies when given a choice due to its several benefits. However, it does come with a few difficulties, like:

1. Long recruitment process

It takes a lot of time and resources to find, interview, and hire permanent employees. In the tech industry alone, fulfilling an engineering position takes an average of 55 days. Moreover, commitments such as notice periods further delay the time taken for a new recruit to join the firm.

In addition to time, the effort spent by the company’s recruitment team to carry out the hiring process should also be taken into consideration. Further, the lost opportunity cost can be substantial if the company ends up making a bad hire.

2. Dipping employee-employer loyalty

The average tenure (i.e., how long a person works at a particular company) of the workforce is currently 4.4 years. However, this has been dipping with more millennials entering the workforce. According to talent managers, a large fraction of resumes right now are filled with job stints of just a year or two.

Of course, companies spend many months training their employees. Therefore, losing them in less than a couple of years is a huge waste of resources spent on their recruitment and training.

3. Reduced flexibility

The ability of a business to remain agile and adapt its workforce to the market’s needs can be a huge competitive advantage.

For example, certain situations might call for scaling the company’s workforce fast, sometimes to solve a highly-specific problem. In such scenarios, going through the lengthy and resource-intensive process of hiring in-house employees can be hugely limiting for a company.

Outsourcing vs Insourcing: Which is the right one for you?

Of course, both – outsourcing and insourcing – come with their own benefits and drawbacks. Each is better suited to solve a particular use-case.

Let’s discuss a few factors that can help you decide which one would be the best for you.

1. Stage of company

Early-stage companies and startups can find it very hard to compete with larger companies for great talent. At the same time, quick product development cycles and rapid iteration is also a critical aspect of their growth, which means they can’t afford to lose time in long hiring processes.

As hiring full-time permanent employees are a costly and time-consuming activity, startups can save time and money by working with freelancers. Of course, it would be a good idea to find a core employee with or around whom the freelancers can work.

2. Core business function

As previously mentioned, businesses tend to outsource jobs that are not related to their core business function. However, there are certain exceptions to this, especially for startups.

For example, if you’re an early-stage tech startup without a technical co-founder, it can sometimes be more beneficial to outsource the development of the MVP. This frees up bandwidth for the non-technical founders to work on other important tasks like sales and marketing.

However, once you are ready to scale, it is important to hire a core team member (maybe a CTO or someone with similar capabilities) who will end up owning the product. Needless to say, such a person can be assisted by external and/or internal help, ensuring that your USP in tech lies within the company.

3. Speed of delivery

As discussed, hiring permanent employees involves extended interviews to evaluate candidates, negotiations, and possible delays due to a notice period, employee induction, etc.

So if there is a need to hire people fast to keep up with tight product deadlines, outsourcing is the best option as it is much less time-consuming. However, if the objective to hire is with a long-term vision in mind, insourcing would be a better fit.

Also, in cases where there is a long-term need for someone, the stringency of fit becomes higher. This makes it tougher to find the right person. Clearly, companies can’t stop or postpone work as a consequence.

Until you find a suitable replacement, hiring a freelancer to augment the team on a short-term basis could be smart. This allows you to meet internal deadlines, while still not hurrying the process of hiring a quality permanent hire.

4. Duration

Hiring permanent employees for one-off or short-term projects is quite tricky, possibly even unethical, as they would be rendered redundant once the project is completed. Hence, for such short-term projects, it is better to hire freelancers and outsource the work as the cost savings are significant.

For long-term projects that require a regular and consistent workflow, it is best to focus on building an in-house team. However, if you are open to working remotely in perpetuity (which is fast becoming the norm), you can save money by employing freelancers on long-term contracts. You can also negotiate a discounted price with them in return for a long-term commitment.

Moreover, software developers with a lot of experience and skills in competitive fields are courted by many suiters with lucrative offers. It is hence cheaper to hire them on a need-basis rather than permanently.

5. IP-related risks

Intellectual property (IP) – related risks is an ostensible issue that sometimes hinders companies from deciding to hire freelancers. The notion that a company’s IP is safe only when its employees are under constant supervision and are physically present in the office simply isn't true.

The future of work is remote and distributed, with employees working independently in various parts of the world. This will test and eventually break the often-held association of safety with a close presence nearby.

However, in any case, companies can execute legally-binding contracts that can be enforced in case the need arises. So, from the perspective of having a legal recourse, freelancing is as safe for IP as insourcing.

Another concern that companies have is about freelancers meeting the company’s quality standards. This is a legitimate concern due to the noise in the freelance market, but vetted tech talent platforms like Flexiple and Toptal have made it very easy to hire quality talent without risk.

When is Outsourcing the clear option?

So to summarise, outsourcing your work to a freelancer is the best option when any of the below points are satisfied:

Build a flexible workforce and want to take advantage of worldwide talent
Hire people fast in order to meet product goals
Work required is on short-term projects
You want to reduce bloated overheads and keep costs low
Hire experts in a niche technology when needed
Increase your internal team’s bandwidth

Using a mix of Outsourcing and Insourcing

Remote working has become the norm across the world and the coronavirus pandemic has accelerated its adoption. The differences between working with an in-house team vs freelancers are getting blurred for companies.

Working with freelancers in the past required stringent protocols (like perfect documentation) and extra effort in communication to make it work. With the growth in technology and the adoption of remote tools, the entire process has become easier.

Overall, companies can no longer take a hard stance on going only one way or the other. Rather, they need to align with the goal of the particular case in question.

There are many websites that make the process of hiring freelancers on-demand friction-less and risk-free. Read more about our picks here.

Toptal Review: Is it worth the expense?

Varun — Mon, 02 Nov 2020 12:54:40 +0000

What is Toptal?

Toptal is a popular and established freelance network that connects employers with highly-vetted freelance talent. Toptal started out by offering freelance software developers but has since expanded to other verticals to include freelance designers, financial experts, product managers, and project managers.

Toptal’s key features are its large community of quality talent and rigorous screening process. Its multi-stage screening process consists of code reviews, portfolio review, real-time testing, and an English language skill test. Toptal claims that this stringent vetting helps it zero down on the ‘Top 3%’ of freelance talent.

During the screening process, Toptal’s recruiters understand freelancers’ core competencies, skills, and past work experience. On receiving a client requirement, Toptal understands their requirements in detail and accordingly matches them with the right freelancer from its talent pool.

However, hiring from Toptal doesn’t come cheap. That’s probably why only well-funded ‘top’ companies can afford to hire freelancers from the platform.

A background on Toptal

Toptal was founded in 2010 by Taso du Val and Breanden Beneschott. Beneschott exited the company in 2018 amid muddy waters between him and du Val, which involved the company even suing him.

Since Toptal’s inception, it has reportedly remained profitable. Interestingly, it has only raised capital once – an early-stage seed round that included investors like Andreesen Horowitz.

Toptal also prides itself on being a full-distributed company - operating a remote workforce with zero physical offices.

How does Toptal work?

Toptal follows a personalised matching process to pair freelancers with relevant projects posted by clients on its website. Here’s the step-wise process broken down:

1.Sign up on the site and post a job request:

Clients looking to hire freelancers have to submit their requirements through a form on Toptal’s website with relevant details of the job.

2. Get on a call with Toptal’s team and share your requirements in detail:

After the client submits the job description, Toptal’s internal team reviews it and gets in touch with the client.
Over a conversation, Toptal’s team tries to gain an in-depth understanding of the requirements.

3. Get recommendations from Toptal

After gaining an understanding, Toptal gets to work on finding freelancers who would be a good fit for the job at hand.
If there are freelancers available immediately, Toptal will recommend them to the client by sharing their digital resumes (created by the respective freelancers with help from Toptal).
If there’s no one available in their ‘selected’ pool, Toptal will work on finding suitable freelancers and will notify clients after completing their respective screening process.

4. Review and evaluate the recommended freelancers via your own interviews

The client can then choose to interview the recommended freelancers, and evaluate them on their own terms.

5. Select the right freelancer for the job and start work with a trial period

If the client likes the freelancer, they can start working with them immediately after signing the contract agreement.
Toptal also requires an initial deposit of $500 from clients, which will be settled as a credit to their first invoice in the engagement.

6. Choose to continue working, request for a replacement, or part ways with Toptal

Toptal offers a no-risk trial period, for clients to evaluate the performance of the freelancer and confirm a good fit.
If the client decides against moving ahead on the engagement, they are not liable to pay anything – Toptal refunds the $500 deposit in full.
Toptal freelancers usually work remotely, though clients can also make requests to have the freelancer work out of their office. However, the availability of such freelancers is quite low.

7. Review the freelancer’s work and approve payments

The platform provides flexible payment solutions. Typically, invoicing takes place every fortnight with payments due within 10 days of invoicing (‘Net 10’ terms).

Toptal’s business model

Toptal’s business model can be attributed to the category of ‘multi-sided' marketplaces. Hence, it is dependent on network effects to provide enough value to both clients and freelancers.

For example: to fulfill its promise of connecting clients with the right freelancers within 24 hours, Toptal needs to have a lot of freelancers in its talent pool, along with their real-time work status. Similarly, Toptal also needs a large enough client base to guarantee a steady stream of projects for its freelancers.

Toptal’s premise for making money is simple. It invoices clients directly for the duration of the freelance project. It receives this payment, holds the commission charge, and pays freelancers a lower, pre-determined rate. Freelancers are given the option to set their hourly rates based on Toptal’s recommended rates. These are derived by considering factors like the freelancer’s place of residence and expertise level.

Toptal spends a substantial amount of money in marketing, branding, and sales – costs that follow through to make its service quite expensive.

This has raised questions on whether Toptal’s high charges are actually justified by the quality of talent offered. Or whether the high price is just a result of high overheads that accompany a large corporation like itself.

Toptal Review: Pros and Cons

To keep things simple, let’s look at only one category of Toptal’s presence – hiring freelance developers.

Pros

1. Experienced developers:

Toptal focuses on hiring quality talent. This emphasis results in their developers being quite proficient. A certain proportion of them also have experience of previously working for reputable companies.

2. Personalised recommendations:

Toptal’s detailed comprehension of both the job requirements as well as the freelancers’ skills enables it to make highly-personalised candidate recommendations to clients.

3. Established company:

Toptal is the industry leader in vetted freelance networks and enjoys an established brand name. It boasts of having many large companies as clients.

Cons

1. High cost:

Toptal is prohibitively costly for most startups and cash-strapped companies. This is a result of massive commissions (many times greater than 100%) that it levies on top of freelancer fees.

2. Poor customer support:

Its customer support has been criticised by clients and freelancers on review sites & social media platforms as being slow in response and also high-handed.

3. Rigid structure:

Though it portrays itself as a scalable solution for businesses of all sizes, Toptal has inflexible hiring contracts. Customers have to hire on either 20 or 40 hour weekly contracts with no scope for adapting it to their specific requirements.
Additionally, there is no option for decreased costs in lieu of offering long-term work to freelancers.

4. Not viable for small projects:

For smaller projects that require minimal supervision and input, hiring freelancers via Toptal can be overkill, as the value-for-cost isn’t often justified.

How much does Toptal cost?

Toptal’s pricing varies for the scope of the project, geographic region, and the experience level of the freelance developers.

According to Toptal’s website, the pricing can typically fall into the below ranges (subject to the above factors):

Pricing range (based on developer rates)

Hourly: __________________________ $60-$150+/hour
Part-time hire (20hrs/week): ___ $1,000-$2,400+/week
Full-time hire (40hrs/week): ____ $2,000-$4,800+/week

Toptal reviews from 3rd-party review sites

Here, we’ve outlined some positive and negative Toptal reviews by clients, published on two of the most-reputed review sites: Trustpilot and G2crowd. Of course, these review sites do their best to ensure that reviews from customers are 100% genuine.

On a broad perspective, Toptal’s performance on review sites is good as only 2% of customers have given them a severely negative review.

This particular client seems to sum up perfectly what’s great about Toptal and the areas in which it is lacking.

A key point that stands out in this review is the lack of transparency in the billing process. As this customer has pointed out, clients need information on exactly how much is being spent on what, so they can optimise for costs.

Here is another Toptal review, where the customer highlights the company’s good quality of talent and their responsiveness but has raised concerns over the high prices.

Among its negative reviews, here is a customer who has criticised its flaws in service delivery and customer support as being “slow”, never solving problems, and tough to track down. The client seemed particularly unhappy as they were paying “astronomical” prices to Toptal.

Is Toptal the right fit for you?

Toptal may be a good option for you if hiring the best quality developers is a priority with no concern about overpaying.

Its hiring process gives you a fair chance of finding a quality developer for your requirements within a couple of weeks. However, Toptal's high commissions can be a huge drain on your company’s resources.

So if you want to hire quality developers while also being financially smart, solutions like Flexiple might be a better fit.

Toptal alternatives to hire freelancers

Large enterprises might have the financial might to afford Toptal’s expensive services. While in most cases, startups and SMBs - which run lean with tight budgets - can’t afford to do the same.

Further, startups need partners who mirror their own goals of creating user-friendly, affordable and innovative solutions for the market.

Toptal’s high costs and inadequate customer service have led to some good alternatives rising in popularity. They provide the same quality of talent while addressing the issues that Toptal has failed to tackle.

We’ve written in more detail about the alternatives to Toptal here – Toptal Alternatives and Competitors.

To summarise, these are some viable alternatives to Toptal:

Flexiple
Gun.io
Gigster
Arc.dev

Toptal Glassdoor reviews

Of course, Toptal’s excellent service needs a great team for execution. On the employee-employer review site Glassdoor, we can see that most of their employees love the superior work-life balance gained from working at a fully-remote company like Toptal.

From the outside, it does seem like Toptal is a good place to work at.

Below, we’ve also outlined some Toptal Glassdoor reviews by freelancers who’ve gotten selected to the platform.

This freelancer highlights how the intense competition for freelance projects in the Toptal community can lead to disproportionate delays in getting that first project.

In the review shown below, the freelancer seems particularly unimpressed with the low reward-for-effort ratio from the platform’s vetting process.

Freelancers spend a lot of time and effort to complete Toptal’s drawn-out screening process, but can sometimes fail to get any projects soon after they’re selected.

Tl; DR: A brief summary of Toptal’s review

Ultimately, Toptal has used a good vetting process to be a consistent performer in the premium freelance market over the past decade. This has allowed it to grow significantly. With that said,

Most companies can’t afford to hire from Toptal. Even more so in many emerging markets, where Toptal doesn’t even provide its services.

This is due to Toptal’s huge commissions on top of freelancer fees (many times upwards of 100%).

The market for freelance workers is growing due to the increasing popularity of remote working, distributed teams, and a flexible workforce. This has helped in the emergence of new innovative solutions – from pure bidding marketplaces to powerful vetted talent networks.

So, if you don’t fancy Toptal, fret not. There is a freelance talent network out there today that can do the job for you.

You can find a more comprehensive list here to get started.

Why should startups hire freelance developers?

Varun — Thu, 15 Oct 2020 14:34:41 +0000

To set oneself up for success, the importance of having the right team has been established time and time again. Top companies, big and small, consistently attribute success to their teams. It only makes sense then that firms everywhere spend an inordinate amount of time and money to build their dream teams.

Clearly, it’s not disputed that assembling the right team is critical to achieving goals. The impact of having an in-house team v/s hiring freelance developers, though, isn’t debated as much as it should.

In recent years, this has changed - freelancing and remote working have caught on to the imagination of forward-thinking startups. Even visionary corporations, always on the lookout for a new lever of growth have warmed up to freelancers. And rightly so, as the benefits of a flexible and distributed workforce are too good to ignore.

Let's look at some reasons why hiring and working with full-time and in-house developers can be limiting for some companies:

The problem with in-house developers

1. Long time to fill a position

Companies spend a lot of time in hiring a quality developer or designer. Here's the lowdown: “Time to fill” is the number of days between the publication of a job and getting an offer accepted. According to industry benchmarks, this metric is 55 days for Engineering & IT talent (for developers across all geographies).

Also, commitments, such as notice period, delay the time taken for the developer to join the firm by another month or two. This makes the entire process an intensive 3 to 4 months ordeal. Reports indicate that this duration has been increasing in recent years.

Of course, while you grapple with the slow hiring process, the loss in opportunity costs cannot be ignored. Unfilled positions in the US Tech industry alone account for a loss of $20.1 billion per year. Not being able to hire developers fast can hamper a startup’s growth, and cause considerable problems for larger companies as well.

2. Dipping employee-employer loyalty

For the millennials in today’s workforce, job-hopping has become the “new normal”. According to a recent report by Gallup, over 21% of millennials have changed their jobs within one year, which is 3 times more than their older counterparts.

Talent managers and recruiters cite a large portion of resumes filled with job stints of a year or two. This is concerning for companies, since after spending many months training their developers, losing them in less than a couple of years is a huge waste of their resources.

Studies show that it costs a business 6 to 9 months’ salary on average every time they have to replace a salaried employee.

3. Not enough flexibility

Often times, situations arise where the team has to be scaled fast to solve a particular problem, owing to the lack of relevant expertise in the in-house team. In such cases, going through the painstaking process of hiring a developer as a full-time employee doesn’t make sense.

In situations like this, the developer’s expertise is usually only required in the short-term. So, once the particular task is completed, companies can’t afford to have the developer on their payroll without further work. Hence, some companies prefer to have flexibility in terms of hiring. Hiring freelance developers can greatly increase this factor of flexibility.

The Solution: Hire Freelance Developers

Using freelance developers to augment your core development team represents an ideal solution. By hiring and working with freelance developers, you’ll be able to bring about fast turnarounds in your product development goals, and also have the flexibility needed to adapt to the changing needs of the market.

Having a core tech team with full-time developers to build around is important and ensures that your company has a proper structure in place. However, multiple startups, even with a single founder, are able to grow quickly by working with a team of freelance developers.

This highlights the incredibly high versatility of freelance developers. Freelance developers can be hired to work closely with the founder, or as a specialist extension to the tech team. Or even, for augmenting the team when there is an urgent requirement with the current team’s bandwidth limited.

The future of work involves each individual building their own brand and possibly firms being entirely run by freelancers located in various parts of the globe.

With platforms such as Flexiple providing not only vetted but also specific recommendations to your developer needs, building your tech team can’t be any easier.

Benefits of hiring offshore developers

Having understood why hiring in-house developers might not be the right solution every time, let’s understand the benefits of hiring freelance developers and the use-cases they solve:

1. Take advantage of worldwide talent

When hiring in-house developers, companies only have access to a finite pool. They must either be located in the same region or be willing to relocate on short notice.

Hiring freelance developers can offer a company game-changing competitive edge by giving it the ability to leverage worldwide talent.

Skills, technical expertise, and costs to hire freelance developers can vary across the geographies. So if a company is ready to embrace remote working, it increases the odds of finding the best-suited developer for the job significantly.

2. Reduced overhead costs

There are a lot of factors that influence freelance developers’ rates, including:

Geography
Demand for the skill in the market
Expertise in the skill-set
Past Work Experience

Hiring freelance developers may or may not be cheaper than hiring in-house developers. However, it can definitely save overhead costs like benefits, office space, and supplies.

Especially, in a volatile funding climate, making the decision to hire offshore developers can be a boon. To adapt to a tough market, companies might need to take challenging decisions such as a hiring freeze. Using freelance developers to supplement the team can be the required solution to keep up the growth.

3. Bring about fast turnarounds – Meeting product goals

For the 3-4 months that it takes to hire permanent employees, a firm’s work can’t be stopped or postponed. Hiring a freelance developer to augment the team in such a setting ensures that the targets and deadlines don’t have to be compromised upon.

Vetted tech talent platforms enable companies to hire offshore developers within a week or two. Additionally, the personalised recommendations by experts reduce the chance of a bad hire and the need for iterations. Quality freelance developers, mapped correctly to requirements, hit the ground running. They generally require no training and have a very low ramp up time.

4. Niche technology – bringing in experts when they’re needed

At times, knowledge in a particular domain may be limited in a team of developers. Finding permanent hires in these niche technologies might be very hard. Furthermore, such a skill might not be needed by the firm on a regular basis.

Therefore, hiring a freelance developer who is an expert in the field allows the company to take advantage of the contextual knowledge they bring to the table. This would be more beneficial economically and also more efficient from a productivity perspective.

5. Higher flexibility – increasing the ability to adapt to the market

Hiring freelance developers allows the company to have a more flexible team, which can be scaled fast and modified as the need arises. This equips the company to easily adapt to the changing needs of the market.

This is invaluable to smaller companies that are looking to grow fast. Freelance developers allow them to keep up the pace on their build, while not having to take up the additional costs of hiring permanent developers. Our next point elaborates on this concept.

6. Instantly grow the development team’s bandwidth

Certain times might call for an immediate need for more manpower. This includes situations when the development team’s bandwidth has been maxed out, with opportunities being missed if there’s a long delay in getting more developers into the team.

Hiring freelance developers for such situations can prove to be a great solution. Freelance developers can start work almost immediately, resulting in fast turnarounds. This further allows them to act as extensions to the in-house tech team and ensure the pace is kept up through the high demand.

Looking to build your dream tech team? We’ve put together a comprehensive review of the Top 7 online services to hire freelance developers across the globe.

Top 8 places to find freelance developers for hire

Varun — Wed, 07 Oct 2020 12:05:12 +0000

With the rise in popularity of freelancing as a career among today’s software engineers, there is a vast variety of places where you can find developers for hire.

Some of the questions that'll help you figure out where to hire developers from are:

Have you decided on a screening and evaluation process to evaluate software developers?
How much bandwidth can you devote to evaluating developers?
Are you looking for a quick fix, or do you have the time to carry out an elaborate hiring strategy?

This'll help you select the source(s) to find and hire freelance developers. Some sources are better than others in the quality of developers, some offer quicker turnarounds, and others are lighter on your wallet.

Let’s understand the nuances of each and its corresponding benefits/ drawbacks:

1. Hire a referral

Hiring a referral from a trusted individual in your network is one of the best ways to find a high-quality and reliable freelance developer. Having worked with them previously, your source will have a deeper understanding of the developer’s strengths & weaknesses. This will help you gain insights into what might work out and what might not – something that can’t be ascertained even after rounds of screening, much less found on anyone’s resume.

The process to find and hire developers from your network

Scan your network: Firstly, you need to scan your network for tech industry experts and make a list of the people whom you’ll be reaching out to.
Reach out proactively: Do not hesitate to reach out to the experts in your field. Try different channels like social media, email, or phone.
Prepare a brief JD: You need to let readers know exactly what you’re looking for in a developer. One way to do so would be to prepare a simple JD that you can hand out (or) attach in emails. Don’t go overboard with the details.
Offer monetary (or) non-monetary incentives: To make it worth their time, you can also incentivize them. Be judicious about this though.
Use LinkedIn: LinkedIn is a great tool to keep track of the entire process and makes it really easy to start a professional conversation with a large audience.

Pros:

High credibility of the source
As a result, greater reliability of the freelance developer
Gives you access to an evaluation of the developer’s performance under actual working conditions, which is invaluable

Cons:

You’ll be lucky to get a handful of shortlisted candidates for the developer role that you’re hiring for
Low volume of candidates means there are low chances of the engagement kicking off (because of variables such as the software developer’s availability & interest)
High turnaround time – you have to be patient

What will it cost?

Nothing, unless the referrer wants a commission
If you want to incentivise people to offer references, it might cost you a few dollars to set up and implement a referral program. The incentive can also be non-monetary as well.

2. Vetted freelance networks

With the increasing number of freelance developers every year, it is difficult to separate the really talented ones from the rest. A reliable source is needed – one that offers the speed to align with your company’s growth and is also able to maintain consistency in judging the quality of developers.

Vetted freelance networks represent one of the best sources to find quality developers. Such platforms rigorously and holistically screen their freelancers. This involves going beyond the developer’s CV to gauge their abilities, through a combination of a specially-designed screening process and continuous project-based evaluation.

The process to hire developers using vetted freelance networks

Premium freelance networks have in-house experts to help you find the best freelance developer. Hence, you only need to share your requirements with them. This can be done through online forms and then via a phone call/video call – allowing them to take care of the rest.

Pros:

Freelance developers are evaluated on a multitude of parameters and therefore possess high technical proficiency, good communication skills, and the ability to deliver great work under pressure
In-house experts offer personalised matching to ensure that you get the best developer for the job without spending any time shortlisting profiles at your end
These networks also ensure that the developer you choose is aligned perfectly with the culture of your company
They handle all ancillary tasks related to hiring – contracts, invoices, etc. – while you can focus on the actual development work
Low risk of making a bad hire, high success rate

Cons:

A few platforms might be slightly pricy. It is key to find networks that are able to be reasonable in their pricing while ensuring the quality of talent.

What will it cost?

Commission fees
The cheapest option to consistently hire top freelance developers, due to the low amount of risk associated with hiring.
Rates (inclusive of commission) range from $30 – $200/hr (differs from platform to platform)

Examples of vetted freelance networks

3. Pure freelance marketplaces

Pure freelance marketplaces work like job portals. You post a job and then receive applications from the hundreds of freelance developers listed on the platform. While this is great for generating volume on your applications, you will have to spend significant time in screening the developers as there is no vetting process that is carried out by such platforms.

This is suitable for small to medium work, where the main concern is not quality but keeping costs down. To help you select the right fit, these platforms have reviews and ratings available on the developers’ profiles based on their performance on the platform.

The process to hire developers from pure freelance marketplaces

Sign up on the platform: Firstly, you would need to create a profile on their platform in order to list a job.
Add your project specifications: While listing the job, you need to add details like the title, budget, necessary skills required, and a brief description of the work.
Review applications: Once you’ve posted a job, you’ll start getting applications from freelance developers almost immediately, so you can start reviewing them.
Carry out your own screening process: Once you have a shortlist based on their credentials on the platform, you have to implement your own screening process to select the right freelance software developer.

Pros:

You’ll get a large volume of applications from freelance developers registered on their platform
Huge choice in terms of hourly rates – you’ll find freelance developers across a wide budget range

Cons:

The freelance software developers aren’t screened for their technical ability
You have to spend a lot of time and effort into screening
It’s very hard to ascertain a freelance developer’s cultural fit for your company (there’s not enough data to make a subjective decision). Reviews and ratings on the software developer’s profile can be easily manipulated, and are hence, invalidated

What will it cost?

Some platforms demand commissions from companies posting jobs, while some take their cut from the freelance developer’s share Anything from $10 to $200/hr

Examples of pure freelance marketplaces:

4. Online tech forums

Freelance developers are usually active on online tech forums, and establishing your presence on such forums is a good way to reach their eyes. Further, such forums provide developers a platform to showcase their expertise to the tech community. This enables you to get a fair understanding of the depth of knowledge a developer possesses by going through their profile.

Also, there’s usually a job listing page on such forums, which provides an organised way to attract freelance developers who are looking for new opportunities.

The process to find and hire developers from online tech forums

Have a good presence on the forums: Contribute to some of the conversations on the forum and engage with the posts. You also have to keep your profile and company details updated.
Use the ‘jobs’ pages, if present: Some forums have a dedicated ‘Jobs’ page where you can list your job.
Talk about the job in a post: If allowed, you can make a post on relevant threads including details about the developer role you’re looking to fill and invite applications.

Pros:

Provides a highly-targeted audience
Offers glimpses of the developers’ past projects
A great way to directly contact potential hires

Cons:

There is no guarantee that you’ll get applications
Again, you have to set up an elaborate screening process to find the best freelance software developers
Some forums are highly moderated and will not allow you to post on their threads if they don’t find it relevant

What will it cost?

Generally, as a post, it shouldn’t cost you anything. But forums like Stack Overflow offer paid plans to hire through ‘Stack Overflow Jobs’, their job listing site.

Examples of online tech forums

5. Dev shops/ Staffing agencies

While dev shops provide end-to-end solutions for your development needs (i.e. you can outsource your needs entirely), there are also firms that allow you to hire developers separately. You get to keep complete control of your entire development process along with access to additional manpower to help you in your build.

The process to hire developers at dev shops

Search for the top solution providers: You can find reviews of the best software outsourcing firms on Clutch.co and other similar sites.
Get in contact: Fill a form on their websites OR reach out to their managers/ customer support to explain your software development requirements. You can then work with them to understand the best solution for your needs.
Hire available developers: If you’ve got the blueprint for your build laid out, you can make a request to hire their developers on a contractual basis.

Pros:

Certain high-quality dev shops do exist that can deliver great quality of talent
Access to insights of the developers’ technical proficiency and ability to work
You can hire a team of developers if needed

Cons:

High commission rates because they have to keep the developers on their payroll irrespective of project availability
Since there would be two entities requiring the developers’ time, it might be tricky to ensure seamless work
There could be cases of the developers working on multiple projects at the same time

What will it cost?

Commissions are not standardised, so it’s very hard to say. But it could range from $10-$200. Clearly, it all depends on the quality of the agency and the commissions they charge.

6. Job Boards

There are also specialist job boards where you can post a job looking for freelance developers. Tech-related job boards are a great way to reach a more targeted audience, since these sites are regularly visited by freelance developers looking for new opportunities.

However, there is absolutely no pre-screening, and you have to be sure of your screening and evaluation process before inviting applications from developers.

The process to hire software developers through Job Boards

Sign up: Firstly, you’ll be required to sign up and create your and your company’s profile on the platform.
Post your job: The required details are usually asked by the platform in a standard format. You’ll have to add relevant details like the job description, skills required, location, pay offered, etc.
Choose your plan: These platforms typically charge for each job post made. You can choose the appropriate plan for your requirements.
Evaluate applications: You can direct freelance developers to apply directly to your email or use a third-party HR solution to organise applications, but you’ll have to conduct your own evaluation process.

Pros:

A more targeted audience than regular job boards such as Indeed

Cons:

No screening offered and hence, there’s no guarantee of the quality of applications you’ll receive from developers
Executing your own evaluation process requires a dedicated effort from you, that could take anywhere from a few weeks to several months
Upfront fee rather than being based on conversion

What will it cost?

Such Job boards charge a fee prior to posting a job
Around $300 to post a job

Examples of freelance job boards

7. Google Search

Since some of the top freelance developers also have their own portfolio websites and work towards ranking well on Google searches, a simple search on Google can lead you to quality talent. However, often, you’ll have to go past the first few pages in your search results to start getting portfolio websites of individual freelance developers.

You can also try searching for online content in the form of blogs relevant to your software requirements. Such blogs can lead you to the developer who authored it – as some developers write long-form blogs to showcase their expertise and broaden their reach.

The process to find and hire software developers via Google search

Use a variety of search keywords: Experiment with different phrases relevant to your software requirements, like ‘find freelance iOS developer’, ‘hire ReactJS developer’, etc.
Invest time: Be sure to go further than the first few result pages, since it’s likely that you won’t find portfolio sites of freelance developers on the very first page itself.

Pros:

Doesn’t cost money
Easily accessible

Cons:

Quality of the developer still has to be ascertained by you through a screening process
No guarantee of conversions

What will it cost?

Nothing

8. LinkedIn

You can use almost any social network to put up your job posting and reach a wide audience, but the best is clearly LinkedIn. LinkedIn offers a great platform to reach out to your professional network, which is the best way to start the process.

You could also put up a job posting for your company’s developer role on the LinkedIn ‘Jobs’ page. The extra features that LinkedIn Premium offers are helpful and make the process of hiring developers easier and much faster.

The process to hire software developers on LinkedIn

List your job: Use LinkedIn’s ‘Jobs’ page to list your job. You’ll be asked to answer a few questions to help categorize the type of applicants.
Provide a JD: Surely include a detailed job description to encourage only the suitable candidates to apply.
Put up a corresponding post: You can also put up a post asking for applications from your followers and their connections. You can add a link to your ‘Jobs listing’ to the post.
Asking for referrals: You can put up similar posts asking for referrals from your connections. If you get decent engagement on your post (i.e. likes/comments), you can reach a very wide audience, also comprising of your connections’ followers.

Pros:

LinkedIn has useful features to aid you in your search Can reach a very wide audience due to the site’s popularity among job-seekers
Provides a good snapshot of the software developer’s credentials for initial screening

Cons:

No guarantee of the quality of the applicants
Many LinkedIn profiles are too vague to draw conclusions about their technical ability
You will receive a lot of non-relevant applications
You’ll have to invest significant time & effort to screen applications and find the right freelance software developer

What will it cost?

Nothing, if you want to use the free version
LinkedIn Recruiter starts from $100/month

Looking for the best online websites to hire freelance software developers from? Here is a selection of the Top 7 Freelance Tech Talent Websites.

Art of managing freelance projects effectively

Varun — Sat, 03 Oct 2020 10:40:21 +0000

Managing freelance projects can be cumbersome. In fact, in many cases, freelance engagements fail due to insufficient structures and practices of managing work, not because of the quality of freelancers. Hence, to maximise project success, you also need to have other supporting frameworks.

Let's outline some concepts that, when incorporated, help in overcoming challenges and ensuring the smooth execution of freelance engagements.

Challenges in managing freelance projects

Freelance projects have characteristic problems because of two main reasons:

Shorter affiliation between parties vs. employer-employee relationships
They typically happen in a remote setting (i.e. everyone isn’t present in one physical space)

These can lead to a few challenges:

1. Communication

Lack of proper communication is one of the main reasons for failure not just in freelance projects, but most collaborations involving two or more parties. Due to limited F2F interactions in freelance projects, the effect of bad communication is amplified.

Hence, it is paramount to be crystal clear in any form of communication that takes place throughout the engagement.

How to implement better communication

Clear expectations: At the very outset, define expectations with absolute clarity. Well-defined project requirements, explicit agreement on deadlines, the number of touch-points, and periodic catch-ups are some of the areas that you need to immediately look into.
Structuring based on the type of communication: During the course of a project, the channels used for different discussions have to align with their needs. For example, you can use Slack for day-to-day chats, and video calls for discussing ideas. Here is an interesting framework that you can use to decide the right channel for interaction: communication framework.
Regular check-ins: Having regular check-ins with freelance developers is critical and helps in any course correction, removal of bottlenecks, or even getting a concise status update.
Choose the right tools: Choose tools that complement your working style and suit your requirements. Ensure that they easily integrate into one another and everyone is comfortable using them. Remote Tools has a well-organised list of software products for each use case, like Project Management, Video Communication, Chat Communication, and Time Tracking.
Tackle timezones with asynchronous communication: When working with freelancers located in different timezones, overlap in work timings is rather limited. For such situations, employing asynchronous communication is the best solution – it is a practice to basically exchange messages with one another without the expectation of an immediate response. The conversation takes place intermittently.

However, even in such a setup, to eliminate bottlenecks and pile up of work, live meetings should be held regularly. To learn more about asynchronous communication and managing remote teams, this guide is a great resource.

2. Use time-based compensation

Two types of payment models are prevalent in freelance engagements: project-based and time-based. The former is when you pay a predetermined fixed amount to the freelancer, and the onus is on them to deliver the completed product. In contrast, time-based compensation is contingent upon the number of hours that the freelancer has worked for on your project. You pay them for the billable hours. This can be understood in greater detail in my earlier article.

In most software projects, the requirements evolve as you build a product. Accordingly, the compensation model needs to recognise and support this need for flexibility.

Time-based compensation models are the way to go

A time-based model aligns to project success in a better fashion than a fixed-price model.
This is because, in a fixed-price model, the success of the project hinges on the accuracy of the estimates (time and cost) before any work has begun, and highly-accurate estimates are very hard to make.
With the estimates made, it also leaves no scope for making improvements or implementing changes, once the project has begun.
Since time-based models provide more flexibility, it is no surprise that such payment models fare much better in software development than their fixed-price counterparts.
However, in time-based compensation models, accurate time-tracking becomes a hygiene factor.

As in any working relationship, even in freelance engagements, there needs to be an element of trust between parties. However, if required, you can use time-tracking tools to facilitate a smooth workflow and prevent any unnecessary conversations around productivity. So, let’s discuss the implementation of such a process.

How to implement time-tracking practices

There are several time-tracking websites and apps, to suit almost every need. Some of the most popular apps are TimeDoctor, Harvest, and Toggl.
As time-tracking gives you more of a picture on the quantity rather than the quality of work done, some of these apps also have built-in features like screenshots and activity logs to let employers know the exact areas freelancers spent their time on.
Experiment with different solutions and use the one that matches your use-case. You could also use a simple cloud doc like Google Sheets along with shared access to both the client and the freelancer to track the time taken for a pre-determined set of tasks.

3. Inclusion in the team

As mentioned above, time-based payment models are a good way to track the progress of the project and the effort that is being put in. However, one of its immediate concerns is tracking productivity.

Tracking productivity isn’t just relevant when managing freelance projects; this challenge is prevalent even while managing regular employees. Therefore, a simple solution is to mimic the same structure you use for in-house talent.

Ways to get freelancers more involved in your team

Let’s detail the workflow that can be used for freelancers based on the existing process used for employees:

Minimise onboarding and downtime: To minimise downtime and start work as soon as possible, you have to ensure the freelancer feels at home and is able to settle in quickly with the team. Consider including them in meetings and more informal meet-ups as well as regularly engaging with them on Slack channels.
Weekly sprints: For freelance developers, you can consider having weekly/fortnightly sprints with clear goals for each sprint. Conducting daily/ bi-weekly/ weekly standups are also a good way to assess the freelancer’s progress and provide a touch-point to quickly convey feedback and highlight any concerns.
Use the right tools: While this point has been discussed earlier, it is again pertinent to stress upon using the right tools that enable the freelancer to feel more comfortable and included. Often, the high friction in obtaining even trivial information might bring about frustration for individuals. If the individual is working remotely, numerous collaboration tools allow for easy organization. In fact, there are tools that even help everyone to appreciate and recognise one another.
Appoint a tech point of contact: You have to ensure that the point of contact (POC) for the freelancer within your company is someone who understands tech. Having a tech PoC translates to having a better grip on how the project is progressing and an enhanced ability to proactively identify and solve any potential problems.

4. Payments

An often neglected detail is having a defined channel for making timely and safe payments. Deciding on the frequency, deadlines, and mode of payment before the project starts is very important to avoid any unnecessary kinks later during the course of the engagement.

While many freelancers have their own preferences of payment platforms, a lot of them would be open to other modes when it comes to accepting payments. It needs to be secure and fast, along with having a smooth experience.

Choosing a reliable and easy mode of payment

Convenience is one of the most important factors to consider while choosing a mode of payment. Many online freelancer platforms allow the option of attaching a bank account or online payments account. This facilitates a fast and easy way to process payments.
If you’re working with international freelancers, it is best to use universal platforms like PayPal or TransferWise, rather than the regional payments services. You can also use direct banking services and credit the amount via wire transfer between bank accounts.

Conclusion

Lastly, it is important to harbour a good relationship with the freelancers you employ. While they do offer more flexibility, they should not be taken for granted as a temporary solution.

Most freelancers require some onboarding time to understand your business and your goals, as well as to get a better handle on the working culture of your company. It is up to the leaders to get freelancers integrated into the team seamlessly and ensure they have everything in place to put their best foot forward.

However, the process of managing freelance projects becomes a lot less painstaking if you hire the right freelancer. A quality freelancer will have the required skillsets to make most of these challenges easier to manage.

Top 7 websites to hire freelance developers

Varun — Sun, 27 Sep 2020 14:03:32 +0000

Digitization and the advent of the freelance economy have been changing the way businesses work. This 2018 Morgan Stanley report points out that the advent of freelancing platforms and the ability to work on the cloud have opened up new channels for companies to find better talent. One such channel is online freelance marketplaces.

Types of Websites for Hiring Freelance Developers

Freelance developer websites can be segmented into three general categories in terms of hiring practices, talent quality, and pricing. They are:

Bidding websites
Order-based websites
Vetted talent websites

Bidding Websites

Bidding websites are similar to traditional job boards. These platforms require you to post a job requirement along with your budget and subsequently invite bids from freelance developers. Bidding websites give you volume and affordability but can be sometimes found lacking in quality.

Generally, top developers don't prefer bidding websites as it requires a huge time investment on their part to find projects, due to the highly competitive space.

Such platforms do not have vetting processes in place and rely heavily on customer reviews & ratings.

Freelance sites such as Upwork and Guru are based on this model.

Order-based Websites

Similar to bidding websites, but aimed at smaller projects, order-based freelance websites are online marketplaces that allow freelance professionals (both creative and technical) to earn money selling their services as ‘products’.

The focus is on showcasing very specific skill-sets, and advertising one-off job orders rather than bigger projects. Consequently, the entry barrier for freelance developers to register and land jobs on these platforms is lower.

Fiverr falls into this category of freelance websites.

Vetted Talent Websites

Top freelance developers prefer vetted talent platforms. This allows them to save time otherwise spent on searching for relevant projects. Further, such platforms have a stringent screening process and hence guarantee quality in terms of both freelancers and projects.

From the clients’ perspective, this model allows them to work with highly curated talent, saving time & energy of having to perform extensive screening themselves.

Vetted talent platforms ensure a freelancer is matched with projects that best suit their skillset and needs.

Websites such as Flexiple, Toptal, and Arc.dev fall under this head.

Top 7 Websites to Hire Freelance Developers

Here are the Top 7 websites to hire freelance developers:

1. Flexiple

Flexiple is a premium, tech-only (developers & designers) online platform that sources the best freelance talent who have previously worked at top tech companies such as Amazon, Microsoft, Adobe, etc.

Freelancers are manually vetted to ensure their proficiency in multiple criteria like technical skills, quality of projects, and overall reliability. This detailed screening process ensures that companies get to work with the very best.

Further, Flexiple provides a smooth hiring experience by offering personalised recommendations and flexible time-based payment models. Processes are kept aligned to your project success by ensuring responsive support throughout the length of the engagement.

Pricing:

Flexiple provides freelance developers at affordable rates of $30 to $80 per hour. There are no recruiting fees that apply and developers can get started on projects within a week.

2. Toptal

Toptal is an established player in the premium freelance developers’ market. It has expanded its presence from engineering to also include design, financial consulting, project management, and product management.

Toptal’s USP is its rigorous screening process and large community. Its multi-stage vetting process consists of code reviews, portfolio review, real-time testing, and an English language skill test.

Pricing:

Start-ups can find Toptal pricey due to its high hourly rates ($80-$200) driven by high commission rates.

Read our review on Toptal here.

3. Arc.dev

Arc.dev initially started as CodementorX, a mentoring platform for developers. Typically, developers could seek help from the network for problem-solving, skill improvement, etc. Today, it continues to carry the tag of a “leading on-demand mentorship platform for developers” but has also developed a solution to help companies hire freelance developers.

Akin to other premium websites, Arc.dev has a stringent vetting process that utilises assessment tools to ensure quality. Arc.dev focuses on enabling companies to hire full-time remote-working developers for the long-term. Arc also takes care of compliance, payroll, and benefits.

Pricing:

Hourly rates for freelance developers start from $60 and can go to $200+, which makes the platform unsuitable for start-ups or for small projects.

4. Hubstaff Talent

Hubstaff Talent is relatively new and offers a completely free service for companies looking to independently hire freelance developers as well as agencies. With more emphasis on the use of software to match freelancers with projects, there is no manual vetting process to ascertain their quality.

It is a transparent marketplace that allows clients to browse through freelance developer profiles and to get in touch with them directly. Hubstaff Talent functions more like a database of freelancers who sign up on the platform. It has no additional features to help you in hiring the best talent for your needs.

Pricing:

It’s free for both business owners (clients) and freelancers.

5. Upwork

The result of a merger between Elance and Odesk, Upwork is one of the largest and most popular freelance marketplaces with a bidding system.

It is not a developer-only platform and caters to more than 50 categories of jobs ranging from data entry to graphic design. It doesn’t have a vetting process, hence, the onus is on you to evaluate talent.

Pricing:

Upwork focuses on volume and affordability, with freelance developers bidding to get clients at low-cost rates. Hence, rates can range anywhere from $8/hr to over $100/hr.

Read our review on Upwork here.

6. Guru

Guru was set up back in 1998 as eMoonlighter, for highly qualified workers seeking short-term, one-off contracts. Over the years, it has slowly diversified from being a developer-only platform and has grown into other streams like accounting, admin, designing, and others.

Similar to Upwork, Guru has now become a pure freelance marketplace. It has a large pool of workers from across the globe and is focused on volume and affordability.

Also, there is no strict vetting or screening process in place. Rather, ratings are provided to help employers select developers. This means you’d have to put in significant work in interviewing and qualifying freelance developers, as ratings are not a reliable benchmark of ensuring quality.

Pricing:

Guru gives you more flexibility than Upwork in terms of quality and pricing, allowing you to pick from highly qualified to low-cost developers.

7. Fiverr

Fiverr is the platform that popularized the order-based concept of engaging freelancers. Services are usually offered for one-off, small, specific tasks, and caters to more than 250 categories – from voice-overs and logo design to website & app development.

Freelancers are termed ‘Sellers’ and offer their services for everything in the price range of $5 to $995. They can choose to sell their services at three different price points based on the complexity of the task.

To help clients in choosing the right freelancer, Fiverr provides a ‘Seller Level’, which is a status earned by the freelancer based on ratings, performance, quality of past work, etc.

How to Choose the Right Platform for your Business?

Each website mentioned above has its own use-case. The key is to understand these nuances and choose the one that aligns with your requirements. The particulars include how big or small your project is, what technology it calls for, what your budget is, etc.

Below are the three broad categories of projects to guide you through your decision-making process. So, if you want to hire freelance developers for:

1. Short and cost-constrained project

When you have a small project – that almost qualifies as a task rather than a project – bidding websites and order-based websites such as Upwork, Guru, and Fiverr are the ones to consider.
The volume of freelance developers on these platforms will allow you to find candidates in your budget range, who are willing to take up smaller projects. In any case, make sure to spend sufficient time in evaluating the developers prior to starting the projects.

2. Longer and affordable projects

If you have a long-term project but want to keep costs low, then pure-marketplace freelance websites like Upwork and Guru are the right fit. You get volume in applications as well as a wide pool of freelance talent ranging from less experienced to highly experienced developers.
However, the quality will still be an issue, and you would need to put in the hard work of vetting developers based on various factors. This is because relying only on their ratings will not give you the complete picture. To evaluate freelance developers properly, you need to dig deeper into their portfolios and past work experience.
You could also consider affordable freelance developer websites such as Flexiple that can provide vetted freelance developers from $30-80/ hour. Such platforms do the hard work for you in evaluating developers and do a good job of recommending the best ones for your needs. Additionally, their 1-week trial period allows you to start the engagement without any risk.

3. Quality is everything

Eventually, quality is what sets apart the high-performers from the rest. Big or small, no matter the size of the task, if your long-term focus is consistent value-based growth and excellence, then look no further than premium talent platforms.
For instance, on Flexiple, you will only find the top 1% freelance developers who go through an exhaustive hiring process, while Toptal gives you elite freelancers on a wider range of verticals. As we know, complex products require the best talent, and these premium networks are ideal to build them.

Not sure how to choose the right freelance developer before making the decision to hire? Here’s a guide on how to evaluate freelance developers.

Freelance Market Statistics & Trends – 2020

Varun — Thu, 24 Sep 2020 14:14:37 +0000

In this blog post, we try to decipher the present & future scenario of the global freelancing ecosystem by breaking down key freelance statistics and trends.

The Freelance Revolution in Numbers: Freelance Statistics

To appreciate the scale at which freelancing is currently present in the world, let’s delve into some numbers that highlight the current trends in the world of freelancing.

1. Currently at 58 million and counting, freelancing is poised to become the U.S. majority workforce by 2027

Currently contributing over $1.4 trillion to the U.S. economy, the steady increase in the number of skilled individuals taking up freelancing every year has made freelancers the favorite to become the U.S. majority workforce within the next few years.

Source: Upwork Press Release

2. Google’s workforce has more freelancers than permanent employees

As of March 2019, Google’s workforce comprised of 120,000 contractors/freelancers, more than the number of permanent employees on its payroll, which was around 102,000.

Source: Bloomberg

3. Countries with lower domestic work opportunities are seeing a surge in freelance professionals

Due to the rise in adoption of remote teams, freelancing is providing a viable career path for skilled professionals in regions where domestic opportunities are low. Pakistan, Ukraine, Philippines, India, & Bangladesh rank in the Top 10 countries with the fastest-growing earnings for freelancers.

Source: CNBC

4. Freelancers are proving to be game-changers for SMBs

Providing a cost-effective and flexible solution, freelancers are helping SMBs achieve their growth plans. Reports indicate that SMBs are happy with freelancers and are looking to increase their use of freelancers in the future.

Here are three key stats to corroborate this fact:

70% of SMBs in the U.S. have worked with freelancers at least once
81% of these companies plan to hire freelancers again
83% agree that freelancers have greatly helped their business

Source: LinkedIn

5. Almost half of all businesses employ freelancers

48% of businesses hired freelancers in 2018, up from 43% in 2017. This is expected to increase steadily as the ease of hiring freelancers increases and company policies become more aligned to processes like remote working.

Source: Inavero Report

6. Freelancing opportunities are rising with online freelancing platforms being the catalysts

71% of freelancers reported an increase in the amount of work they were able to attract online over the last several years – with online platforms providing a great medium for connecting freelancers to companies & vice-versa.

Source: Business2community

7. Work done by freelancers to more than double over the next 10 years

Hiring managers expect a 168% increase in the amount of work done by flexible talent (freelancers, temporary and agency workers) in the next 10 years.

Source: Inavero Report

8. 12 out of the top 20 in-demand skills for freelancers are related to development

The top skills desired by companies looking to hire freelancers consist primarily of various technologies and IT-related skills. They include Blockchain, Amazon DynamoDB, React Native, Angular, Computer Vision, Go among many others.

Source: Business Insider

Questions to Ask Freelance Developers

Varun — Fri, 18 Sep 2020 17:47:57 +0000

Companies are increasingly turning to freelance developers for the benefits that they provide. This includes the ability to hire for skills that are highly aligned to their job requirements and also get them onboard quickly. In parallel, even the number of developers taking up freelancing is growing each year.

Therefore, a robust process needs to be designed to comprehensively evaluate and choose the right developer for your requirements. Let’s see why this is so critical.

Need for Holistic Evaluation of Developers

Firstly, it is paramount to have a streamlined evaluation process as it helps in:

Minimising the amount of time spent on evaluating developers
Finding the best developers for the role
Decreasing drop-offs during the process

Also, we need to recognise the reason behind hiring freelance developers in particular, as opposed to in-house developers. Ideally, you are looking for someone who is an expert in their field. They should be able to ramp up quickly, effectively understand what your team is trying to achieve, and then slot in seamlessly.

Hence, the freelance developer should be able to communicate well, be proactive enough to foresee problems, and take independent decisions while working remotely.

So, you need to evaluate the developer’s ability to excel in all of these parameters, rather than just their technical ability. This makes the case for a ‘holistic’ view in the evaluation of freelance developers.

Skills to Look for in a Freelance Developer

There are some common qualities that all great freelance developers possess. Let’s look at those qualities in a bit more detail:

1. Technical Proficiency

New full-time employees typically have an induction period. During this period, they are trained and given exposure to the organization. In contrast, freelance developers have limited onboarding time, and need to ramp-up quickly. Moreover, there tends to be more scrutiny on their productivity from the very beginning as compared to full-time employees.

Hence, freelance developers have to be technically strong in their domain to hit the ground running. Here it is key to identify the particular skill sets required for your project. It then makes sense to give precedence to testing those skills rather than generic coding aptitude and learning ability.

2. Communication Skills

Since freelance developers are typically located remotely and don’t work out of your office, strong communication skills are super-critical.

Poor communication can lead to misunderstandings and could also potentially hinder the formation of trust. This happens, especially, at the beginning of an engagement, where both parties are still adapting to each others’ working styles.

A good freelance developer, therefore, should err on the side of over-communicating at all times – both, written and verbal. This involves being responsive over the agreed communication channels, expressing articulately, and with clarity.

Some of the red flags to look out for are:

poorly written emails
a need to follow-up multiple times
lack of clarity in their messaging
failure to acknowledge deadlines during the hiring process

3. Ability to Work Independently

As discussed, freelancing is largely a remote exercise, with opportunities for F2F interactions being sparse. Hence, freelance developers must have the ability to independently make decisions that are aligned to the success of the project.

Further, remote work involves a lot of diversions and challenges. Being able to overcome these obstacles and to consistently deliver quality is critical. This requires staying focused & proactive, managing time effectively, maintaining good documentation, and the ability to work comfortably with tools that aid remote working.

It might be difficult to gauge a freelance developer’s proficiency in the above-mentioned skills. However, a good indicator can be their prior record of working under similar conditions for other remote teams.

4. Punctuality & Reliability

It is imperative that the freelance developer is punctual. This holds not only for delivering the required code on time but also for team meetings, stand-ups, etc. If they aren’t punctual, they would be hampering the productivity of the entire team. When opportunities for interactions are already limited, the effects of this are even more pronounced.

In addition, they must be reliable and deliver on their promises. Again, since it is hard to objectively gauge a developer’s punctuality or reliability, insights from their past client references would help a lot.

You can also assess this, in part, based on the interactions with the freelancer during the evaluation process. Look for responsiveness to replies, reliability in the delivery of even non-work related items, etc. Before starting the engagement, it is also advised to have a short-term trial project (even paid). This would be beneficial to both parties, to assess fit.

How do we Evaluate Developers at Flexiple?

At Flexiple, we have evaluated 16,000+ freelance developers across the world over the last three years. As one can imagine, this wouldn’t have been possible without a streamlined process. We had to iterate multiple times to arrive at our 6-step screening process. We ensure that we have a holistic view of every developer and strive to optimise for the time & effort of all parties involved.

To help others who would like to implement a similar evaluation process, we have detailed the same below.

1. Depth in past work

We ask each developer to fill a simple profile form. This form includes a generic description of oneself, the technologies they are proficient in, and their CV. We then review developers based on the years & quality of experience and complexity of products built. The answers given by the developers also help us gauge their written communication skills.

Only the developers who display depth in experience and have worked on end-to-end projects are selected for the next step, which is an introductory call. This helps us to focus and deep dive into the most promising candidates.

2. Good communication and motivation

Over a call, we use the notes made in the previous round to test the depth of the developer’s experience. We ask probing questions about the products they’ve built. We are hence able to test their ability to answer questions comprehensively and in an articulate manner. This helps us understand the confidence they have in their abilities and also the quality of verbal communication.

On the non-technical side, we also achieve a deeper understanding of the developer’s motivation to take up freelance, past remote working experience, and the challenges that they’ve solved. These inputs help us assess if they are a good fit for our network.

3. Strong technical abilities

Over one or more F2F interviews, we comprehensively assess the developer’s involvement and their performance in building complex software products. This sets the platform to delve deeper into technology-specific discussions where the developer’s knowledge in specific technologies can be adjudged.

This step requires the involvement of senior tech experts. The insights obtained in this step allow us (and similarly could help you) to match the freelancer with the right projects based on their skill sets.

4. Keen problem solving and coding

A good developer needs to have a mix of good technical experience and also problem-solving ability. To test their technical proficiency, we use skill-specific problems. To adjudge their problem-solving ability, we use a live coding test involving algorithmic problems.

These tests allow us to mimic a real-life, high-pressure situation. Thereby, we can get a proxy of how a freelancer might react and perform in similar circumstances.

5. Splendid reviews in a background check

As discussed earlier, client references are a great way to get valuable insights into how a developer performs in real-life situations. We obtain inputs on a variety of qualitative factors such as reliability, punctuality, communication, and responsiveness. This is very helpful as such inputs are otherwise difficult to assess only though a 1-on-1 screening.

6. Consistent exemplary performance

While the evaluation to this point is extremely comprehensive, consistent performance during each engagement needs to be delivered. Our developers are expected to maintain Flexiple standards across all engagements with our customers. Even you should keep regular appraisals to ensure that performance remains exemplary.

This continuous evaluation is carried out by considering a host of factors. For example, the quality of code delivered, documentation practices followed, the ability to ramp up, and softer aspects of responsiveness, reliability, etc.

Important Questions to Ask Freelance Developers

To help you in evaluating freelance developers, we’ve listed some important questions to ask them. However, keep in mind that this list is designed for people with no technical background. If you do have tech experience, such guides might be more helpful.

The questions are categorised into the following sections:
A. Technical skills
B. Soft skills
C. Aptitude skills

A. Technical Skills: 5 Questions to ask Freelance Developers

These questions aim to evaluate a developer’s technical know-how and hands-on experience:

How many “production-level” applications have you made in the said technology? Can you please share links to the same?
What was your contribution to project? (Refer to a particular project)
Please describe one of the most challenging projects that you’ve worked on. Can you please explain your contribution to them?
What challenges did you face in it, and how did you overcome them?
Can you share the highlights of your overall freelancing experience? What type of clients have you worked with?

Look for these outcomes:

Experience in said technology is solid
Individual & independent contribution is significant
Can articulately explain work

B. Soft Skills: 4 Questions to ask Freelance Developers

You can ask these questions to gauge a developer’s soft skills:

What is your motivation to take up freelancing? OR Why have you chosen a career as a freelancer? What’s the motivation?
What are the challenges that you face while working remotely? How will you resolve them?
What does your remote work set up look like and how do you maintain productivity?
Have you worked in before? Could you please share your experiences?

Look for these outcomes:

Motivation to freelance shouldn’t reveal a lack of ownership
Has the right skills to work remotely
Good alignment with your team’s culture

C. Aptitude OR DS/Algo Questions

Here’s an example of a Data Structures/ Algorithm question that you can ask to assess the developer’s aptitude and efficiency in problem-solving:

(Q) Given a string containing just the characters ‘(‘, ‘)’, ‘{‘, ‘}’, ‘[‘ and ‘]’, determine if the input string is valid. An input string is valid if: Open brackets must be closed by the same type of brackets. Open brackets must be closed in the correct order. Note that an empty string is also considered valid.

$result = hasMatchedParenthesis(")("); 
echo $result;
function hasMatchedParenthesis($string) {
        $len = strlen($string);
        $string_check = 1;
        $stack = [];
        for ($i = 0; $i < $len; $i++) {
            switch ($string[$i]) {
                case '(': array_push($stack, 0); 
                break;
                case ')':
                    if (array_pop($stack) !== 0)
                        return 0;
                break;
                case '[': array_push($stack, 1); 
                break;
                case ']':
                    if (array_pop($stack) !== 1)
                        return 0;
                break;
                case '{': array_push($stack, 1); break;
                case '}':
                    if (array_pop($stack) !== 1)
                        return 0;
                break;
                default:
                       $string_check = 0 ;
                break;
            }
        }
        return ($string_check ? empty($stack) : 0);
}

The above code will input 0(false).

Closing thoughts

The implications of making a bad hire are too pronounced – delays in product development cycles and lost opportunity costs. Often, it might be tempting to rush through the evaluation process to save effort and time. Especially, if you’re dealing with hundreds of applicants. However, it really pays off to do a thorough assessment of candidates.

If you don’t prefer the painstaking process of evaluating freelance developers yourself, skip the hassle and check out these top websites to hire freelance developers.

How much does it Cost to Hire Freelance Developers?

Varun — Fri, 11 Sep 2020 09:48:44 +0000

Here we take a look at the types of costing models in freelance development projects, and describe the factors that influence developer rates as well as the average rates charged by freelance developers.

There are a lot of benefits to hiring freelance developers, like reduced overhead costs, fast hiring, increased flexibility, as well as taking advantage of global talent. But are these benefits offset by higher hiring costs? Let's find out.

Firstly, freelance software development typically has two major types of payment models. Both vary significantly from each other and each one has its own benefits and drawbacks. Consequently, the opinion has been divided among the freelancing community on what model works the best.

Hence, it’s a case of understanding which one would work better for your particular use-case and be able to suit your exact needs. Let’s start by delving deeper into each of these.

Costing model 1: Project-based compensation

In project-based compensation (or) ‘Fixed Price’ compensation, the freelance developer rates are based on the outcome of the project. Here, you would need to pay a fixed rate to the developer that has been previously agreed upon. The payment is contingent upon the successful and satisfactory completion of the project.

This type of model works well for small cash-strapped startups where strict adherence to keeping a low budget is the number one priority.

However, the pricing in such a model depends heavily on the initial estimates based on assumptions. Throughout the course of the project, there might be some changes and improvements to be made, and the initial assumptions might not hold good later on. Hence, for long-term projects, which require flexibility and re-alignment during the course of the project, fixed price projects are seldom used.

Also, working on a fixed price model can put freelancers in unprecedented pressure when the estimates don’t match with reality during the build. Hence, most freelance developers don’t prefer to work on a fixed-price model.

Advantages:

Suited for short-term projects which require fast turnarounds
As the model suggests, you know what the developer will charge for project delivery upfront

Drawbacks:

Requires the initial estimates to be perfectly accurate for the engagement to run as expected. This is fairly difficult for long-term projects and software development in general
Usually results in misalignment of goals between the freelance developer and the client. ‘Project completion’ takes center stage, rather than the goal of building the best product possible
Can lead to a high failure rate caused by problems in estimates, tough deadlines, lack of flexibility in product specs, and misalignment of goals between the client and developers

As we've seen, in project-based compensation, achieving the required flexibility can be very hard due to its rigid nature.

For long-term projects that are highly subjective in nature and often open-ended in certain aspects, a time-based compensation model might be a better fit.

Costing model 2: Time-based compensation

In the time-based compensation model, you would pay the freelance developer, typically, based on the number of hours of work that they put in. So your development cost for the project would be the freelance developer rate times the estimated number of hours worked.

Of course, time-based can also be daily-/ weekly- (or) monthly-fee based in some cases. In such a model, you would be invoiced at regular intervals based on the selected time metric.

Development Cost for Project = (Freelance Developer Rate)*(Time Spent on Project)

The flexibility that a time-based model offers can be invaluable in software development projects, where there are always improvements and changes to be made.

Advantages:

A greater degree of flexibility
Gives the developer freedom to devote time & energy in creating a quality product, rather than purely focusing on meeting milestones and estimates
Provides an opportunity for better communication throughout the project life-cycle, making it possible for the developer to share updates and align on objectives with the client
Higher success rates due to increased flexibility and alignment of objectives between the developer and client

Drawbacks:

Needs a flexible budget
Regular documentation of tasks needs to be maintained throughout the engagement by the developer and verified by the client
The model, naturally, requires a reliable developer whose technical skills are excellent and is also generally trustworthy

It is important to keep in mind that time-based compensation, though better suited for long-term development projects, does require a reliable, trustworthy, and high-quality developer.

Vetted freelance networks such as Flexiple and Toptal are a good place to find such developers. Such platforms also offer risk-free trial periods, which allow you to try working with a developer before making a final decision.

Hourly Rates of Freelance Developers

Hourly-rates are the most popular form of time-based freelance developer rates. This can be attributed to a high level of detail achievable while maintaining documentation. The client can understand precisely what they’ll be getting and how much is being spent on what, paving the way for more accurate development estimates. It also allows the freelance developer to get adequately compensated for the exact amount of hours that they’ve put in.

For software development projects, the outcomes are objective in nature. Hence, hourly-rate based compensation provides the level of detail required to keep a log of each small/ big task completed, and how they add up to larger goals in the project.

Factors that Influence Freelance Developer Rates

These are the broad factors that have an impact on freelance developer rates:

1. Demand for the skill in the market

Freelance developer rates are heavily influenced by the demand for a particular technology. Developers who are skilled in popular and in-demand technologies command higher rates.

A good example to cite here would be the exponential rise of ReactJS in the years 2015-16. Companies began rapidly adopting ReactJS, with burgeoning demand leading to the disproportionate increase in hourly rates for freelance developers skilled in ReactJS.

Of course, alternatively, if a developer possesses a very niche skill which not many do, it allows them to quote a premium rate. However, this is a double-edged sword, as finding a constant flow of projects in niche technologies can be tough.

2. Expertise in the technology and a well-rounded skillset

As one can expect, customers prefer to work with the best developers out there. Therefore, they are naturally inclined to pay a higher rate for freelance developers who are able to demonstrate their expertise in skills and rank among the top candidates.

Prior work on a variety of production-level projects as well as open-source projects – which are usually visible on a developer’s GitHub profile – are indicative of their expertise, and make a case for higher rates.

In addition to technical proficiency, having well-rounded skills in softer areas like communication, remote working ability, and good client management, makes a very attractive proposition.

3. Past Work Experience

While past work experience is not a perfect indicator, it does influence a freelance developer’s rates. Typically, clients view higher work experience as a proxy for a developer having a better knowledge of the technologies they work on, better code quality, ability to have a nuanced vision of a product, and so on.

Additionally, customers appreciate and recognize freelance developers who have delivered quality work under other similar conditions. Naturally, these factors lead to increased hourly rates for an experienced developer.

4. Brands

Brand names on a freelance developer’s resume often are indicative of the quality of their experience.

This can be a reputed college where they studied (or) a popular tech company that they previously worked at. Companies treat these brand names as a proxy for the developer’s quality and hence will be ready to pay a premium. Although, this outlook is changing rapidly, and companies are placing decreased relevance to the brand names on a developer's resume.

5. Geography

The average freelance developer rates vary across geographies due to differing living costs across regions. An example of this would be the hourly rates of a developer in Ukraine being considerably lower than those of a similarly-skilled developer present in the U.S. (where the living costs are much higher).

On a parting note, below are the average hourly rates of freelance developers worldwide. We’ve aggregated the data over the past 4 years, and categorised it by geography: