Dedicated developer from an agency or build an in-house team

Hiring is one of the most complex tasks for a business. Why? Because it is impossible to know if the resource you hire will be able to produce the kind of work you expect them to. No matter what kind of resource you are looking for, hiring is always a question mark. You pray to the Gods to have mercy on you with the hope that the new employee delivers according to your expectations.

Let’s say you have a big development project coming up. You don’t have an in-house web development team. Would you hire an in-house development team from scratch or hire dedicated developers from an agency? Tough question, right?

You can always hire dedicated resources on an hourly, weekly or monthly basis. The onus of completing the project would be totally on them and you wouldn’t have to worry about how its shaping up. 

We are going to discuss the pros and cons of both of these hiring models:

Pros of hiring dedicated developers from an agency:

Flexibility:

You can get a lot of flexibility in terms of the work arrangements. You can hire different tiers of skilled personnel based on your budget. A team based on your expectations and budget will be ready as soon as possible. The turnaround time for such projects is pretty fast because the agency from where you hire dedicated resources has a set team in place waiting to get working on your project. If you don’t like the services of a particular resource, you can get a replacement for this immediately too. 

Hire based on your immediate needs:

The best part about hiring dedicated resources for your needs is that you never have to get into a long-term commitment. You can hire an extremely senior developer without having to pay a $100,000+ salary. As soon as the project ends, you can stop working as well. Based on the contract you sign, you can get additional support from them. This way, there are no liabilities from your side when you hire a dedicated web developer. 

Imagine hiring an expensive developer only to discover that their work isn’t as good as you expected it to be. You cannot replace a full-time employee easily. It is a liability that you have to bear. The accompanying costs and time lost is something that you can easily avoid when hiring dedicated resources from an agency.  

Cons of hiring dedicated resources:

Less control:

There are companies that want everything done in-house because they want complete control of the activities. But there are downsides to it too as it is unnecessary in this age of project management apps and tools that can keep you apprised of the project. 

Steep learning curve:

If you already have an internal team in place, it is much easier for them to start working on a project since they understand your needs better than anyone else. Hiring a dedicated mobile app developer from an agency can involve a steep learning curve as you have to get them up to speed with your expectations. 

Pros of having an in-house team:

Fast response:

Your in-house development team is sitting in the same space as you. Therefore, approvals or quick team huddles are much easier to get done with. Sprints are easy to execute as well since the communication method is clear and easy for everyone to follow as everyone is nearby. If your business is spread across the length of continents, then this might not work. If that’s the case, then it is the same as hiring a dedicated web developer from an agency. 

Company culture:

You can build a company culture only with full-time employees, especially when they work together closely in the same office. Building an in-house team is essential if company culture is important to you. 

Find talent through referrals:

Referrals are one of the easiest methods to find good hires. The referrer knows the skill-level of the referee, so it is easy to assume they are a good fit, of course after a series of interviews and tests. But if you are in a niche industry, it might not be that easy to find talented individuals. Referrals might not be easy to come by too in that case. 

Cons of an in-house team:

Costs to keep them updated:

When you have an in-house team, it is your duty to keep them abreast of everything that is happening in the industry. This means you need to invest in courses which will be an extra cost for you. There are chances that your employee might leave too even after your investment with them on these training. It can lead to unnecessary spend that can go down the drain.

Hiring duration:

Unless you want technological solutions always, having an in-house team can be costly for you if they are idle when there is no project. Also, you cannot hire permanent staff for specific projects alone. This is where hiring dedicated mobile app developers from an agency can solve your problem as you can hire project-wise, weekly, monthly or even for a quarter. 

Lack of niche skill:

Another problem to note with in-house developers is that it might not always be possible to find someone who is specialized in a particular niche. Entry-level developers can command a lot of price when compared with hiring a dedicated mobile app developer while the former’s skill set is comparatively lower than the latter. 

Lack of flexibility:

Let’s say you have 10 in-house developers and all of them are busy on different projects. At this point there comes another project which requires immediate attention, does it make sense to hire a few more in-house developers? No. Not at all. An in-house team doesn’t give you this kind of flexibility. 

Conclusion: Dedicated developers from an agency or an in-house team?

Having both dedicated resources and an in-house team has its own pros and cons. Thankfully, you can always have a combination of both. While it would make sense to hire dedicated developers from an agency unless you have a huge budget that you can splurge on, it makes sense to hire based on your exigencies. A balance will give you the best of both worlds.