The Blended Approach to Tech Teams

To compete in such a dynamic market, companies need to balance growth with saving time and money. In recent years, it’s become more apparent than ever that it’s possible - and more beneficial - to operate in blended teams. In this instance, you would combine your permanent office team with contractors, remote workers, or offshore employees. 

But how can you get the best from this approach? This blog shares a brief insight.

How to Build a Successful Blended Team

1. Prioritize Project-Specific Skills

When tackling any project, it’s helpful to consider whether you really have the right person for the job. Do your in-office team have the knowledge, skill, and capabilities to complete the work to the highest standard?

Contractors are individuals who are experts in a particular niche, though they often have a diverse portfolio of professional experience. Whether that be AI, data and analytics, or cloud tech, it’s always useful to have an extra pair of hands with project-specific skills. And the nature of contract work is that it only runs for a specific period. Because of this definitive end date, you’ll certainly save more money by hiring a short-term contractor rather than a long-term employee.

2. Utilize Offshore Workers

There is an incredible talent pool of keen English-speaking workers based offshore in places such as Central Europe, India, and the Philippines. Very often, you can build a competent software development team ready and willing to take on large projects with guaranteed money. The bonus for you as a company is these countries work for much lower pay. So, you’re getting the expertise of those in the know, saving valuable money and cutting time spent on unnecessary training.

It’s best to consider hiring offshore workers when:

Operational costs become too demanding

You’re turning down valuable business

Your current team needs extra support

You’re looking to scale up

3. Build a Remote Team

Remote teams offer a fantastic opportunity to utilize highly skilled workers in different towns and cities. Not only does this cut the stress of freeing up desk space, but it enables greater productivity as they can create their ideal workspace for optimum performance.

However, upon hiring a remote worker, you must consider their drive to succeed, organization, and communication skills. The downside to remote employees is that you can’t directly monitor them. Ensuring they’re reliable, business-focused, and a team player from the get-go is crucial.

Below, we’ve highlighted key factors that help to manage your remote workers, as well as the rest of your blended team.

How to Manage a Blended Team

Now you’ve secured and onboarded your blended team, it’s essential to manage effectively to maintain productivity and optimised performance.

1. Encourage Communication

Communication within a blended team needs to be top-class, especially with many workers based in different locations. Handy online platforms such as Slack or Trello can make employee communication much easier, keeping everyone in the loop.

2. Enforce Teamwork

Nobody wants to feel isolated. Although many of your workers will be based outside of your office, it’s important to reiterate that you are one team. Employees are ultimately working towards the same goals of becoming a thriving software development company. It should be clear that every team member has a critical role to play in your success.

3. Monitor Productivity

There’s no use hiring workers if their output is below standard. For those in the office, it’s easy to monitor their daily performance. However, it can be trickier with those working remotely or offshore. Productivity monitoring tools such as DeskTime or Asana offer peace of mind for IT leaders.

Conclusion

Blended teams are really shaping up to be the future of software development. Tapping into specific skills, utilizing lower-paid workers, and having fewer people in the office is one of the most savvy ways to save valuable time, money, and stress. It goes without saying that every technology leader should get on board.

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