Building a strong in-house development team is often a great move for IT services businesses as it gives you greater control over the services you provide. This often translates to better outcomes for your clients and, ultimately, increased profitability for your business.
With software development being one of the most lucrative areas of business today, knowing how to build a talented team and understanding the many benefits of doing so can help you capitalize on this fact. Here is some advice on how to build a highly capable in-house development team and explore some of the associated benefits.
What is an in-house development team?
An in-house development team is a team of experts your organization employs that you can assign development tasks as needed. Also known as insourcing, in-house development means relying solely on your business’s internal talent to execute software development projects.
While this offers many benefits, it also comes with increased responsibility as it means the successful planning and execution of projects depends on you. Without proper training and effective management, having a team of in-house developers can become a burden, which is why it’s crucial to know how to build a strong team.
How to build an effective in-house development team
Understanding how to build an effective in-house development team can help you reap the associated benefits and eliminate potential risks. As long as you have properly evaluated your business’s needs and determined that insourcing is the best way to go, you can drive significant value. Here are three key steps to guide you when building your own development team:
- Generate applications
There are many ways to find qualified candidates. A good way to initiate your recruitment campaign is to create an attractive job posting and display it on relevant job search websites such as Indeed and LinkedIn. This can bring desirable candidates to you in an easy and cost-effective way as they can simply click on the ads and apply for a position directly. If your business is active on social media, consider posting the details of your openings there, in addition to the careers section of your website, if you have one.
Be sure to make the ad direct, easy to read, persuasive and actionable. This helps to ensure you get an adequate number of responses to provide you with a large sample of talent from which to choose. In addition to generating inbound inquiries, work on proactively seeking the best talent at the same time. You can do this using a recruiter, or you can make cold approaches yourself through professional networking websites. It’s a good idea to acknowledge each application and respond to them after the selection process to let them know the outcome. This shows courtesy and protects your brand image.
- Shortlist applicants
Once you’ve generated a suitable number of applications, it is time to review the resumes and shortlist the best candidates. If you have received a high volume of resumes, consider using automation software to scan for keywords and phrases.
If you’re looking for someone with strong tech skills, for example, those who’ve completed a degree in computer science and have a thorough understanding of software architecture patterns are much more likely to be picked out of the crowd by such algorithms. After that, you can invite your ideal candidates for interviews. It is advisable to offer a level of flexibility so that candidates can select a time that is convenient for them.
- Conduct interviews
The final stage of recruitment is interviewing your preferred applicants and narrowing the pool down even further. It’s typical to have multiple interviews for software development positions, and you can even hold telephone or video interviews for the first round.
It is also normal for HR to conduct one interview and IT experts to conduct another, as this ensures you select someone who aligns with your company’s values but also possesses the right skills. Candidates may have acquired their skills through software development courses or formal education, and you can question them about this during the interview.
Benefits of building an in-house software development team
Here are some of the benefits of building an in-house team:
You can match your requirements more closely
Creating an in-house development team means selecting professionals whose skills precisely match what you’re looking for, instead of relying on an outsourced team that someone else has assembled. Because in-house team members are joining your company for the long term and not just a one-off project, you’re likely to spend much more time vetting them and examining their skills.
When your requirements change, you can train your team to perform new tasks more easily than searching for a new outsourced team. It can also help you create a team that aligns more closely with your budget.
Increased control
Having your own team means being able to train them in a way that you consider most valuable to your organization. It also allows you to promote a business culture among your team members that aligns with your organizational goals, enabling them to deliver more value.
You also have full control to mobilize your team as soon as a project arises without having to worry about their schedules being full or other issues that would slow down outsourced projects. This guaranteed availability can enable you to acquire more work and improve customer experiences.
Direct communication
IT services businesses with in-house development teams can interact with their developers directly without having to go through a third party. This can lead to much greater efficiency when it comes to project management as you can communicate feedback and changing requirements quickly and easily.
It also allows you to quickly rectify mistakes if and when they arise, as you can immediately halt work until they are resolved. Miscommunication can be a problem when outsourcing, and you can eliminate this problem by having direct communication with your own team.
Current trends are showing in-house development gaining in popularity. Ultimately, the success of this approach will depend on the company itself, its working culture and the projects it works on.
