To stand still is to go backwards – this sentence is one of the most important for any business, and even COVID-19 is not a mitigating circumstance. Developing your business means new projects, and for this – more hands are needed. But before you start the whole hiring process, read about outsourcing and the Extended Team Model, because it may be better for your business.
Did you know that in 2019 the global market size of outsourced services was worth around $92.5 billion? It shows how big and significant this work model is for companies and 37% of small businesses, who outsource at least one part of their business processes, know this.
But outsourcing is not just a good deal for small businesses – we can see this by looking at the USA’s consumer product market, where 68% of companies use outsourcing! So why do all of these companies decide to go with outsourcing? Read about the benefits of this solution below and find out more about the Extended Team Model, which is a kind of outsourcing but even better.
What is the Extended Team Model?
We talk about the Extended Team Model when a team is made from two groups – an in-house team and a team who don’t work in your company but for your company. In most cases, this team is from a different country or even different continent (it’s called offshoring). But what is essential is – these two teams are in close cooperation with each other. 
You should understand that an extended team is not a group of offsite workers who don’t know each other and just do some outsource tasks for your company. It’s much more than that!
Improve perfection
An extended team is not meant to replace your specialists, but to fill the gaps in your team. This gap can be in technology, skills, or experience, but this doesn’t mean that your team has any kind of deficit! Poetically, we can define the relationship between your in-house team and the extended team by a quote of Antoine de Saint-Exupery:
“Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.”
Where is the difference between an extended team and outsourced specialists?
An extended team becomes a part of the project – specialists share their views, ideas, and inspirations and put their heart to your business. While when you hire an outsource specialist for only x hours in one project, you can’t be sure communication will be limited to information about the task being done. As Paweł Sołyga – Tooploox Founder and CEO – wrote in the article “How To Choose A Dev Shop”:
“You don’t want to hire software developers that will do whatever you tell them to do. You want people who will understand your business, ask difficult questions, and spot the gaps in your way of thinking.”
One goal, one focus, one team
An extended team is entirely focused on your business. Working on your product is the regular work of specialists from the team, not a part-time job they do in their free time. And if you hire outsourced remote workers, you can’t be sure you are not one of many employers for this person. We don’t say this is bad, but if you prefer your project to be the center of someone’s work interest, you should choose an extended team.
Be in charge, not discharged
In terms of control, extended teams are a great solution. Why? Because you have control – you are the decision-maker, you set the milestones and create the direction, and you are the one in charge. Still, the extended team has its own manager, so you don’t need to spend your time on administering to people-related topics. What is also important is that this manager and this team both work in one company: they know each other, maybe they’re friends and have probably worked together on multiple projects – all of this makes working with the team so much easier.
Again, let’s compare an extended team to a group of specialists working remotely who don’t know each other. In this case, you can have experts from all over the world, and all of them have different habits and different communication methods at work. And this is your or your project manager’s job to take care of it.
Time is money
One of the most significant benefits of hiring an extended team is saving time – in terms of working on a project, sure, but also in your company’s operations.
Linkedin asked in 2019: “What is your average time to hire?” only 30% of companies answered that it takes less than 30 days and 70% needed more than a month! The duration mentioned in the report is only to hire, you have to also give a new employer time to onboard and just to be the “new and insecure guy, who needs to get to know people, the company, and their project.” And now imagine you just don’t need to do any of these: new specialists who can start work on your project immediately, and you don’t even have to take care of any of the steps of hiring them if you didn’t want to.
But of course, you can influence which specialists will be in your offsite team, and still every HR operation is on the side of the company in which the extended team works. At Tooploox, we have great HR specialists and feel very secure about hiring new people, even to work remotely. For years, we’ve worked with foreign clients and remote workers, but during the COVID-19 pandemic, when everybody works from home, we have made our process of hiring new remote team members even better, e.g. we created a guide for candidates on how to prepare for remote recruitment, organize online trainings, and ship all the required documents and hardware to a new employee.
Time Crisis
Did you know you can not only save time but also deceive it? You don’t need magic or a time travel machine. You just need an extended development team from different time zones. Imagine a situation when you report a bug at the end of your day, and it is resolved when you start work the next day. It’s a great benefit, and yet still some people are not sure about working with people from a different continent and, by this, another cultural circle. At Tooploox, we understand this fear and because of this we not only focus on our English skills but also organize training on intercultural communication for our employees with a native expert.
Summary
Above you saw many team augmentation benefits and some statistics, showing how many companies acknowledge the worth of outsourcing. In the end, we have a bit more on the benefits and statistical data – up to 59% of companies from Deloitte report saving money as the main reason for outsourcing.
Be one of the companies that enjoys all benefits of extended teams!
