Quick Summary - What is the difference between freelancers and remote dedicated development teams? If you're asking this question, you're seeing that conventional ways of doing business are changing.
Technology is key to the equation. It enables people to do just about anything from almost anywhere. That includes software development. Gig-economy sites like Upwork make it easy to find freelance developers. But what if you need something more? Well, then you may need a dedicated development team.
8 mins read
July 14, 2020
Freelancers and dedicated developers are similar in many respects. Both have much-needed software development expertise. But, they have important differences, too. Freelancers are self-employed individuals. They typically perform work for several companies or clients as an independent contractor. Often, they are sourced by companies on a per piece or project basis.
It’s also not unusual for companies to work with freelancers for tasks requiring less than 20 hours per week commitment, on a long-term basis. Freelancers often manage their responsibilities by allocating a certain number of hours per week to each client. This helps to keep their workload evenly distributed.
But, despite a freelancer’s best efforts, two or more clients may have urgent requirements at the same time. This may force the freelancer to choose which project to support, leaving one client in the cold. Another issue with freelancers is that many are in-between jobs. They rely on freelancing as a temporary employment solution. They may not be available long-term. Regardless, it’s on you to vet several freelancers to determine who is the best for your task. This can be a time-consuming process unto itself.
Companies prefer dedicated developers to increase reliable, long-term capacity for their projects and company growth. This may be on a full-time or part-time basis. These long-term remote developers commit to a single client avoiding possible conflicts or dilemmas. In this regard, they bring nearly all the advantages of having an employee, without all the costs of an employee.
Dedicated developers are sourced through IT staffing agencies like PerceptionBox. You can hire a single developer or an entire dedicated development team. The agency takes care of the vetting process of each individual. For IT staffing, this can be the fastest way to onboard a skilled software developer, UI/UX designer, or engineer. Agencies can source qualified Blockchain, ML/AI, or Data Science specialists.
The cost-advantage of remote or dedicated development teams is substantial even if only compared to office costs. The average office space per employee in North America runs 150 square feet or $6,000 (Chicago) to $12,000 per year (San Francisco). Other employee-based overhead costs sidestepped by remote teams. These include taxes, employee benefits and insurance, computer hardware, software, and consumable supplies.
We build and scale software teams and R&D centres. Flexible staffing, full-time staffing, and R&D centres in Kyiv, Ukraine.
Your remote team members work for you. You can add them as part of your org chart, define who they report to and when meetings are held. The standards, the methodologies (like Agile, Lean, Kanban, etc.) are also yours to define.
There are some differences between managing distributed teams compared to those in the office. We’ll touch on them separately. Telecommuting, outsourcing, and offshoring are not new to software development. Established processes and plenty of tools exist to handle the change-up from the conventional office.
Would you like to talk with an IT staffing specialist
about how dedicated development teams can work for
you? Please drop us a line at hello@perceptionbox.io -
we’d love to hear from you!
Type
Simular in Freelancers &
Dedicated Development Teams
Employment
Status
Both are Independent Contractors responsible for their own taxes.
Benefits
Neither receives employment benefits (health insurance, 401-k, etc.). In some cases, the contracting company may have provisions for training programs.
Office and
Hardware
Both are responsible for providing their own workspace, Internet connection, and hardware.
Software
Both should have the software that you specify in your project requirements. However, you will want to share access to your Team Collaboration and Project Management Sofware with specific or possibly all team members.
Who
Manages?
You control the “org chart” and determine the managers to whom each remote team member reports. You can also include a project manager in your augmented team and who they report to, as well.
Type
Freelancers
Dedicated
Development Teams
Best fit?
Long-term projects; Full-time and part-time roles.
Short-term tasks; Less than part-time roles and non-essential tasks.
Who needs
to vet?
The staffing agency.
The contracting company.
Risks?
May not have all qualifications, Higher turnover potential, Overloaded due to multiple clients
Generally, lower-risks compared to hiring regular employees given the likelihood of history and referrals with the staffing agency.
Who
handles
payroll?
The contracting company.
The staffing agency.
Simular in Freelancers & Dedicated Development Teams
Employment
Status
Both are Independent Contractors responsible for their own taxes.
Benefits
Neither receives employment benefits (health insurance, 401-k, etc.). In some cases, the contracting company may have provisions for training programs.
Office and
Hardware
Both are responsible for providing their own workspace, Internet connection, and hardware.
Software
Both should have the software that you specify in your project requirements. However, you will want to share access to your Team Collaboration and Project Management Sofware with specific or possibly all team members.
Who
Manages?
You control the “org chart” and determine the managers to whom each remote team member reports. You can also include a project manager in your augmented team and who they report to, as well.
Freelancers Dedicated
Development Teams
Best fit?
Long-term projects; Full-time and part-time roles.
Short-term tasks; Less than part-time roles and non-essential tasks.
Who needs
to vet?
The staffing agency.
The contracting company.
Risks?
May not have all qualifications, Higher turnover potential, Overloaded due to multiple clients
Generally, lower-risks compared to hiring regular employees given the likelihood of history and referrals with the staffing agency.
Who
handles
payroll?
The contracting company.
The staffing agency.
