When a company decides to build an overseas tech team, they often run into two challenges:
- Recruiting the right people to meet their specific needs
- The cost and difficulty of setting up payroll, management, and HR in another country
The Build-Operate-Transfer method of outsourcing is a way of getting around those challenges. Instead of struggling to find the right talent and then expending the large cost in getting them started, many companies are looking to IT staffing services to accomplish these things.
Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) is a service where a staffing agency builds the team with the right developers, operates payroll and HR while the team gets up and running, and then transfers management over to the company when they are ready to bring the team fully in-house.
When it comes to scaling a company, BOT is a proven pathway for growth. But it’s not a one-size fits all strategy.
Here are three different ways companies can use BOT to grow and expand their capabilities.
1. Single-Role Teams:
Using BOT for single-role teams usually involves building a team of the same skillset, or building a team that will focus on one specific project.
For example, a company looking to either expand its programming team or outsource the programming department might build a team of only full stack developers. Although there may be a range of seniority levels, they have a single function in the overall company. These single-role teams can also be deployed in support of multiple teams within the company.
Another possibility would be to develop a single-role team with different seniority levels and managerial expertise. This option gives companies the opportunity to divide different responsibilities between varying skill levels to optimize benefit.
To the company, the goal would be to utilize BOT to grow a specific department, outsource a specific task, or expand the capabilities of a specific internal department.
2. Multi-Role Teams:
Using BOT for a multi-role team is driven by different business growth motivations. Some companies need a number of skills and developer specialties to provide support across the company. A multi-role team is a great way to supplement and existing workforce and delegate some of the time consuming or less complex tasks.
For example, a company may want to set up a secondary office to handle overflow or expand their overall tech capabilities, so they hire a team of UX/UI, Scrum Master, Full Stack, Front-End, and Back End developers. Although they may still be focused on one aspect of the business, the approach is more about utilizing multiple skill sets to accomplish this.
Companies looking to use BOT to develop a multi-role team often have tech needs that require multiple developer disciplines.
3. Hybrid Model
The BOT timeline is often a three year process, and many companies, over time, find that a hybrid model best fits their needs. They may find that certain things, like Tech support, are perfect for a single-role team. Whereas expanding app development capabilities or full service software development need multi-role teams to truly be worth it.
BOT is really about solving a company’s problem regarding scale. And the good thing about BOT is that, regardless of the type of team a company is building, companies will still save money finding the right talent and managing them efficiently.
Common roles in BOT
Although BOT can be utilized for any IT skill set, there are a few developer roles that make more sense. Here are the most common roles in BOT that we recommend:
- Software Engineers (Front End, Full Stack, Back End)
- Mobile Developers (iOS, Android, React)
- Tech Supports
- QA Engineers
- UX/UI Designers
- DevOps Engineers
- Project Manager
Because of the lower salary requirements for each of these positions in Latin America, it’s easy to build a highly talented team at a fraction of the cost.
Getting started with BOT
Whether you are ready to dive right into using Build-Operate-Transfer to expand your company or just exploring the possibility, our ROI calculator is a great next step to see just how much the initial investment can pay off.
CodersLink
CodersLink empowers scaling companies to build, grow and manage remote tech teams in Latin America. Through remote staffing and direct placements, we ensure the best companies find the best talent to continue growing their technology teams, fill skill-gaps and respond to scaling needs. Get started today.
