Are you trying to hire a dedicated development team in Canada for your business? Not so fast! Finding dedicated developers in Canada isn’t easy. There are several huge tech companies in Canada competing for the best talent, including Shopify, Constellation, and Descartes.
If you are a small start-up or if your resources are constrained, you might struggle to find a team of developers for your project.
Why Is It So Hard To Find Dedicated Development Team Canada?
When you start looking for your Canada-dedicated development team for hire, you’ll probably run into issues right away. Firstly, there are several huge companies based in Canada and the United States that need hundreds of developers for their projects. To keep their talent pool active, they offer competitive salaries, bonuses, vacation time, and even equity stakes in the company to lure new employees.
Many developers have also shifted their focus and prefer to work as freelancers or independents and don’t want to be tied down to a single project. If you need a dedicated software development team, you’ll have to get creative.
How To Hire a Dedicated Development Team In Canada?
To find a dedicated team of developers in Canada, you have to start looking in places that no one else is looking, and you have to offer them something that no one else can offer. Let’s look at a few tactics:
Get the Developers to Come to You:
Sometimes the best tactic to follow is not to try to find developers but to get them to come to you. Put interesting content out there, and host hackathons and developer events. You can even post coding challenges online and invite developers to participate. This tactic is effective because it really builds your brand in the developer community, and you can also attract candidates that are truly interested in what you do. Developers that apply to job ads are often just testing the waters, and they probably have several interviews lined up, trying to find the best job possible. Developers that participate in company events and challenges apply because they are truly invested in your company. You are far more likely to retain them as well.
Use your Community:
Chances are there are colleges near you that offer Computer Science as a career track. Approach them and find out whether there are opportunities for you to pitch internships or even guest lectures at the facility. Again, it’s a good brand-building exercise but also a good way of finding talented young students to help you out. If you engage with the right talent early, you’ll not only have the benefit of their skills at a low price, but you could transition them to a full-time position over time. The students gain the experience they need, and you fill the vacant jobs…it’s a win-win.
Start a Referral Program:
If you already have a few developers working for you, chances are they know other developers. Implement a referral program that pays bonuses if an employee recommends a potential employee that gets hired. This doesn’t have to be a huge amount ($500-$1000 is usually the standard), but it will get your employees to put some thought and attention into past coworkers or fellow alumni that might be interested in joining. Market this program through internal newsletters and during onboarding.
Supplement the Gaps With Freelancers:
Sometimes you just can’t put together a full team, despite your best efforts. Instead of despairing, proactively fill the gaps with freelancers, outsourcing, and offshoring. There are some benefits to having a looser agreement with staff, too. You don’t have to offer as many benefits, and they usually come with their own equipment. You can also access more skills or better skills than you might find otherwise. Offshoring is another good option. You can hire a handful of developers, or an entire team, at a very low price. Developers in China or Ukraine will charge a third of the price of Canadians but have the same skills.
Conclusion:
Trying to hire a dedicated development team in Canada isn’t easy, so you have to apply your most creative thinking to the problem. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to find your staff, even if you don’t have a lot of resources!
Nirmal Sarkar is a Biotechnologist from the city of Joy, Kolkata. He is the founder of this blog and covers a wide range of topics from Gadgets to Software to Latest Offers. You can get in touch with him via nirmal@hitricks.com
