The popularity of remote work has skyrocketed in recent years. Technological advances have made it easier for people to collaborate globally. As a result, more companies are turning to outsourced marketplaces and specialized services to fill gaps in their teams.
An example is YouTeam – an online platform that connects businesses with experienced remote talent.
Check out this YouTeam review to learn more about what the talent site offers and what makes it different from other outsourcing marketplaces.
What is YouTeam?
YouTeam is a one-of-a-kind network of over 50,000 pre-vetted talent pool engineers. Most are from development agencies around Europe, Latin America, and London firms.
They match tech executives with the exact talent they need. And they are backed by Y Combinator and Horizon Capital.
YouTeam is an online service that connects development agencies with talented web developers, designers, digital marketers, writers, and more.
The company vets each freelancer before they are approved to join the platform and lists their skills on their profile. This ensures businesses can find the exact professionals they need and deliver precisely what is expected of them.
How YouTeam Works?
Software and web development are consuming the online world. But, software developers and other technical talent are in limited supply.
This means that large IT businesses compete for the best engineers. There has also been an increase in remote workers who are freelancers or turning to offshore agencies.
The issue with either method is the same: ensuring that outsourced work is of excellent quality and that the people working on your project are a good match for the rest of your team.
YouTeam is a British startup company that established a marketplace for offshore talent. They initiated a hands-on approach to connecting individual developers and agencies.
They also include major enterprises with extra developer capacity. And match companies or small businesses looking to expand their development teams through outsourcing.
YouTeam adopted the matching engine model. The goal is to bridge the gap between employing an individual freelancer and the extra scrutiny an agency provides.
For starters, no consistent mainstream technology for identifying a reputable organization. Second, it is challenging to discern whether a company has a suitable team for the project. This is because engineers are rarely disclosed until the contract is signed.
Next, the interests of the client and the provider might diverge in different ways. As a result, there is often little trust, especially at the beginning of the collaboration.
The YouTeam marketplace addresses this concern by including profiles of individual developers from the supply-side firms with which it has collaborated.
Instead of hiring an agency and hoping for the best to become part of your outsourced team, you contract with specific individuals at the agency for a defined period of time or over the course of a much longer project.
Local development agencies provide entrance to the top talent in many overseas markets in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. But, the way the market operates is incorrect.
Their premise is simple: people are far more essential than companies, so they consider people skills first. That is what occurs on the YouTeam platform. First, you find engineers you want to collaborate with, and then you meet their agencies. Employees can now choose the projects they want to work on.
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How does YouTeam differ from other companies in terms of IT outsourcing?
After submitting a project request, YouTeam’s matching engine finds profiles of developers who fit the project well. YouTeam is unique from other outsourcing marketplaces because it suggests developers available to start work within the next week or two.
Instead of visiting hundreds of software development firms, spend your personal time researching them and their developers or conducting interviews and negotiating contracts and pricing. You can get this information at any point through YouTeam’s unique matching model.
Clients can review CVs and portfolios in a very loose brief. They can handpick and interview developers before working with software companies that use them.
Clients can engage a developer and work much faster than with traditional outsourcing. This is because sometimes it takes 6-8 weeks to complete a project.
YouTeam conducts an impartial pre-vetting procedure on the software development companies that provide developers for their talent pool.
Individual coders’ skills are validated and must pass a HackerRank for Work test.
Clients are assigned a client-side Customer Success Manager. They will help them communicate with the software developers regarding legal and financial issues.
Clients enjoy a risk-free work process and have enough initiative. Since YouTeam provides escrow instruments, it ensures payment is made only upon acceptance of work.
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How to sign up for YouTeam?
Their talent pool is only accessible by invitation. And they carefully select which development houses to invite.
Before approval to join their talent pool, all companies go through a multi-stage due diligence process. It includes reviewing their track record and third-party references.
They also interview staff at all levels, conduct a thorough legal review, assess their process and culture, and assign technical test tasks and interviews to all developers.
Requirements needed to start working on the YouTeam platform
- The developers will be close to the clients in Eastern Europe or the Americas. It is because real-time work is a top priority for YouTeam.
- You’re at ease with the staff augmentation model (outstaffing);
- You have prior experience working with clients in the United States or the European Union. And can give testimonials, case studies, and so on upon request;
- You have a team of more than 20 developers;
- Your company’s talent pool includes Mid-to-Senior and Senior developers. They have engaged with clients in English.
- You can give any papers YouTeam may need for its due diligence operations. It is for entity, identity, and bank account verification purposes.
How To Launch Projects On The YouTeam Platform?
1. Find a Perfect Match
The YouTeam’s Support Team assists clients in locating an engineering team that meets their needs. They conduct interview calls and help with the negotiating process.
YouTeam drafts an NDA and a Service Agreement for the project when finding a perfect match.
2. Pay the First Invoice
YouTeam’s contractor will send the client the first invoice after signing the contract via email. After logging in to their account on the YouTeam platform, they can also locate it in the Invoices section.
The invoices are issued in advance of the Services, which will be supplied during the next Servicing Period, which is usually two weeks or a month long.
They will receive deliverables after each. They will have five business days to review the results.
The money will be transferred to the contractor within five business days. It is if clients have no complaints. Or the clients can approve the delivery on the YouTeam site earlier.
If the contractor has not supplied Services in compliance with the contract’s technical requirements and Project Specifications. Clients can contact their assigned Customer Success Specialist. With this, YouTeam will delay payment until the disagreement is resolved.
The contractor will send a new invoice at the end of each Servicing Period. It is critical to pay it before the start of the new Servicing Period.
3. Kick-off Call and Start of the Project
YouTeam holds a kick-off call for the client and the new team when they pay the first fee.
The goal of a kick-off call is to connect cooperation participants. It is also for discussing project essentials such as:
- Tools for project management and communication.
- Create, assign, and report on tasks.
- The tasks and responsibilities of team members.
- Business and support hours for the team
- Expectations for time reporting.
- Project completion dates.
4. Accept the Project Delivery
The contractor submits work results after each Servicing Period. The client has five business days to provide feedback.
They can go to the invoicing part of the YouTeam site and press the “Confirm” button to release the payout. It is if they have no complaints about the delivery quality,
If the clients do not select the “Confirm” button within five business days. The system will assume they have granted a tacit agreement to the delivery.
If clients have any concerns, they can contact their Customer Success Manager. YouTeam can postpone the payment until they resolve the matter with the contractor.
5. Payment Release
YouTeam releases the funds to the contractor once the client has accepted the deliverable.
Clients should ensure they have taken care of the new invoice at this step. This ensures the development process is constant and seamless.
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How Projects Are Managed By Partnering With YouTeam?
Every project has several levels of management.
- Clients – All clients are in charge of their team and may communicate with each member. They make the rules.
- Customer Success Manager from YouTeam—This service comes at no cost to every client. It operates as an account manager for the project, encouraging communication between parties. It also handles the legal and financial aspects of the project and resolves disputes.
- Project Manager – It is workable to engage a skilled project manager from their software agency. This person can work on the project full-time or part-time. And they will ensure that everything goes as planned.
How does YouTeam differ from Upwork?
Upwork is a freelance marketplace, while YouTeam’s talent pool does not include freelancers. That’s one of the major differences between the two platforms.
All professionals on their page are full-time middle and senior developers. And most of them are from software development firms in South America and Eastern Europe. If you hire them, they will be focused on your project. And their time and workspace will be organized and managed.
All businesses in their talent pool undergo a multi-stage due diligence process, which includes reviewing their track record and third-party references.
It includes asking relevant questions to the whole team and conducting a thorough legal review. They also assess their processes and culture and assign technical test tasks to developers who are supposed to be on YouTeam.
YouTeam also offers a “concierge” service to each customer. They provide specialized support from a Team Advisor during the hiring process.
They also have a Customer Success Manager. The manager promotes communication between parties throughout the project, free of charge.
See Related: Toptal vs Upwork: What Is Better?
Pros and Cons of YouTeam
In this YouTeam Review, we will also evaluate the pros and cons of the platform. The biggest benefit of YouTeam is its curated selection of experienced remote professionals. Businesses don’t have to worry about sifting through thousands of unqualified applicants.
YouTeam has vetted each applicant before adding them to the platform. Plus, YouTeam does not have upfront costs. You only pay when you hire someone from the platform.
Another reason to trust this company is that it is among the listed companies under GC Covert Security. As you can see from the image below, GC Covert Security Ltd is a London-based professional security services firm.
They are focused on offering bespoke solutions to high-end corporate, retail, and events industries. The company also focuses on security and investigations, so you can guarantee that the website is legitimate and safe.
On the downside, some users have reported problems with project management within the system. Also, there are issues with payments not going through at times.
Businesses can access qualified professionals using YouTeam’s services. However, due to the platform’s limited availability, they may also compete against other companies for those same professionals.
Is YouTeam Legit?
Yes, YouTeam is a legitimate outsourcing marketplace. It offers a curated selection of experienced remote professionals. And so businesses don’t have to worry about sifting through thousands of unqualified applicants.
There may be minor hiccups along the way. But YouTeam remains one of the most reliable platforms for experienced remote talent.
With the extensive vetting process and wide selection of professionals available for hire. Businesses will find what they need from YouTeam’s services without hassle or difficulty.
FAQs
What is a Customer Success Manager?
YouTeam will assign a Customer Success Manager to the project. It is to ensure that you are satisfied with the collaborative process.
Is YouTeam a White Label firm?
No, it isn’t. They do not sell your knowledge and services to clients in their name. You will sign a direct contract with a client once the choice to begin working together has been made.
Who are the people involved in contract signing?
The contract is always signed between the client and the service provider (your business). But, they use standardized YouTeam templates. It allows them to control the appropriate implementation of the contract by both parties.
Should I pay to access your platform?
No, there are no registration or subscription fees. If you opt to work with YouTeam, your sole commitment would be to bid on YouTeam’s Request For Proposals with your talent profiles.
What are the phases of developer screening that YouTeam has?
YouTeam Team Advisor conducts a candidate screening after receiving a bid from their partner. It is to ensure they pick only those profiles that fulfill all the client’s needs. The customer chooses the most interesting applicants and invites them to an interview in the second round. The client might also request tech validation through HackerRank For Work or other tech projects.
Where will my dedicated team’s engineers be based?
They work with software development firms all over Europe, from Ukraine in the east (GMT +2) to Portugal in the west (GMT). They also have from North and South America, Argentina (GMT-3), and the United States. All the engineers on their dedicated team will operate from comfortable and productive modern offices.
Why are the profiles kept anonymous?
The YouTeam’s software partners do not want headhunters to use the platform. After gaining authorization from a YouTeam Advisor, you will receive detailed CVs and company profiles.
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