In-House + Outsourced: Why Hybrid Teams Are Better

Everyone wants to be Apple, Meta, and Uber but to do so is to leverage diverse outside talent when necessary.

An abstract picture of the antiquated ‘us vs. them’ mentality

The optimist in me believes success is not a zero-sum game—a belief that rings particularly true when assembling healthy, productive teams. The ones that build things the world can’t imagine life without.

In other words, curating a well-balanced talent roster requires a dynamic approach to who, where, why, and how because two things can be true at the same time.

The two truths I’m talking about:

Growing your team with in-house hires can be a great idea.
Growing your team with outsourced partnerships can be a great idea.

Yet, a common mindset I encounter from clients of all sizes is a binary view toward hiring. You either hire a full in-house team and turn off any nozzles to outsourced talent or inversely, you keep your in-house team lean (or nonexistent) and outsource exclusively.

But why the extremes?

You’ve heard the phrase, ‘may the best man win’—but, what about rooting for the best team? And what if the best team is made up of people from all walks of life, with different skill sets, from different time zones and experiences, and even different…

(dramatic pause)

… companies?

A not-so-secret secret weapon of the most successful teams on earth is diversity. Not just in background but demonstrated expertise and effectiveness—the definition of a meritocracy. This is true because organizational meritocracies typically follow the Darwinian principle of natural selection (often referred to as survival of the fittest) where the most innovative company cultures and products are made from the most talented people all working together from the most well-defined and well-tested processes.

Here’s the problem: these unicorn people with all the talent and diverse cultural contributions don’t always want to work for you.

Ouch. (cue the sad trombone)

Before you scream toward the heavens in a glass case of emotion (i.e. a WeWork phone booth), you should know that there is a solution.

Hybrid teams.

A quick Google search defines hybrid teams as a flexible work structure where some team members work remotely (in this context, because they’re outsourced) and other team members work from a central location or office.

Let me be clear, this concept is nothing new. But the way hybrid teams work together is changing. It’s more advantageous than ever to work with an agency as a strategic partner even after you hire full-time staff. This is why we’re working diligently at Brave People to design working models that align us and our client partners as one unified team. Combining all the best facets of internal and external team strengths, we bridge the gap between remote and centralized. I wrote more about the specifics of this model here.

If you’re having trouble drinking the Kool-Aid on this one, allow me to articulate 6 examples of how hybrid teams often produce the best outcomes:

1. On-Demand Spin-Up — When core team members shift, and hiring isn’t fast enough, well-calibrated outside talent can ramp up quickly, and assimilate into the team efficiently. Remove latency and increase productivity.
2. Scalable Partnership — Gain an experienced advocate at the creative level and in mission-critical business focus. As growth demands, leveraging an outside project leadership team can help forecast scope and curate the right teams, faster and more affordably.
3. Diversity of Thought & Skill — Outside partners can instantly add multidisciplinary expertise, background, and culture to your arsenal. Outside processes and peer review lead to better outcomes. Unlock regional advantages and outside market insights without directly paying for them.
4. Better Work/Life Balance — When you invest in a like-minded outside partner, you invest in sustainability for your internal team. Having backup resources empowers your core team to take that vacation or maternity leave without guilt. Burnout is expensive.
5. Organic Training — When more experienced partners are introduced to the project, their wisdom and know-how often rub off on your in-house team. Learning by collaboration is a more natural training framework than having employees watch videos by themselves in a dark room.
6. Modularity — From an executive perspective, it’s a luxurious safety net to have a modular ‘department’ that can turn on and off (especially when operating from an on-demand resource subscription model) with shifting market climates like the one we’re in currently.

I know what you’re thinking.

“This is nothing more than a thinly veiled pitch targeted at prospective clients to hire your agency as a strategic outside partner.”

Wrong.

There’s no veil at all! I want our value to be painfully obvious.

Here’s the catch, though: when I say ‘our value’, I humbly speak for every product design agency, engineering firm, general consultancy, and beyond whose core business model is to serve as a true extension of their client’s internal teams. To continue the plumbing analogy I used earlier, turning off the faucet to outside help for any other reason but financial hardship is to miss an opportunity 1.) for collaboration (at best) and 2.) to prevent internal team burnout (at worst).

So where do we go from here?

I’d be remiss if I didn’t note that the most significant benefits of hybrid teams are predicated on a mutual commitment by both sides to lay down egos, align on a shared vision, and take risks on each other.

In fact, some of the most beloved experiences and impactful products like Uber, Slack, Google, and Headspace have leveraged a mix of in-house and outsourced teams. Chances are, these companies realized that an ambitious vision requires the best people for the job, where ever they reside or work. Moreover, not sharing a company email structure with someone probably isn’t a legitimate blocker to collaboration.

So here’s the final application point and a new paradigm to try on.

Hiring in-house doesn’t have to kill your outsourcing.

Instead of struggling with the rigidity of whether to build out an in-house team vs. an outsourced team, realize that the ideal structure simply requires a shift from ‘vs.’ to ‘+’.

From In-House vs. Outsourced
To In-House + Outsourced

About Brave People
We help our client partners look ahead to what doesn’t yet exist by bringing their digital products to life and driving shared value for everyone involved. Through our on-demand resource subscription model, growing organizations have the power to scale their design and technology support up or down based on short and long-term business needs.

https://bravepeople.co/