Common Questions That Every Developer Has
Is our client based business model safe and secure?
Here at Allshore Global Resources and DatumSquare IT Services, we operate under a client-based business model meaning that we directly hire our developers out to clients based in the United States who act as project managers working directly with our developers each day. We only look for long-term clients who want to hire developers for six months or longer, enabling us to keep our developers consistently working for years. Once we establish a successful developer /client relationship, we move right on to the next one. Strong client / developer relationships and our drive forward are two of the reasons we have grown so quickly over the last two years and why we can proudly say that we have never laid anyone off from this company, and with your work and assistance, we never will.
Much of the security and success driving our model forward where other client-based companies have failed in the past comes from the partnership DatumSquare shares with a strong US-based company, Allshore Global Resources Allshore provides leadership for navigating an American market as well as excellent U.S. based customer service. Allshore is responsible for finding new clients, maintaining existing client relationships, handling any customer service related issues with clients, and leading DatumSquare. Allshore is able to handle much of what goes into making a business successful while allowing Datum to focus solely on development.
The reasons we are very successful at what we do are listed below:
- Only hire 5 year experienced or more developers that can communicate well in English
- U.S.A. company leading DatumSquare each day and educating our Pakistani brothers and sisters on the right ways to interact with international clients.
- Strong time tested policies in place (BRB, Hourly Updates, Punctual Show-times) to exhibit to American clients that people in Pakistan are dependable, highly skilled and dedicated workers.
- U.S.A. based customer support team. Responsible for getting to know each client, their likes and dislikes and helping diffuse angry clients.
- Strong bond between senior leaderships of DatumSquare and Allshore, to ensure both companies do what is necessary to accomplish our goals and missions.
As you can see, we have so much more positive qualities and assets going for us than most client based businesses in our market do. We strive to diversify our portfolio of clientele so that when any one client leaves us, it doesn’t cause us to suffer too badly. However, all clients are to be treated as precious commodities that we absolutely never want to lose or damage our relationships with.
What does it mean to work in a client based business model?
It means that we put our developers in direct communication each and everyday with a U.S. based client. Our clients are your project managers. Our clients guide and direct your daily tasks. We do not hide anything from our client, so when a developer makes any mistakes we tell the client immediately upon knowing of the mistake.
We are not hiding our developers behind project managers like most off-shore firms. This means we have to hire the best software developers that Pakistan can offer us. We have to have our software developers continually improving their communication skills and technical skills. Our clients are top-level US companies that have high expectations. We promise them that Pakistani people are just as educated and skilled as American software engineers and we rely on our developers to back us up and prove this.
We have account executives and team leaders that help guide our developers and help them do the right things. Always follow their guidance and lead, as they are experts in succeeding in our business model.
How do I get in trouble in this company, what leads to a developer being terminated?
The number one way a developer gets into trouble in our company is failure to improve on glaring weaknesses that have cost them two clients.
Example:
We give Developer A to Client Z. Dev A and client Z start off their relationship strongly, but after a few weeks client Z tells an Allshore AE that Dev A is not checking his work thoroughly and is calling tasks completed when they obviously are not. The Allshore AE informs Dev A’s team leader of the complaint and we log it into the system. Then Dev A’s team leader speaks to Dev A about this problem and coaches him on how to fix it.
IF: Dev A resolves the issue and the client never complains again, problem solved!
IF: Dev A doesn’t resolve this issue and it becomes such a huge problem over time that makes the client request a new developer, then Dev A has lost ONE client due to a recurring issues that the developer failed to improve upon.
Now Dev A is back on the bench, and we will take this opportunity to provide further coaching and guideance on how to better adapt to our business model. After sometime, we will again put the developer with a new client, Client Y.
IF: Dev A and Client Y work together with no issues, then problem solved and the developer’s past mistakes are forgiven.
IF: Client Y brings up the same exact issues as Client Z did, then we know we have a developer that is really struggling to adapt. We will again provide coaching and counseling and work to improve the developer as much as we can, but at some point the developer has to pull his end of the rope and adjust better. If after several attempts to correct the developer fail and the client leaves or requests another developer, then Dev A will have lost 2 clients to the same issues.
If a developer loses two clients to the same issues or related issues, then we simply cannot trust to give him a third client. We can risk all the hard work our sales staff does everyday in finding clients to a person that either doesn’t care or is incapable of working in a client based business model. Dev A in this instance would be better suited in a project based business where he has a local project manager guiding him each day.
A few other ways that a developer might be terminated would be…
- Developers that refuse to acknowledge they have problems or refuse to take ownership of their actions, will not last long in our company. Please refer back to the living ABOVE THE LINE section on the developer information portal to learn what this means.
- Developers that cheat our clients and company out of time by taking excessive secretive breaks.
- Developers that have bad attitudes or spread false rumors also need to be aware that their time may be short.
- Developers that repeatedly break policies and fail to improve themselves to better fit in, these developers will be given SEVERAL opportunities to improve.
- Insensitive remarks made to clients or people of other cultures, genders, religions or societies.
These are the ways in which a developer gets in trouble here.
I missed a few hourly updates, will I be fired?
NO! This is a common misconception. If you miss a few updates here and there, then an Account Executive will simply remind you to give your update. If you are talking to a client when it is update time, you need to simply write, “Status: Discussing tasks with my client.” Try not to ever miss an update, but if you do, just try harder next time. Again, part of the AE’s job is to remind you if you forget, but this is NOT a fireable offense by any means.
I was disqualified from the Employee Excellence Award, am I in trouble?
NO! You are not in trouble. The EEA is to reward excellence in a non-biased way. By having a set of very tough standards in place we can reward those that achieve near perfection. If you do not win EEA, then try harder next time. You are certainly not in trouble if you are disqualified from EEA.
What does it mean when an Account Executive speaks to me, am I in trouble?
No. An account executive has been assigned the responsibility of not only taking care of clients and customer support issues, but to also look out for our development team. They may send you helpful reminders, tips to improve your communication or English-speaking skills, and any other information that may be necessary to help you perform your shift. Additionally, they host English sessions, and will meet with you to schedule a time of day and date that will work best for you.