USA
Germany
Moldova
Recruiting & Team Scaling
Recruiting and scaling the team are key elements of Webdelo's delivery approach. In this article, we thoroughly analyze how hiring, onboarding, and managing the team composition affect the speed of development, the stability of releases, and the predictability of business outcomes in complex digital products.
Why is this important for the client
Recruiting and scaling the team directly affects release timelines, development stability, and the predictability of changes. The speed of hiring, accuracy in matching profiles, and the quality of onboarding influence not only the timing of feature releases but also the stability of releases, the load on key specialists, and the overall level of operational risks.
In most digital products, delivery issues begin not with architecture or technology, but with the composition of the team. The unsuitable level of engineers, overloaded roles, lack of reserves, and chaotic expansion lead to a loss of momentum and an increase in the cost of changes. These effects accumulate and become noticeable within a few sprints.
At Webdelo, the team is viewed as a working resource of the product with a clearly defined capacity, responsibility, and area of influence on the outcome. Recruitment begins not with resumes, but with the goals that the product must achieve in the near term. This approach allows for an immediate connection between team composition and business results, fixes expectations for roles, and ensures transparency at all stages of work.
Scaling is structured into the delivery model. The team can expand or contract based on actual workload without losing context and without abrupt changes in processes. This gives the client control over speed, quality, and budget while reducing dependency on individual people.
How we form a team for the task
Scalable Delivery Team Model
The Scalable Delivery Team model allows changing the team composition based on workload, priorities, and product development stage without reassembling processes. We design not just a composition of people, but a working system in which roles, responsibilities, and processes are linked to delivery goals.
This model allows managing speed and quality without reassembling processes when the composition changes. This is especially important for products that develop iteratively and face uneven loads.
From goals to composition
Team formation begins with fixing product goals for the next 1–3 sprints. We define which business results need to be achieved, which risks are critical and which areas require enhanced control.
Based on this, a specific profile is described rather than an abstract role: what tasks a person will solve in the first weeks, which systems to work with, and for which results to be responsible. This approach reduces the risk of erroneous hiring and speeds up reaching productivity.
Cross-functional squad
The team is assembled to be autonomous within its value stream. It possesses all the necessary competencies for analysis, development, and testing and releasing changes. This reduces the number of external dependencies and minimizes delays between stages.
Cross-functionality also simplifies scaling: as the workload increases, we understand which specific competency needs enhancement, rather than just 'adding people'.
Scaling along two axes
Team scaling at Webdelo is built along two independent directions — capacity and expertise. These axes are used depending on the nature of the load and the type of risks that arise in the product.
Capacity scaling is applied in situations when the volume of tasks increases , and it is necessary to increase the team's throughput. In this case, engineers with the appropriate level and experience are added to maintain the development pace and not overload the current team.
Expertise scaling is used when the product faces complex architectural, infrastructural, or quality risks. Instead of expanding the team by quantity, a highly specialized role is connected for a limited time with a clearly defined area of responsibility.
Transparent responsibility and measurability
For key areas — architecture, security, and releases — responsible roles are assigned. The client understands where decisions are made and who is responsible for the result.
Further team management is based on agreed metrics: task completion speed, plan/fact for sprints, defects, communication SLAs. This makes team management predictable and reproducible.
What the client receives: speed, predictability, control
The result of structured recruitment and scaling is expressed in the stability of delivery, control over deadlines, and workload management. The client receives a team that is capable of consistently delivering results, adapting to changes, and maintaining control over timelines and budgets.
We link the team composition with development goals and regularly check whether the current configuration is maintaining the required pace. This helps to avoid situations where team growth does not lead to increased performance or, conversely, when key specialists are overloaded and become a bottleneck.
Quick start
Confirmed roles are filled on average within 8 days, after which specialists are onboarded to the project without pauses between stages. Onboarding is prepared in advance: access, environment, documentation, and initial tasks are ready by the time the person starts.
As a result, the team does not waste time on "warming up." New members begin to deliver measurable value within the first weeks, and their impact on the overall pace becomes noticeable within 1-2 sprints.
Predictable progress
The team's work is built around regular planning, demonstration, and analysis cycles. The client sees not only the fact of task completion, but also the dynamics of speed, role load, and the impact of composition changes on delivery.
If deviations from the plan occur, they are recorded early. This allows for adjusting priorities, strengthening the team, or changing the scope of work before the issue becomes critical.
Cost control
We manage not the number of people, but the actual capacity of the team. Each role has a clear volume of participation and contribution to the result. This allows for precise budget planning and avoiding hidden costs.
In case of reduced workload, the composition can be quickly reduced without losing context and without the need to reconstruct processes. The client pays only for the capacity that is actually needed for the product at the current moment.
Risk reduction
Key development areas are not dependent on a single person. Backup roles and knowledge transfer within the team are provided for the architecture, infrastructure, and releases.
Even with changes in composition or increased workload, the project maintains a stable pace. Risks related to human factors become manageable and predictable.
Metrics and Indicators
This section includes key metrics for recruiting, onboarding, and delivery, which are used for team management, release deadline forecasting, and risk control in development.
Metrics are used for managing delivery and making decisions. We use indicators that are directly related to the speed of getting to work, team stability, and release predictability. They allow us to identify bottlenecks in advance and make decisions before problems start affecting the product.
Metrics must be considered in conjunction, not separately. A fast hiring process without quality onboarding has no effect, just as strong engineers do not compensate for an overloaded or unbalanced team.
Below are the key metrics we use to manage recruitment, onboarding, and team scaling. Each of them is directly related to delivery predictability and allows for fact-based decision-making.
Time to Fill — on average 8 days.
What it measures: the time from agreeing on the role profile to the specialist starting the project.
Why it is used: shows how quickly a business need turns into the team's working capacity.
Management effect: allows for advance planning of releases and scaling, understanding the timelines in which the team can take on additional workload.
Offer Acceptance Rate — 85–90%.
What it measures: the share of accepted offers from the total number of proposals made.
Why it is used: reflects the accuracy of meeting candidates' expectations regarding tasks, responsibilities, and conditions.
Management effect: reduces uncertainty and the risk of failures at the final stage of recruitment, ensuring stable team composition.
Onboarding Success — 100%.
What it measures: the success of integrating a new participant into the work according to the plan.
Criteria: access granted, environment set up, domain context understood, first task accepted for work, mentor assigned.
Management effect: reduces the load on the team and accelerates the integration of new specialists, which is especially important during simultaneous scaling.
Time-to-Productivity — 1–2 sprints.
What it measures: the moment when the contribution of the new participant becomes comparable to the target level of the role.
Why it is used: shows the effectiveness of role profiles, onboarding, and task distribution.
Management effect: directly impacts delivery speed and project economics.
Recruitment Process: from Request to First Release
The specialist recruitment process is structured to minimize Time to Fill, accelerate productivity, and ensure delivery stability from the very first sprints.
The recruitment process at Webdelo is organized as a delivery chain with managed stages. Each stage has a clear objective, input data, and expected results. This allows for reduced time for specialists to enter the project and lowers the risk of errors that become apparent during the development process.
Recruitment is integrated into the product production workflow and directly affects the team's ability to deliver results. The outcome of this process should not be merely a 'hired person,' but a specialist who is integrated into the team and able to consistently participate in delivering results.
Intake — fixation of needs
The process begins with clarifying the request. Together with the client, we delineate the tasks for upcoming releases, the technology stack, time constraints, communication requirements, and the level of criticality of the role.
At this stage, it is important to describe not just the formal job title, but the actual work context: what systems the specialist will interact with, what decisions they will need to make, and where the risks lie. The result of this stage is a clear role profile with defined expectations for the first sprints.
Sourcing — targeted search
The search begins with the internal Talent Pool — a database of vetted specialists for key stacks and domains. Additionally, recommendations, partner channels, and external platforms are utilized.
We look not only at resumes but also at actual artifacts: repositories, architectural decisions, cases, and product experience. If necessary, we engage specialists from related domains if their experience is relevant to the current product tasks.
Screening — initial assessment
The primary screening stage checks compliance with the basic requirements of the role. Relevant experience, motivation, communication skills, and expectations regarding the work format are evaluated.
The goal of this stage is to quickly filter out unsuitable profiles and not waste the team's time on obviously irrelevant interviews. In some cases, a short practical task may be used if it helps to more accurately assess the candidate's level.
Interview — in-depth check
The main assessment stage includes a technical interview with a practical component. This may involve live coding, reviewing an architectural solution, or discussing a real case from the candidate's past experience.
We check not only technical skills but also the ability to make decisions under constraints, work with uncertainty, and understand the product context. For critical roles, a senior engineer is involved as a bar-raiser to confirm the candidate's level.
Offer — fixation of agreements
The offer is formulated transparently and in detail. It outlines the role, area of responsibility, interaction format, workload, rate, and project start plan.
This approach reduces the number of refusals at the final stage and helps avoid discrepancies in expectations after work begins.
Onboarding — integration into delivery
Onboarding is structured around a prepared plan lasting 7–14 days. By the time the specialist starts, access, environment, documentation, and descriptions of initial tasks are ready. A mentor is appointed to help integrate into the processes and product context.
The goal of onboarding is for the new participant to start working with the code or product tasks in the first week, rather than spending time on organizational issues.
Tools and Practices
Recruitment tools and practices at the Webdelo support team are scaling while maintaining work quality. We use them not for convenience, but as part of a managed system where each element reduces uncertainty and speeds up decision-making.
It is important that the tools work in conjunction with processes. Automation does not replace expertise; it enhances it, allowing the team to focus on assessing and integrating specialists into delivery.
ATS and Recruitment Funnel
We use ATS to manage the entire candidate funnel — from the first contact to onboarding onto the project. The system records stages, time taken to complete steps, reasons for rejections, and sources of candidates.
This allows us to identify bottlenecks in the process, forecast the timelines for closing roles, and quickly reallocate focus if product priorities change.
Talent Pool
The internal Talent Pool is a database of verified specialists across key technology stacks and domains. For each profile, their level, experience, availability, and interaction history are recorded.
Having such a pool allows us to close positions in days rather than weeks and reduces dependence on the external market during critical scaling moments.
Skill Matrix
A competency matrix is used for each role. It separates critical skills, desirable skills, and additional skills. This approach helps to accurately calibrate expectations and avoid bias towards either overestimating or underestimating skills levels.
The Skill Matrix is used both for recruitment and for planning the growth of specialists within the team.
Agile Recruiting
Recruitment is carried out iteratively, in short cycles. Status updates on roles are provided daily, feedback on candidates is given without delays, and focus quickly shifts to priority positions.
This is especially important in high-dynamics projects, where delays in recruitment directly affect release schedules.
Data and Security Management
The recruitment process is structured with data protection requirements in mind. Consents for processing personal information, access restrictions, and careful data storage are embedded in standard procedures.
This reduces legal and reputational risks and allows safe collaboration with international teams.
Smart Scaling
Smart Scaling — Webdelo's practical approach to scaling teams in IT projects, which allows managing growth without losing speed, quality, and control.
Smart Scaling is an approach to changing the team composition tied to product goals and delivery stages. We do not increase the team "just in case" and do not keep excessive roles in anticipation of future workload. Scaling is used as a tool to support delivery, not as an end in itself.
The key idea of Smart Scaling is to understand in advance why a change in composition is needed, what risk or task it addresses, and for what period it is necessary.
Capacity on demand
When the volume of tasks increases or a tight release period is planned, we calculate the necessary additional capacity in advance. The addition of engineers occurs for specific goals and timeframes, rather than abstract team growth.
After the peak load has passed, the composition can be reduced without losing context. Processes, documentation, and distribution of responsibility allow this to be done carefully and without affecting the pace of development.
Competence on demand
Not all tasks require an increase in the number of team members. In some cases, the product needs specific expertise — an architect, DevOps engineer, security specialist, or test automation expert.
Such roles are engaged for a limited time and with clearly defined areas of responsibility. This allows addressing complex technical or organizational risks without a constant increase in staff.
Quick integration without loss of pace
Pre-prepared templates for NDAs, access checklists, and standardized environments are used for scaling. New participants join the work without lengthy preparatory stages.
Entry into the team is built on a buddy model. The first tasks are performed in pairs with an experienced specialist, which helps maintain the speed of the current sprint and reduces the number of errors.
Control of scaling effect
We assess the effectiveness of scaling based on its actual impact on delivery: changes in speed, reduction of load on key roles, and stability of releases.
If adding people does not yield the expected effect, the team configuration is reviewed. This approach helps avoid situations where team growth leads to complicated communications and reduced overall efficiency.
Interaction Formats
Below are the interaction formats with the Webdelo teams, which are applied depending on the product maturity, responsibility model, and required delivery speed.
The interaction format is selected based on the product tasks, required speed of changes, and the level of client involvement. We do not use a universal model for all cases, as different stages of the product and different risks require different distributions of responsibility.
The choice of format affects who makes decisions, how the team is managed, and what metrics are used to evaluate the result.
Managed Delivery Team
In the Managed Delivery Team format, Webdelo takes responsibility for the delivery result. We manage the team, processes, and quality of delivery, focusing on agreed indicators of speed, stability of releases, and predictability of deadlines.
This format is suitable in situations where the final result and transparency of management are important to the client, rather than the operational management of individual specialists. The team works as a single delivery unit with a clear zone of responsibility on the part of Webdelo.
Team Extension (Staff Augmentation)
The Team Extension format is used to enhance the existing client team. Our specialists integrate into current processes and work under the client's management while maintaining support from Webdelo.
This approach is effective when the client has established their own processes and architecture, but lacks capacity or specific competencies to complete tasks on time.
Dedicated Squad
A Dedicated Squad is a separate cross-functional team for a specific value stream or product module. This format minimizes context switching and allows focusing on a single set of tasks.
It is suitable for developing specific areas where high speed of changes and deep immersion of the team in the domain are required.
The interaction format may change as the product evolves. We consider this a normal evolution of the delivery model, not an exception.
Risk Management and Continuity
This section describes how Webdelo reduces operational and personnel risks in development and ensures team resilience when composition changes occur.
Risk management in team operations starts early. Resilience is provided through a model of staffing, scaling, and organizing work that reduces the impact of composition changes on the pace of development and product quality.
The main principle is to reduce dependence on individuals and increase transparency in critical areas. This allows the team to maintain manageability even with increased load, changing priorities, or the departure of key specialists.
Bus‑factor 2+
All critical areas are covered by at least two specialists. Architectural decisions, infrastructure, release processes, and key business logic are not concentrated in the hands of a single person.
We regularly review the distribution of knowledge and roles to avoid the accumulation of expertise in bottlenecks and reduce the risk of losing context.
Knowledge Transfer and Documentation
Documentation is viewed as a working tool for the team, not a formality. Architectural decisions, key agreements, integration schemes, and operational instructions are recorded and kept up to date.
This simplifies onboarding for new participants, accelerates role replacement, and reduces the burden on key specialists.
Centralized Access and Processes
Access to repositories, CI/CD, infrastructure, and external services is stored centrally. Procedures for granting and revoking access are standardized and documented.
This approach reduces operational and security risks and allows for a quick response to changes in team composition.
Continuity Plan
For key roles, scenarios for replacement are determined in advance. We understand who can assume responsibility and when, in case of team composition changes.
The continuity plan prevents development stoppage and maintains schedule predictability even in non-standard situations.
Managing Composition Changes
Changes in team composition are viewed as a managed process. When integrating or removing specialists, we evaluate the impact on delivery, redistribute responsibilities, and adjust processes as necessary.
This helps maintain the stability of team operations and minimizes the impact of human factors on the product.
Where We Are Heading: Talent Pool, Data-Driven Screening, Onboarding
The approach to recruitment and scaling evolves along with the products and the requirements of delivery processes. As the company grows, products become more complex, and responsibilities for delivery increase, we consistently strengthen those elements that directly affect the stability, speed, and quality of team performance.
Development focuses on three areas: the depth of the Talent Pool, the quality of entry assessments, and the speed at which specialists become productive.
Talent Pool 2.0
We are developing the Talent Pool as a strategic asset, not just a database of contacts. Specialists are segmented by technology stacks, domains, and levels of maturity. For each profile, not only are skills recorded, but also the context of previous projects, strengths, and optimal usage scenarios.
This allows for the rapid formation of teams for new streams of tasks, reduces dependence on the external market, and enables advance planning for scaling for future releases.
Data-Driven Screening
Candidate assessments increasingly rely on data and reproducible criteria. Clear rubrics are used for roles: which skills are critical, which are desirable, and what signals confirm them.
This approach reduces subjectivity in decisions, simplifies candidate comparison, and enhances the stability of hiring quality. Decisions become repeatable and transparent for both the team and the client.
Onboarding as a Product
Onboarding is viewed as a separate product with a clear goal — to minimize Time-to-Productivity. Standardized onboarding packages are created for key roles and stacks: what to set up on the first day, what materials to study, who to synchronize with, and what task to take on.
This reduces the burden on the team, accelerates the inclusion of new participants, and allows for scaling without losing momentum.
The development of these areas makes the recruitment and scaling model more predictable, reduces risks, and helps maintain a high level of delivery as products and teams grow.
Glossary
Scalable Delivery Team — a team designed for managed growth and scaling down without losing pace, quality, and context. Scales in capacity and expertise depending on product goals.
Delivery — the process of delivering value in a product: from planning and development to releases and support. Includes speed, stability, and predictability of changes.
Time to Fill (TTF) — the time from agreeing on the role profile to the specialist starting in the project. Used for planning, scaling, and releases.
Offer Acceptance Rate (OAR) — the share of accepted offers. Shows the accuracy of meeting expectations regarding the role, tasks, and conditions.
Onboarding Success — the indicator of successfully integrating a new team member: accesses, environment, first task, and mentor provided as planned.
Time‑to‑Productivity — the time it takes for a new specialist to reach target productivity for the role and start positively impacting delivery.
Talent Pool — an internal database of verified specialists with established level, tech stack, domain expertise, and availability.
Skill Matrix — a competency matrix for the role distinguishing between critical, desirable, and additional skills. Used for recruitment and growth planning.
Agile Recruiting — an iterative approach to recruiting with short cycles, rapid feedback, and adaptation of focus to product priorities.
Capacity on demand — increasing or decreasing the team by the number of people for specific workload and release goals.
Competence on demand — engaging specific expertise for a limited period to address architectural, infrastructural, or quality risks.
Managed Delivery Team — a collaboration format where Webdelo is responsible for managing the team and the results of delivery.
Team Extension (Staff Augmentation) — a format for strengthening the client's team with Webdelo specialists while management remains with the client.
Dedicated Squad — a separate cross-functional team for a specific value stream or product module.
Bus‑factor — an indicator of the team's resilience to the loss of a key specialist. A bus-factor of 2+ means that critical areas are covered by at least two people.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
How does Time to Fill differ from Time to Hire?
What if the specialist is not suitable?
How do you work with time zones?
Can the team be quickly scaled up or down?
How do you understand that the team really needs scaling?
Who manages the team and priorities?
How do you reduce the risk of dependency on individual specialists?
Is your approach suitable for long-term products?
Conclusion
Recruiting and scaling the team at Webdelo is part of the product's delivery system. We view the team as a managed resource that directly impacts the speed, quality, and stability of development. Recruitment, onboarding, and scaling are organized to support the product's goals, rather than create additional uncertainty.
The connection of goals, roles, metrics, and processes allows us to start work quickly, scale intentionally, and maintain control over the budget and risks. The team grows alongside the product, and changes in composition do not disrupt the pace and predictability of releases.
This approach is especially important for complex digital products, where the stability of delivery and manageability of changes are critical. That is why we design teams with as much care as the architecture of systems and development processes.
