Swift Developers: The Hardships of Hiring and How to Overcome Them

As the battle for talent goes on, IT departments are once again heading towards a tough year when it comes to adding tech talent to their teams. And it’s not only DevOps or Artificial Intelligence talent that is hard to hunt down. Many IT leaders have already come across soaring demand for Swift developers. Since you’ve wound up here, we assume that you’ve faced the hardships of hiring this kind of talent as well. So, in this post, we highlight the roadblocks you may encounter hiring Swift developers and give advice on how to overcome them. 

But first, a few words about us and our experience in Swift app development. 

We at nCube specialize in sourcing Swift developers (among many other technologies) from Eastern Europe for companies that aim to augment their mobile development units. We’ve already helped companies such as doTerra, Life360, and Flightright hire dedicated Swift developers based in Eastern Europe. These companies reached out to us after facing at least one of the difficulties we are going to discuss in this post. Let’s begin! 

READ ALSO: When Is the Best Time for Custom Mobile Development? 

Talent scarcity

Swift is a relatively new entrant on the scene of programming languages. Introduced in 2014 courtesy of Apple, Swift eventually came to beat its precursor, Objective-C, gradually becoming the go-to language for iOS development. Swift’s robustness and easy maintenance are just a few reasons why Swift iOS development (and not Objective-C) is growing. This created a significant gap between demand and supply of Swift talent, given that the amount of developers who are adopting Swift is not enough to meet the rising demand for experts in this language. According to LinkedIn, there are 58K Swift developers in the US. In contrast, in January of 2022, there have been nearly 75K jobs posted in the “Swift developer” category. It means that each company looking for Swift app development experts may potentially hit a wall trying to add this kind of talent to their teams. 

Another stumbling block can be finding seasoned Swift application development talent. Given the young age of this technology, the best that you can count on is hiring someone with three to four years of commercial experience. The problem is that the most experienced workers are often snatched up by larger companies, leaving smaller organizations (like startups) scraping the bottom of the barrel. 

An extensive set of skills

Speaking of experience, when you hire a Swift developer, you probably expect they will be able to pull their own weight in your Swift iOS development squad. To make it happen, your hired Swift developer needs to be well-versed in many areas of iOS development, including the following: 

• Architecture patterns (MVC/MVP/MVVM, etc); 
• UX/UI design of mobile applications;
• Knowledge of databases (CoreData, SQLite, etc);
• Data exchange and networking tools.

Knowledge of these things lets a Swift developer write structured code, create an attractive user experience, manage data, and ensure the integration of third-party services. But these are just the table stakes. Your project may require someone who can handle project documentation, implement the best practices and industry standards of Swift app development, set up the workflows, and even be responsible for your app’s security. All of these things take an expert hand – and bringing those in may be a challenge due to the reasons we’ve mentioned above. 

On a more positive note, you can follow the practice of nurturing your own Swift iOS development talent within your organization, but if you’re short on time and need to deliver an app fast, this scenario may not be for you. In fact, being in this position may lead to the following ways of adding Swift talent, namely hiring freelance Swift developers and collaborating with providers of Swift app development services. Below we review both scenarios.

Managing freelance Swift developers

If you need to scale up your project urgently, the first thing that comes to mind is probably to hire a Swift developer from one of well-known freelance repositories. While this is a proven way to scale up a team, it may not be the optimum way. Freelancers are typically associated with high levels of unpredictability when it comes to consistency and dedication to the project. Working with freelance Swift developers, you always risk being one of many of their ongoing clients, which may take a toll on the freelancer’s progress, efficiency, and dedication to your project. Another serious drawback is that your ideas for Swift application development may get compromised, as freelancers are rarely bound by any contracts. And, of course, we shouldn’t forget about the fear of anyone who manages freelancers: They may go off the grid at will, causing foiled deadlines and stress for the rest of the team.

While hiring Swift developers on a temporary basis is a good solution to scale up quickly, still many risks are related to this mode of cooperation.

READ ALSO: How Should You Hire Remote Developers in 2022?

Collaborating with a Swift development company

A Swift development company is the type of organization that uses its internal staff skilled in Swift app development to work on your project. It’s a viable way to develop an app, but it comes with several nuances one should know about. Working with a provider of Swift development services often means being locked in a deal without being able to control the software development process firsthand. If it’s critical for you that you retain control over the processes, hiring a Swift development company may not be the best solution, as the company typically controls everything – from development processes to team members who will work on your project. While many organizations prefer such a way to develop an app, others are rather apprehensive about giving up control over the project. This especially holds true for projects where you need to be in the know of everything to yield the best results. We believe that overcoming these challenges would entail the following solution.

READ ALSO: An In-House vs. Remote Software Development Team: Which one is Best for You?

Hire a dedicated Swift developer 

Now that we’ve reviewed different roadblocks that may await you on your way to hiring a Swift developer,  let’s look at the solution that may address all of them and add a lot of value to your company. We believe that such a solution can be a Dedicated Team model where you can hire a dedicated Swift developer who will be fully integrated into your company’s processes. We at nCube are fond of this model, as we’ve seen many clients succeed from it. Here’s what you will access working through nCube as a provider of dedicated Swift developers: 

Access to a pool of Eastern European tech talent. We at nCube source developers from Eastern Europe that boasts over 13K specialists in Swift technology. Many Swift developers we work with have years of experience being a part of Swift development companies, developing apps for Western companies, which means they have well-rounded tech and communication skills. Despite Swift being a young technology, we work with developers who have on average 3-4 years of commercial experience using this language. By partnering with us, you can overcome the scarcity of Swift developers that may impede your project and add genuinely experienced talent. 

Visibility into processes. In contrast to working with a typical Swift development company, a Dedicated Team model puts you in the driver’s seat when it comes to making project decisions and communicating with the team. You can probably have the same with freelancers, but lose the benefit of dedication and involvement in your project. With a Dedicated Team model, you communicate with your Swift developers personally and manage the process as you see fit, yielding a predictable outcome. 

Deep involvement in your project. The Dedicated Team model we practice at nCube stipulates that when you hire a Swift developer, they will clock in 40 hours per week staying solely dedicated to your project, just as if they were a full-time member of your internal staff. On our side, we will make sure that the team member will be a part of your team for as long as you need them. To that end, we deliver vital retention-related services, such as solid employee bonuses, HR and accounting support, motivational programs, and insurance for every member of your remote Swift iOS development unit. 

It’s worth mentioning that we are not a niche-focused Swift development company, as our expertise in fact spans a variety of technologies. We are experts in augmenting teams with the talent our clients need. With that in mind, we will handpick Swift developers prioritizing your requirements and sift through our expansive pool of Eastern European candidates for developers who fit your demands in the best way. We test English, soft skills, culture fit, and tech skills of handpicked candidates with our internal Swift iOS development experts. Then we offer you to interview our pre-selected developers. If it’s a match – you can add them to your team. The decision to hire will always be yours. 

Contact us, and let’s see if the Dedicated Team model is a good fit for your goals.