Lean Tech FAQ

Knowledge database for Lean Tech related questions divided by the

different departments

Recruitment - Talent

1. What are the different seniority levels within the Lean Tech organization?

2. Why is it uncommon for us to place Junior and Junior+ positions for dedicated
accounts?
3. What is the typical turnaround time for sourcing and placing candidates?

● Although this highly depends on the technology and the seniority it is

typical for a process to take 3 to 4 weeks if LT is sourcing for candidates
outside of the organization.
● If a presented candidate is already in the organization it could take
anywhere from 1 week to 2 weeks to transition him from his current
project to the new account
● Technologies like .NET, React,Angular Node.js and Java are easier to
source from since LT is actively recruiting for these positions. If the
customer’s needs are any of these technologies turnaround times could
be reduced.

4. What are the most popular technologies we place at Lean Tech

● Frontend
○ Angular
○ React
● Backend
○ Node.js (Javascript)
○ .NET Core and .NET (C#)
○ Java
○ Python
 Figure: Average distribution of technologies at Lean Tech

5. What are some technologies we do not typically placed today.

● Golang
● Kotlin (Android) /Swift (iOS)
● PHP
● Next.js
● Vue.js
● C++
 6. What is the typical screening process for Lean Tech

Screening Process:
● Candidates take a personality test with https://www.16personalities.com/
● Candidates go through a culture fit call with one of our recruiters
● Candidate performs a written technical screening test
● Candidates that pass perform a call with a Senior interviewer/screener
● Candidates that pass will be eligible for an interview with customers
○ Ideally we would like for customers to share with us how they would like to
conduct the interviews so that we can relay this information to individuals.
Better transparency leads to having candidates that are happier with the
process which can be lengthy at times.
○ Interviews with customers tend to last 45 to 60 minutes.
○ Whenever customers have highly technical interviews where there is a
need to do live code sessions this tends to slow down the process
considerably. Developers tend to underperform under stressful situations
like an interview.

7. What is the typical turnover rate for LT

Turnover for LT currently sits between 12 and 14% per year

8. What is the expected tenure for a developer

1 to 1.5 years
 9. What are our developer rates?
Rates for developers are subject to the following sheet
https://pages.qwilr.com/Lean-Tech-Dedicated-average-pricing-2021-RYWXESN1Smij

Nevertheless, these are meant to be base and can vary depending on the individual.
10.What is the ideal sales process to onboard a new customer on the Dedicated
Teams business unit

● Discovery call with customer

● Follow-up with customer including the following information
○ Recap of discussion
○ NDA
○ Service brochure
○ RPA brochure
○ Rates
○ Service agreement template (Staffing)
● Execute blank Service Agreement (Staffing)
● Introduce to Success Management Team (Jordan or Jeremy)
○ Success Management team to send Hiring Portal thorough Trello
○ Success Management team to send Profile card with responsibilities for
Operations/Customer Success Management
● Once candidates have been approved, send addendum to the original agreement
with candidate specifications.

11.How many developers do we have? At what rates are we growing?

As of February 1st, 2021 we have close to 300 developers and are growing at a pace of
20 per month.

12.What percentage of your customers use LT for Projects (PMB) vs Dedicated

Teams?

30% of our customers use us for PMB and 70% use us for Dedicated Teams.

13.What are top customer references that we can discuss with customers

● Project44
● Truckstop
● DSC

14. How many years of experience do LT developers typically have?

Our most Senior developer has 20 years of experience. Our least experienced developer
has 1 year.
● Senior: 5 to 12 years
● Mid-level: 2 to 5 years
● Junior: 1+ years
 Operations

15.

Internal

16.How are margins determined for each position?

Margins are calculated based on the different Seniority levels.
Mid-level developers tend to provide the highest margins so a well balanced team
usually has both mid-level and Senior developers.

Sales Calculator:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1hafSEzABvTphj3vvmgXsGyeXPQ0DDkWmIZ
wLbJaQhuE/edit#gid=0
 17.What is the ideal development team?

● Senior Backend Developer

○ B2 English
● Mid-level frontend Developer
○ B1+ English
● Mid-level fullstack Developer
○ B1+ English
● QA
○ B1+ English

18. What do account Managers do for Dedicated Accounts?

You can view all operations information on the following website

https://sites.google.com/lean-tech.io/leantech/home

19. Test
 20.What are the dedicated hiring portals for customers? How do they work?

The portals are powered by Trello, a project management tool with lists and cards that
can be attached with any document or information.

The success management team is in charge of creating these portals from a template
in Trello and customizing them with customer information such as Logos and colors.

Customers are granted access via their emails and when invited, they will see different
lists that represent the approval stages for candidates, request specifications, among
others.

Each card on the Pending Approval column contains the information regarding each
candidate
- Photo
- Seniority
- Rate
 - Tentative Start Date (Due Date)
- English level (Basic to Advanced+)
- Technology 1,2
- Lean Tech CV
- Personality test (16 personalities)
- Technical assessment
- Whatsapp voice note
- Candidate description
- Setup amount

21.Do developers take English courses at LT?

LT has an on-site full-time English teacher that provides 2 to 4 hours of classes to a
specific group of candidates within the organization. We also partner up with a
company called Lynx that provides specialized English training for engineers.

22.What computers do we offer at Lean Tech? What is the cost associated to

hardware at Lean Tech. What are the setup fees?
Customers can request any hardware specifications. These will be reviewed with LT
approved vendors in the US or Colombia. LT offers a standard issued computers for the
basic setup fee plan.

Basic set up fee: $2,000 USD one-time fee

Basic set up fee alternative: $1,0000 USD one time-fee + $100 USD monthly
maintenance
Specifications:
- Intel core i7 processor
- 16 GB RAM
- 256 GB SSD
- 14” 1080p laptop

Trello link: <>

23. How long does it take for to prepare proposals for projects

Depending on the nature of the proposal it can take between 1 to 2 weeks.

24.What types of proposals do we provide for the Dedicated Teams business unit.
- Proposal with Dedicated office render with test employees (used for templates
and when there are no candidates assigned)
- RFP submissions using QWLIR
- Full dedicated team proposals
- RPA + maintenance proposal
- Helpdesk proposal (Continuous service agreement)

25.What types of RPA projects have we done? What types of projects can we do?
What projects can’t we do?
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pccYPO8XZFzN9hR9bZ_-EH0uiX5Kk19_VEv
I3FgIhjY/edit?ts=60356ac6

Projects we’ve completed:

- < Link to use case brochure >
Projects we can do
- < Link to use case brochure >
Projects we can’t do
- Hardware related automations
- Projects that require RPA frameworks when customers do not own a license

26. How long does it take to get hardware/computers for new candidates?
This typically takes from 1 to 3 weeks depending on the model and availability.

27. Do developers participate in various projects at the same time?

Lean Tech policy is to have developers only work on one project at a time. We believe in
full-time dedication to projects.

28.How many projects should an Account/Project manager handle at one time?

Project managers should be able to oversee up to 6 projects at a time. Going over this
limit could lead to information slipping through the cracks.
Account Managers can oversee up to 9 accounts or a total of 50 developers.

29. How does Lean Tech ensure quality in projects?

Quality assurance engineers within LT are part of the SQUARE team, which is a
department within LT that is made up of technology leaders for Frontend, Backend, QA,
UI/UX, Architects, among others. These individuals provide certification letters.

30.What type of KPIs does LT keep track of for Dedicated Teams?

● Number of completed story points
● Retrospective results

31.How long does it take on average to close an account at Lean Tech?

1 to 2 months

32.How many developers do accounts have on average?

5 developers on average

33.What are the typical platforms used at LT for developers?

Business and communication

● Trello
● Jira
● Google Data Studio
● Notion.io
● Release notes
● Google Workspace
○ Google Docs
○ Google Jamboard
 ○ Google sheets
○ Gmail
● Slack
● Discord
● 3CX
●

Technology & Development

● Sentry.io
● LogRocket
● AWS
● Fullstory
● Marker.io

34.Does LT charge customers for software/programs needed to perform their daily

duties
LT is not responsible for purchasing specific software that clients may need to

35.What are the top names of our competition?

● Globant
● Gorilla Logic
● Team International
● Jobsity
● Baires Dev
● Wolox
● Endava

36.What does a newcomer onboarding look like?

● Candidates all go through specialized logistics training provided by Lean Staffing
Solutions that last roughly 2 weeks. The start date of this course depends on the
start date for LSS. These sessions are all recorded and stored in the company
knowledge base (WALT)
● Newcomer onboarding starts at 8:00 am and ends at noon. Developer
onboarding typically occurs every Monday.
○ Onboarding presentation with Talent/Recruitment
○ Meeting with Luis Encinales (Director of Operations)
○ Meeting with Alfonso Quijano (Chief Technology Officer)

37.What are our typical recruitment channels?

● LinkedIn (Poaching)
○ Profile scraping
 ○ Job posts
● Torre
● University Job portals
○ Universidad del Norte (Barranquilla)
○ Universidad de Antioquia (Medellín)
● Partner in Venezuela
● Elempleo.com
● Computrabajo
● Website

38.What are some of the biggest challenges when recruiting candidates?

● Candidates rescinding offers because they participate in various hiring
processes at the same time
● High salaries above market values
● Lack of fullstack developers

39.What are the easiest Seniorities to recruit for?

Mid-level developers are by far the easier positions to source

40.What positions have the highest turnover?

Mid level full stack developers with 1 year or more of experience and English level above
B1

41.What questions are answered on Discovery calls?

● Interview type
● Technology stack
● Seniority
● Urgency
● Team size
● Who oversees developers
● Desired business unit? (PMB or Dedicated)
● Types of software tools used?
● Intellectual property and how we handle it
● General Liability insurance
● Infosec policies
● Hardware setup
● Software setup
● Return to the office plan?
● Do we have candidates on the bench?
● Roof rate for dedicated developers and overall budget
● Project overview
● Logistics experience / Past projects
● References and customers we’ve worked with
● Security
● Do we use scrum? Does the customer
● Certifications
● Number of developers
● Worst cases we have encountered from a project standpoint
○ What have we learned
● Easiest technology stack to source
● Hardest technology stack to source
 ● What is our differentiator from our competition
● How do we charge ? By hour? By month?
● What is the typical working schedule?
● What is the responsibility of the account manager/ project manager in the
account
● What is the responsibility of the Customer Success Manager?

42. What is the role of the success management team?

43.What is the Lean Tech division company structure?

44.What is the average English level for developers in Colombia?

B1

45.What are standard salaries for developers in Colombia?

- Junior up to $4 MM COP
- Mid-level up to $8 MM COP
- Senior up to $12 MM COP

46. How many projects have we completed?

More than 60 projects.

47.How many customers do we have?

45+

48. What is the process to review contract/agreement redlines submitted by

customers?
- Alfonso (Chief Technology Offices) of the organization

49. Free month

- Success management team able to approve up to 1 month free conditional trial,
- Conditional trial to include a prorate engineer trial, if approved, if denied there is
no cost to the customer

50. No contract - free trial period hire

51. Interviews in native language

- Senior engineers to perform interviews in Spanish for dedicated teams, with 4 or
more developers will decrease implementation duration and increase efficiency

52. What is the process of explaining a general application proposal with a customer

53. What are the tools we use to monitor errors in applications? How do we measure
user count and user adoption for web apps?

54. What are the tools we use to