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What’s the hidden cost of high team turnover in software development? It’s not just missed deadlines or mounting frustration. It’s the constant re-explaining of your business. The knowledge that quietly walks out the door. And the sinking feeling that you're managing vendors, not building with partners.
This is all too common in outsourcing, where the relationship rarely goes beyond being just an “extra pair of hands.” But what’s possible when a collaboration is built to last?
This is the story of one such partnership. A journey that began in 2016 with a single developer and grew into a fully integrated team of 30. It shows what happens when a relationship is built on stability, shared ownership, and mutual trust.
The Foundation
Our journey with our client started with a clear goal: to merge multiple legacy systems into a single modern web platform that facilitates electronic customs and border entry filings for the US and Canada.
Our involvement began with just one developer joining our client’s team. But their first task wasn’t writing code, it was flying to our client’s headquarters. We felt it was essential to sit at the same table, to listen, and to understand the “why” before ever building the “what.”
From Execution to Strategic Insight
In the early years, our relationship grew not just because of the quality of our code, but because of the quality of our questions.
Our philosophy is to invest heavily in our people’s well-being and growth. With a horizontal culture built on participatory decision-making, competitive salaries, and top-tier benefits, we’ve created an environment where high performers choose to build a career.
That translates directly into value for our clients. With just 5% annual turnover, and 0% among key roles, the team our clients start with is the team they grow with.
This is where the value of a stable team really comes into focus. When people stick around, they have the opportunity to compound business context, understanding not only how the system works, but why it matters. They start to see around corners, anticipating challenges and contributing to strategy, not just executing tasks.
We flagged problems in specs before they became blockers. We suggested simpler solutions that saved time and money. That’s when the relationship started to shift. It was the first sign of something deeper taking shape.
From Collaboration to Shared Ownership
The strength of our partnership was proven when our collaboration grew beyond the initial project. Our client entrusted us with four more of their development initiatives, which brought us to a pivotal moment: how to scale our team to meet this new level of responsibility.
The pivotal moment wasn't a single event, but a gradual shift in mindset. In many projects, a client dictates the workflow. But as we demonstrated our deep understanding of their goals, the conversation changed. We earned the trust to not just follow a process, but to define it.
That level of trust unlocked a new level of collaboration, proven by the tangible responsibilities we began to co-own.
We gained the autonomy to negotiate technical scope with stakeholders and took charge of defining the development processes.
The most significant proof of this partnership emerged when two key, high-responsibility positions on the client’s team became vacant. First, the critical role of coordinating all production deployments, a position of immense operational responsibility, was assumed by one of our team leaders. This shifted our role from simply building software to owning its safe delivery.
Shortly after, when a veteran developer who handled complex custom work also departed, the critical tasks were not filled by a new hire. Instead, the client entrusted these responsibilities to our entire team. Stepping up to absorb those tasks together was the moment we truly became co-owners of the project, sharing a deep sense of accountability.
A Single Team, A Shared Identity
Eight years after that first visit, the lines between our teams have all but disappeared.
This deep connection was built on more than just good work. It grew from our commitment to face-to-face team building, organizing more trips as the team grew, and from finding common ground in the small things, like talking about the same sports, TV shows, and movies. This shared culture turned daily meetings into genuine conversations between colleagues.
The result is an integration so complete that, in the words of the team:
“We’re the same. There’s practically no difference who is who. There is no ‘us and them.’”
When you give a partnership the space to grow, you don’t just get better software, you get the stability you need to innovate and grow.
