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Software Development Companies · Mobile application companies

HR for Mobile application companies: Release Cycles, Device Testing and Scarce Specialists

A mobile application company builds for phones that its clients and their customers hold in their hands. Release dates, store reviews and device differences set a rhythm that makes scarce specialists hard to hire and easy to lose.

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A mobile application company builds software for phones and tablets, either for clients or for products of its own. The team has Android and iOS developers, designers who think in small screens, back-end developers for the services behind the screens, testers with a shelf of devices, and a product or project lead. Work moves in release cycles. A build goes to the store for review, a rejection or a crash after launch needs a fix at once, and new phone versions force updates. Strong mobile developers are in short supply and know it. The wider IT and software page covers what the sector shares.

  1. Plan
  2. Hire
  3. Onboard
  4. Manage
  5. Develop
  6. Perform
  7. Engage
  8. Retain
  9. Exit
  10. Improve

When HR is weak in mobile application companies, you may see

  • Release days pull everyone in
  • Few people can do the work
  • Android and iOS skills sit in separate heads
  • Testing on a range of devices is tiring
  • Phone updates arrive on their own schedule
  • Designers and developers argue over the small screen
  • Remote hires drift from the team

These are the places the people side of this kind of business tends to give way. The rest of this page works through them.

Who does the work in mobile application companies

HR here has to work for each of these groups, not only the office. The set-up below is written with all of them in mind.

Roles we help you hire in mobile application companies

GullyHR runs talent acquisition for permanent roles in mobile application companies. For each role we agree the job description with you, find and screen candidates against it, and support the offer through to joining. Tell us the role and the number of people, and we start there.

Job descriptions for this sector

Share a hiring requirementTalent acquisition services →IT and specialised recruitment →Role design and job descriptions →

We recruit permanent employees. We do not supply contract or temporary staff.

We set up the interview and hiring process for mobile application companies

Every business interviews, but few have a written process that works the same way for every role and every interviewer. GullyHR designs yours, from the role brief to the offer, trains your managers to run it, and can run it for you on the roles you hand us.

  1. 1. Role brief and scorecard

    We agree what the role must deliver, the must-have and nice-to-have skills, and how each will be scored.

  2. 2. Stages and sequence

    Screening call, assessment, interview rounds and decision points, sized to the role and the number of people you hire.

  3. 3. Question bank and scoring

    Structured questions for each role family and a rating guide, so two interviewers judge the same answer the same way.

  4. 4. Interviewer readiness

    A short briefing for your managers on what to ask, what to avoid and how to give a clear yes or no.

  5. 5. Offer and follow-up

    Who approves, how the offer is made, and how candidates are kept informed from first call to joining.

Set up our interview processRecruitment process consulting →Structured interviewing →Interviewer training →Recruitment software →

Where HR strains in mobile application companies

  • Release days pull everyone in

    A build submitted late on Friday, a store rejection on Saturday and a crash report on Sunday turn a release into a weekend for the whole team.

  • Few people can do the work

    Good mobile developers are scarce, so offers fly and a single resignation can stall a client's release.

  • Android and iOS skills sit in separate heads

    One platform's developer cannot cover the other, so leave or exits leave a gap.

  • Testing on a range of devices is tiring

    Testers check dozens of phones and versions by hand, and the work is seen only when something is missed.

  • Phone updates arrive on their own schedule

    New system versions force changes to released products, and the effort rarely appears in a plan or a quote.

  • Designers and developers argue over the small screen

    What looks right in a design file behaves differently on a phone, and the discussion repeats on every project.

  • Remote hires drift from the team

    Developers in other cities join calls but feel outside the group, and growth conversations are sparse.

HR topics for mobile application companies

Start with the topics that matter most here: Recruitment and Talent Acquisition; Learning and Development; Retention and Attrition Management. Then work through the rest. Each topic is written for information technology and software, not in general.

Recruitment and Talent Acquisition

Requisition to joining, the same way every time.

Learning and Development

Training planned from need rather than from the calendar.

Retention and Attrition Management

Who leaves, when, why, and which of them mattered.

HR Strategy and Workforce Planning

How many people, in which roles, by when, and what they will cost.

Organisation Design

Structure, reporting lines and who is allowed to decide what.

Onboarding and Probation

A first day that is the same for the fifth joiner as the first.

Employee Administration

Records, attendance, leave and the day-to-day HR that must simply work.

Compensation, Payroll and Benefits

Salary structure, payroll inputs and a month that closes on time.

Performance Management

Goals, reviews and ratings that hold up in a conversation.

Career and Succession Management

Named backups for the roles that cannot be vacant.

Employee Engagement and Experience

Communication, recognition and the conditions people actually work in.

Employee Relations

Two routes, one for complaints, one for conduct, kept separate.

Policies, Compliance and Governance

Policies a manager can apply, and obligations with owners and dates.

Health, Safety and Wellbeing

Induction, records, incident reporting and follow-through.

Exit and Alumni Management

Resignation to relieving letter, in a defined order.

HR Technology and Automation

Records that survive people, and approvals that do not queue.

HR Analytics and Management Reporting

A short monthly pack management actually reads.

HR Operations and Governance

An HR function that runs the same way every month.

What a working HR set-up looks like

The pieces a mobile application companies business puts in place, in an order that makes each easier. Open any card for the detail.

Plan a release calendar

A shared view of store submissions, rollouts and holidays so leave and cover are set early.

What this covers

A shared view of store submissions, rollouts and holidays so leave and cover are set early. The attendance and leave process can use it.

Cross-train on both platforms

Pair Android and iOS developers on small tasks so cover exists.

What this covers

Pair Android and iOS developers on small tasks so cover exists. The learning and development process can plan it.

Set a device lab routine

A list of devices, an owner and a way to rotate testing duty so it is shared and recognised.

What this covers

A list of devices, an owner and a way to rotate testing duty so it is shared and recognised.

Budget for platform updates

Reserve time each quarter for system changes and tell clients in contracts.

What this covers

Reserve time each quarter for system changes and tell clients in contracts. Hours then stop vanishing.

Hold design and build reviews early

A short joint session on real devices before build begins, to settle behaviour questions.

What this covers

A short joint session on real devices before build begins, to settle behaviour questions.

Include remote staff in growth talks

Monthly one to ones with remote developers and visible chances to lead.

What this covers

Monthly one to ones with remote developers and visible chances to lead.

Start by checking where you stand

Before changing anything, find out what is true today. Work through the checks using a recent operating period. The time needed depends on the records you hold; note missing evidence and use the findings to choose a priority.

Share your requirements
  • Count weekend releases and rejections handled in the last six months.
  • List which platform skills are held by only one person.
  • Ask testers how their device list was chosen and who updates it.
  • Check how many hours went into system updates last quarter and who paid.
  • Ask remote developers when they last spoke about their growth.
  • Confirm with a qualified professional the employment terms, ownership of work and data duties relevant to a company that builds software used by the public.

Confirm with a qualified professional. What applies to you depends on your business, your state and your arrangements, and it changes. This page describes practice. It does not state a legal position.

How GullyHR helps

The services below fit this kind of business best. Each starts by recording where you stand, and every later report compares against that. We do not promise outcomes.

Start with a free conversation, or see the paid HR Diagnostic.

Our HR transformation approach

  1. 1

    Assess

    Understand the business, its workforce, current processes and HR challenges.

  2. 2

    Identify gaps

    Find the missing, weak, inconsistent or person-dependent processes.

  3. 3

    Design

    Create the structure, processes, policies, SOPs, dashboards and systems needed.

  4. 4

    Implement

    Help HR and department managers actually adopt the new system.

  5. 5

    Automate

    Digitise repetitive and approval-based workflows where it is worth doing.

  6. 6

    Measure

    Track hiring, attendance, employee cost, performance, training and attrition.

  7. 7

    Improve

    Strengthen the people-management system continuously, not once.

Blogs worth reading first

From the GullyHR blog: one on HR in information technology and software, and one on each of the topics this page points to.

More on the GullyHR blog.

Questions owners ask

Start early, assess with a short practical task, move quickly and offer growth as well as pay. Keep contact with past candidates, and consider training capable developers from a nearby platform.

More on HR for information technology and software

All 6 business types in software development companies · Find another business type

Custom software companiesProduct engineering companiesSoftware testing companiesEnterprise software companiesWebsite development companiesRecruitment and Talent Acquisition in information technology and softwareLearning and Development in information technology and softwareRetention and Attrition Management in information technology and software

See all HR topics for information technology and software, or another industry.

Start with your business need

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Tell us your industry, team size and the issue you want to address. Bring one example of where work gets delayed or ownership is unclear, and the deadline or decision you are working towards.

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  • A clear scope and fee before any paid work
  • A practical next step for your business
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