In this review, we explore some of the pros of using this service, as well as some of the downsides that we found after trialling it. First, it is worth figuring out whether this option is right for you.

Who is Full Scale for?

Full Scale isn't for every business out there. It has a highly targeted model mainly designed for U.S. companies. It works with everyone from growing startups to Fortune 500 enterprises across multiple sectors, including:

  • healthcare
  • commercial real estate
  • SAAS
  • FinTech

It's for engineering leaders who need to scale their development capacity rapidly. It provides front-end, back-end, and mobile support, as well as QA and DevOps. It massively reduces the cost associated with hiring in-house or using a domestic agency inside the United States. It takes advantage of lower local costs in the Philippines to reduce charges to around $35/hour.

What we liked about using Full Scale

There were so many things that we liked about using Full Scale that it's hard to list them all here. Our experience was overwhelmingly positive, and it was often difficult for us to find anything that was really wrong with the company's offering. We are keen on giving you an unbiased opinion in this review, so in the next section we'll take a look at some of the minor downsides that we discovered.

But first, what are the pros?

Direct team integration

The most obvious benefit of using Full Scale is the direct team integration functionality. It's hard to find a system like this anywhere else or from any other agency. The company essentially operates as an extension of your in-house team, pushing directly to your repo and participating in live sprints and standups. What's nice is that you avoid some of the problems associated with working asynchronously through middlemen. Everything is directed from the top down, the way it would be if you decided to hire in-house.

High retention and multi-year tenure

Another benefit that many people don't think of when using Full Scale is the high retention rates the company offers. According to the firm, 93%+ of employees stick around for more than one year, meaning that you have the same people dedicated to your projects long-term.

This process prevents the loss of institutional knowledge. It means that you can continue working on difficult and deep projects long-term without worrying about losing key people.

Scheduled shift overlap

You might also think that there would be a shift or a timing problem associated with integrating with a company from the Philippines halfway around the world. The Full Scale, scheduled shift overlap gets Filipino engineers to work on shifts that directly overlap with US business hours for real-time collaboration. Overstate how much frustration and wasted time this avoids when people can work together directly.

Strong culture and communication alignment

We also really liked the fact that Full Scale has a strong culture and communication alignment with US firms. The Philippines is already a highly pro-US culture, but this is even more important when working closely in a business setting. The talent pool is English-first and trained on product-driven principles, which means that engineers act as proactive product owners instead of just people you're hiring to do a task. This means that they always have one eye on what's the best outcome for the company as a whole.

Rigorous vetting

Finally, we liked the fact that Full Scale is highly selective in its hiring process, only accepting the top 3% of talented candidates. This meant that when we did use the company's services, we got high-quality results that almost always worked the first time. If there were any revisions or problems in the processes, they were usually dealt with quickly after being identified. This reduces bottlenecks and allows firms to proceed quickly without engineering issues.

The cons of using Full Scale

Of course, as promised, there were some downsides to using Full Scale that we discovered during our review.

You have to retain management overhead

One issue is that you retain your management overhead. Full Scale doesn't remove this for you. A staff augmentation model is not a hands-off project outsourcing service, so your internal leadership is still responsible for managing developers' day-to-day and choosing the technical direction.

There's a significant geographic and cultural distance

Another problem is the geographic and cultural distance. Even though Filipino engineers are aligned with U.S. principles and working culture, the physical location in the Philippines can be a source of annoyance for some companies, especially those that are more hardware-based.

There's a 30-day notice requirement for adjustments and terminations

Finally, there is the 30-day notice requirement for adjustments. While Full Scale operates a highly flexible model compared to conventional hiring, releasing engineers or scaling down still requires 30 days' notice. That means you can't adjust the level of service you use overnight. This is understandable, given that real people are involved, but it adds a layer of friction for a service like this.

The final verdict

What did we ultimately think about Full Scale and the service that it offers?

Essentially, this brand is for any company based in the U.S. that wants to directly integrate overseas engineers into its team at a low cost. We particularly like Full Scale because of its ability to remove middlemen and provide in-house functionality while reducing the risk of loss of institutional knowledge, which is very important for many tech-related firms. Full Scale also works across multiple verticals and business scales, making it highly adaptable and flexible for fast-growth companies. For this reason, we're giving it our five out of five-star rating.