A 2020 Deloitte study found that 70% of the time, businesses chose to outsource their development initiatives for budgetary considerations. According to the same studies from earlier years, cost savings have been seen as an important, although not the main, element in tech enterprises’ decisions to hire offshore software development companies.
Additionally, it frees up the company from having to worry about staffing, allowing them to experiment, create new features, and complete their backlog of current and upcoming jobs.
Although there are numerous benefits to outsourcing, such as cost-effectiveness and high-quality service, managing international development teams is a major challenge.
We will examine the ins and outs of efficiently managing offshore development teams remotely and examine the best practices for managing offshore resources in order to help you prepare for the experience of IT outsourcing.
Benefits of Offshore Team
One can simply overcome the difficulties by implementing different enterprise security solutions. The advantages, however, outweigh the difficulties in managing the offshore workforce. The illustration above shows the typical advantages of working with an offshore workforce.
- Faster onboarding – recruiting an offshore software development company is simpler than recruiting the entire crew.
- Increased opportunity for innovation – You get to work with the top people from across the world who can help with various unique ideas to manage the project for effectively finishing it within set deadlines.
- Cost-effective: Talent from offshore locations can be acquired for significantly lower hourly rates and pay. This tactic will undoubtedly result in some financial savings for you. For instance, offshore developers in the US and Western Europe frequently bill between $60 and $200 per hour, while developers in Central Europe typically bill around $50.
- Scalability – Hiring an offshore developer or team gives you the freedom to pay for services as they are used. Whenever you intend to scale your project, the resources can only be contracted for the necessary time frame. Technically, your team (offshore and onshore) is working around the clock when you are in the scaling-up phase.
How to Manage an Offshore Development Team: Best Practices and Advice?
The management of an offshore workforce has several advantages as well as some difficulties that can be skillfully solved. Transparency, proactive communication, strong team ties, ownership, and efficient problem-solving are a few fundamentals. Here is the greatest advice on how to effectively manage an offshore workforce to get the best results, keeping all of these in mind.
1. Find the appropriate talent
Put your attention on thoroughly understanding the needs of your company, your product, and the technical infrastructure. The ability to transform project requirements into technology is essential. If management is on the same page from the beginning regarding the abilities needed, finding the right talent will be easier.
Also keep in mind that you now have access to a worldwide talent pool. Ensure that you’re focusing on the necessary skill sets.
2. Clearly state the objectives and priorities
Setting clear expectations and standards is essential, much like selecting the perfect offshore workforce. The ability to set priorities is one of the most important. Throughout the entire process, make sure to keep a list of priorities in mind and to be as clear as you can about your expectations. By setting expectations in advance, you can drastically cut down on the time spent afterwards.
3. Establish effective communication
When your complete workforce works in the same office, you have no trouble updating your coworkers on the progress of the project or the current situation. Working with a virtual offshore workforce, however, forces you to rely only on various modes of communication. Various tools are now available to teams, enabling efficient and seamless day-to-day communication. Particularly popular among these are Zoom, Skype, and Slack.
You can keep up with current affairs and events, as well as handle issues as they arise and change the assignment as necessary, with the help of excellent communication. Each team member will be aware of their importance and how much depends on them.
4. Pay attention to enhancing working conditions
Every software development company has at some point in its operations struggled with the issue of talent gaps. Additionally, managing a development team that is always growing and shrinking makes this issue much more visible because onboarding and orienting new employees consumes a significant amount of time, money, and resources.
Businesses nowadays are aware of how difficult it is to find and how important it is to keep talented and competent staff. By improving the working environment and providing employees with opportunities for career advancement, training, and fair compensation, you may build an offshore development team that is proficient.
Make your company interesting to potential new workers with the necessary skills, and endeavor to develop the kind of effective communication that is necessary for successful cooperation.
5. Allow ample time for training
Even the most gifted programmers need some time to become familiar with the available tools and technology. Management abandons offshore staff far too frequently because they don’t have enough time or the proper training. A more competent development team will work more efficiently.
6. Get to know the individuals
Even if team communication is becoming easier, it’s still important to understand and be conscious of the human factor. Cultural barriers and time zone differences can frequently be difficult to overcome if the human element is not taken into account. Use patience and make an effort to get to know your team members if you want to become a better leader.
Consider creating an offshore development team, but keep in mind that each team will have different challenges. If you comprehend your product and know how to prioritize, communicate, and comprehend your team, offshore development is feasible.
Maximizing Productivity of the Offshore Teams
The effectiveness of managing the offshore workforce depends on effective collaboration. Who or what is collaborating here? A number of teams are involved in the creation and execution of the work strategy. Additionally, because we’ve been discussing teams that work remotely, the project will fail if these teams can’t work together effectively.
By giving them the necessary access and enabling a transparent environment through the use of the appropriate collaborative platforms, one may solve this obstacle. Let’s examine a few of the methods and instruments that aid in real-time communication. Additionally, these solutions make it easier to combine job materials and status reports in one location.
The most fundamental form of communication is email. There are other options as well, but for some needs, email is the only viable option. Obtaining the necessary approvals, as well as processing paperwork, are two examples. Only when necessary should it be utilized. All team members engaged in development projects must have access to the software development company’s email addresses for security reasons.
Conclusion
When the development team is located on the other side of the world, offshore development is a challenging, complex process that is not always effective. It is in a software development company’s best interest to be informed of the potential risks, advantages, and disadvantages of offshore development, as well as the tactics you may employ to manage such risks, in order to achieve maximum effectiveness and amazing success on your project.
FAQs
Q. What are services for offshore software development?
A. A team working in a different nation or region is said to be providing offshore software development services. A company opens a new “offshore development center,” often known as a software development company, in Dubai or another country and recruits a specialised software development team. They are permanent employees, much like your local team, but they have their headquarters abroad.
Q. What does remote team management entail?
A. Managing an offshore team is comparable to managing an on-site team. It consists of several actions that strengthen a team’s bond by advancing the goals of the team members.
Q. How can I collaborate with team members that are located abroad?
A. Daily stand-ups, which are quick 15-minute sessions, make it easier to work with development teams dispersed across several time zones. Daily stand-ups are held to discuss issues, set agendas, and share daily goals. These standard sessions could be a simple yet effective way to collaborate with remote workers.
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