Off-shore development can be a difficult one to get right, but accomplished well it can deliver real benefits. Having established a team from 1 to over 150 members, here’s some of my pointers and advice.
Recommendations for building a successful off-shore working model.
Start with your current business.
Although Covid was a difficult time, it has done us some favours. Pre-covid many businesses were not setup for remote working and had to adapt quickly to changing environments. Having a work from anywhere strategy is the no.1. hurdle when starting with an off-shore team.
Build a culture where your existing staff see the new team as beneficial. Existing staff may think an off-shore team won’t be able to understand and deliver the work as well. This is a common mis-conception and relates mostly to cultural differences and communication.
Train your current team on the cultural differences, for example;
Indian staff have a strong family bond far greater than the UK.
The Indian workplace has a hierarchical workplace culture built on respect and experience.
The experiences we have in the UK are quite different to those in India, ensure you provide context and can relate to the differences. It’s good to expand specifications to avoid assumptions which could be interpreted differently.
Getting the right start off-shore.
When starting a team, invest in the time to ensure that the initial team shares your business values and culture, employ leaders who have the correct level of authority and are respected as your head of technology off-shore.
Don’t expect a 5 year experienced staff in the UK to be the same as a 5 year experience staff in India. Staff onboard differently, so adjust to align with expectations.
Train your team on the communication expectation and how to work together.
Introduce your teams to each other and allow them time to onboard and establish a working cadence. Give them the ownership you would with a UK team.
If you’re working with a team via a partner, ensure they are giving you real staff, who will remain employed and not cycled around every project.
Build a relationship through food and get to know people.
Empower your team to be confident to feedback honestly to build a great working relationship.
Invest in the time to meet and be with your team.
Train, trust, and empower to get great success and build strong team members.
If you’re interested in setting up a new team, we’d be happy to help you setup your off-shore team at Zen3. Feel free to get in touch.
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