Effective approaches to work with offshore team

Every project will have challenges and having offshore team another part of your world will assist just with expanding them.

We should know what the offshore team expects when working with them as a team, will help us with avoiding mistaken assumptions and keep the project on track.

In General, the dominant part of the projects needs offshore services for IT needs. With this hybrid model, we have both advantages and disadvantages by using offshore resources. One thing to keep in mind each offshore service will have in its implications have cultures and types of relationships.

Underneath points will improve the onshore and offshore model adequately: -

Point # 1 – Few circumstances, The time difference is not a decent (Ex: USA Vs India)

Different offshore groups require a different level of information with onshore buddies (Communication). With the limited window, in this situation, USA Vs India cover, it tends to be hard to find solutions for offshore team needs when they required. The example in a couple of cases – a question that can be answered in an almost no time by an onshore colleague might take next day due to some situations. In some cases, if we not clearly understood the scope, the back and forth can result in days passing before a problem solved – This might be a disastrous situation for critical project issues.

This sort of model is good to have on a need basis with the great process set up, not throughout the entire project.

Point # 2 – the Offshore team have an individual personal life to consider

Most of the model’s offshore resources were seen as slave work. It shouldn’t be we should treat as one team, one group working from US region and another team from India region with comparable weight. Also keep in mind that your offshore colleague has families, lives, and bills to pay just like onshore folks do. Treat them like your team member sitting in the following room. This kind of attitude, the foundation for a healthy and effective team model. It makes for a better coordination and simplifies the great business.

Point # 3 – High turnover to the offshore team

Today majority of the India IT work is tormented with high turnover. You need to be aware of the individual you are working with today may not be the individual you will be working tomorrow. This represents a huge potential knowledge loss and an overall low level of expertise with your system.

We should prepare for it and manage it as best as we can.

Point # 4 – Different assumptions and different life

Sometimes business end users respond to the situations according to their work environment.

In this case, the offshore team doesn’t have much background information like how input screen designed, way users utilize the reports. Offshore resources assumptions will likely to be different from user’s design. This doesn’t mean that offshore resources are inexperienced, they have just had different experiences.

Point # 5 – Remote communication and Translation

What it means is that you should not assume everything you are saying is being immediately understood. Just as you might wait until after a conversation to look up a word you didn't understand, your offshore team may be doing the same with parts of your speech (USA Vs India model because of American English)

When the offshore team is another part of the world, face to face meetings should happen very often based on the IT needs. This is something the offshore team needs to get used to. It would be ideal if you attempt to have phone/conference calls, skype calls the share of meetings through e-mail. The onshore team should have contact details when working with the offshore team in case of immediate information needed. (Vice versa in some cases). In this Model good amount of onshore presence needed or point of contact for a viable model.

Needs to have good communication process set up for effectiveness.

Point # 6 – The time qualification is good (Ex: - USA Vs India)

Think in such a perspective when another team is resting/not doing work can continue offshore resources on the other side of the world.

(Example Eastern standard time 9.30 PM, Bangalore India team will work at 8:00 AM IST their time, great to keep an overlapping cover of 4- 5 hours for effective communication to call out issues/roadblocks/barriers with their relevant stakeholders).

For this model to work, there must be a decent process and coordination. In fact, sometimes needs more coordination to stitch the gaps however if we have a decent process in place for both the teams that really work successfully.

Point # 7 - Appreciations and engage the resources

Treat teams equally onshore, offshore and praise them when discovering great procedures of work. Recognize resources by name and respect each individual. Find poor quality of work, share the lessons and make sure Bi model lead to improvement.

Keep process that onsite resources, client employees visit the offshore team for 2- 3 weeks on a quarterly basis. Make sure proper handshake between both the teams and understand the common issues.

Examples like design background information, time zone differences, communication channels, unclear information, and clarifications if any. Make sure to bring an offshore team for the same amount of time.

Encourage the offshore team to share their feedback, perceptions on the scope and other elements to improve. This way will learn both the team to understand the priorities, both the team issues, lack of information for developments (gaps), time pressure and slow approvals if any. 

Point # 8 – Apply best strategy process, guidelines, and best practices

Make sure Design strategies are applied and reviewed by relevant stakeholders. The scope shouldn’t change continuously, keep the baseline before development.

Follow the best guidelines and best practices as these are proven in different projects for compelling quality deliverables. Recognize good resources and provide them with a healthy environment to grow.

Point # 9 – Support the offshore team

Build the right skills in offshore and provide few flexibility to work over the range of time. Most of the time we observed it is easy to say during temptation and to buy in some time “Offshore team messed up” most of the time something goes wrong. This kind of attitude will destroy the relationship, productivity of the offshore team and potential for future growth.

Point # 10 – Hidden additional costs for better

Communication is the major role in onshore, offshore model. Needs to understand the expenses around communication channels like telephone calls, conferences, Web Ex, Skype calls, and video calls if needed requires some costs on the project. All these costs are low compared to the other costs of the project, however, helps the team to well connected.

Point # 11 – Culture communication differences

Some cases culture communication differences can make confusion like particularly when dealing with junior resources, they may not speak up on the issue (for several reasons, one may be issued without consent from by a Lead)

“Sure or YES” is the word you are likely to be heard quite a bit from offshore resources. Most of the bi-model discussions you will receive an answer as “YES” from offshore counterparts if they can have the tasks to be completed by the end of tomorrow and few cases you may not have received the response you think. (Mostly “YES” from the offshore perspective I understand, OR I will do my best however onshore thinks that “It will be done” likely saying YES. So, we need to be clear in such cases to understand the description of correspondence and things will go much smoother.

Point # 12 – Offshore team capabilities and task allocations

Offshore team good in few skills that doesn’t mean that good in one thing doesn’t mean good in all. Skills and expertise need to be assessed initial days of the project so that we can allocate the tasks to offshore based on capabilities. Based on the identified skills gap, capitalize on the strength and compensate the weakness skills. Example like good in programming doesn’t mean good in design and capable of creating test scripts.

Summary: - In this world, every project has its challenges/difficulties. Having another part of the world, if we heed the factors of above points. We can avoid most of the common issues, can create interest and positive one for every resource on the project and make quality deliverables and helps project success.