{"id":5839,"date":"2022-12-21T14:57:06","date_gmt":"2022-12-21T14:57:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solutionstreet.com\/blog\/?p=5839"},"modified":"2022-12-21T15:31:17","modified_gmt":"2022-12-21T15:31:17","slug":"working-with-offshore-teams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solutionstreet.com\/blog\/2022\/12\/21\/working-with-offshore-teams\/","title":{"rendered":"Working with Offshore Teams"},"content":{"rendered":"
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At Solution Street, we believe that our software consultants are some of the best in the industry and have the right skills for your software development needs. However, the reality is that some of our clients have global teams that are crucial to their business needs. Despite our preference, see 5 Reasons Your Offshore Software Construction Project Is Failing<\/a>, we still find ourselves helping our clients become successful by working together with their offshore teams. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve managed offshore teams in varying formats even before the pandemic. Sometimes, as the Dev Lead, I\u2019m the only onshore member of the development team. Sometimes my team is a mix of onshore and offshore members (hybrid). It wasn\u2019t always rainbows and butterflies (I don\u2019t miss those 9 pm calls), but working with these teams is one of the most fulfilling experiences in my career. Challenges are inevitable but I\u2019ve learned a thing or two to make it work and I\u2019d like to share some of them with you.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Define a clear vision.<\/strong> This is important whether you\u2019re running an onshore or offshore team, but even more so with the latter. Getting the team to understand why we do the things we do<\/em> is a critical motivation tool. It is crucial to share the whole picture and not simply assign tickets. Providing the what <\/em>(the overall goal) allows for creativity and better brainstorming when determining the how<\/em>. Also, unexpected things happen all the time, and when you\u2019re ~12 hours apart, sometimes decisions must be made. If your team clearly understands the vision, actions will most likely be aligned with your goal. Define a product or technical roadmap<\/a> so your team doesn\u2019t lose sight of the big picture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Over-communicate effectively<\/strong>. I certainly don\u2019t mean oversharing, or bombarding people with irrelevant information. Rather, over-communicate to emphasize, to reiterate and to achieve consistency. In his Forbes article<\/a>, Ken Makovsky recommends over-communicating through different channels such as oral delivery, written memos, email memos, and even PowerPoints. He\u2019s right in that sometimes people are shy to admit that they don\u2019t understand for fear of being seen as incompetent. A language barrier is one of the top issues with working with offshore teams. Repeating your message, via multiple media, will help overcome this, and even better, ask them to repeat it to you. This ensures what you said, is what was heard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Simplify collaboration<\/strong>. The easier it is to communicate, the faster it is to deliver. <\/p>\n\n\n\n