Remote development teams have become a big trend among software companies. This approach offers a much wider choice of contractors around the world and allows achieving high productivity at a relatively low cost. On one condition, you know how to manage your offshore R&D department properly. Here are some tips from Ukraine based tech partner Newxel.
Offshore team management requires a specific approach. Due to the quarantine restrictions caused by COVID-19, you are probably already familiar with the challenges of remote work. This experience will definitely come in handy. But in the case of managing a team abroad or even in a different time zone, you will need a little more effort and involvement.
Get the right people
For the proper functioning of your remote team, it is essential to hire appropriate staff which could be a real challenge when it comes to offshore workers. Instead of doing it yourself, it is better to contact local tech partners (outstaffing firms) that provide such services. They will take over most of the organizational work, including recruiting. Only by selecting tech specialists ideally suited for your company’s goals, you can set up effective teamwork.
Build a loyal relationship
Offset the geographic distance by trustful relationships! If possible, visit new employees personally before starting work, communicate with them in a friendly atmosphere, get to know each of them. Try to build the same relationship with them as you do with your in-house workers. This will help remove barriers and create a really dedicated development team out of separate employees.
Share your goals and clarify tasks
A correct understanding of goals is the basis for effective work. Use your first face-to-face meeting to clarify your company’s goals. It is very important at the very start to divide goals into specific tasks, set deadlines for their implementation, and establish regular reporting. When talking about tasks, try to be as precise and clear as possible.
Conduct online meetings
Lack of communication is one of the most common reasons for failures even when it comes to high-skilled dedicated teams. Try to hold online meetings at least a couple of times a week so that you understand what is happening, what tasks have been completed, which have not, and why. The more often you communicate with programmers, the fewer mistakes due to misunderstandings will be made. In addition to online meetings, do not forget about daily communication via corporate chats, respond to messages and emails in a timely manner.
Use remote management tools
Project management and teamwork software is a common practice for companies of all sizes, from large enterprises to startups. But they become just indispensable with an extended team of offshore developers. Such tools allow you to remotely plan work, set tasks, and monitor their implementation, maintain business communication, track employee performance, etc. Use Google Drive or DropBox for document collaboration; Jira, Trello, Asana, or Wrike for task management; Slack, Microsoft Teams, or Workplace for communication; don’t forget about video call services like Zoom or Skype, etc.
Encourage and motivate workers
It is especially important for offshore employees to understand that they are part of the team and that their work is appreciated. Try to reward them for good work, think about a bonus system. Perhaps it makes sense to promise to revise the salary in case of successful work. Think about additional bonuses like fully or partially paid trainings, an internship in the central office, compensation for visiting sports sections, etc.
Your local tech partner can help to create HR policy and to set up HR processes if needed. They can advise you on how to understand and treat your remote developers better as they keep abreast of what is going on in your team holding regular meetings and one-to-one sessions.
Building a dedicated development team abroad is a promising and interesting task, but also a challenge. Though you can always count on the help of your local tech partners. With their support, managing offshore employees will be much easier. For details visit site https://newxel.com
