ANALYSIS
3.
Establishing metrics and expected
outcome
One of the benefits when outsourcing is costs cutting. So, it is wise to focus on doing more with
less - regardless if it means more features of the
product developed and delivered, increasing the
speed of releases (release optimization), etc. The
client should establish metrics and set expectations
upfront, in order afterwards to measure outcome
and align accordingly.
First-Time IT Outsourcers...
working with remote
continued from page 11
teams spread across
the globe. In such setup,
well-developed communication skills and the use of
advanced communication tools are essential.
6.
Set effective communication
The outsourcing companies usually have their
offices on different continents, working in different time zones. This means that diverse teams can
be expected to join on board, consisting of people
from different countries with different languages and
cultures and of different ages and backgrounds. To
overcome the differences between High and Low
context Cultures, the client should look for a partner that is willing to invest in trainings for employees, foreign language courses, transfer of culture and
informal rules.
4.
Defining the investment and preparing for
the new team on board
Regardless of the reasons for outsourcing, the organization should be aligned and prepared for a new
team on board. The team coming from the outsourcing company will learn the client’s values, mission, and vision over time, and will leverage their
growth. At first, the team needs to be properly
guided, it can become highly effective and independent. Preparing onboarding and integration plan is a
good step forward.
Significant percentage of the engineers working
for outsourcing companies, belong to the Generation Y, are technology-driven and accustomed to
diverse channels of communication (Skype, Viber,
Facebook Messenger, Twitter, and many more). In
order to facilitate their knowledge and streamline
it to achieve excellence, both the outsourcing company and the client should embrace these new ways
of communication. This means that they should
easily agree on the channels of communication,
and enable simple, straight, focused and effective
communication.
Further on, at the beginning of the cooperation the
teams working from both sides must agree on a
communication plan and follow it, although it can be
constantly reviewed and updated according to the
current needs.
Based on the preferred methodology (Scrum,
Sprint), the outsourcing team must adapt the communication, facilitate the development process, and
involve the team for a certain reason, responsibility
and expectations.
5.
Defining the skills the outsourcing team
should possess
Outsourced companies look for a highly efficient
outsourcing team. However, the word “efficient”
does not mean “cheap”, but a fine-tuned team that
can do the work quickly and with a high quality.
Besides high technology skills, the outsourcing team
must possess skillsets for flawless communication,
while being self-driven, and independent, able to
propose better approaches to the established solutions, and willing to collaborate with remote teams,
consisting of people with various background and
cultural habits.
The non-technology related skillsets are usually
called “Soft skills” and refer to the excellent communication, presentation, time management, mentorship and teamwork skills.
The need of excellent social skills is mandatory
when working with mixed teams, since the technology knowledge has to be properly channeled and efficiently
applied to the project.
In addition to the social skills,
it is very important for the
team members to be skilled in
In conclusion, careful planning and proper process management will lead to goal achievement and therefore
guarantee the success of any outsourced project.
“Efficient” does not mean “cheap”,
but a fine-tuned team that can do the
work quickly and with a high quality.
Fall 2015
Issue 47 13