The relationship between companies and nearshore development outsourcing has been a tried and true, mutually beneficial one for many years. Any company that has taken on a software development job of any kind has at least considered outsourcing part of, or all of their team to get things done on a faster timeline with boosted productivity and overall lower costs.
Due to the pandemic outbreak and the subsequent massive changes it brought, outsourcing has now become the go-to choice for many companies – and will continue to be their resource after seeing all of its benefits.
However, even for all its popularity, business executives and higher-ups commonly run into a myriad of questions when getting started with nearshore software development outsourcing. After all, it sometimes feels like a bit of a trust exercise when in the beginning phases and on the first project with a third-party team.
There are, thankfully, many ways to help foster a relationship based on mutual success between the outsourced team and the hiring company to get projects done efficiently, effectively, and successfully.
IMAGE: PEXELS
The Must-Do’s Of Working With Nearshore Development Companies
The best way to establish a base for long-term success is to use the following tips when getting started and beyond.
- Make communication and collaboration the top priority. – There’s a common misconception going around that outsourcing is simply handing over a project design to a team and watching the magic happen. Simply put, this is false. Successful outsourcing partnerships must have regular communication and collaboration between in-house and outsourced team members.
Thankfully, now there are many tools available for companies to find the best fit on a per-case basis. While some businesses may prefer project management software (such as Asana or Jira) in combination with weekly calls, others could prefer to use Slack for real-time updates and quick questions to stay in touch at all times. While there are many options available, the key is finding the ones that make the most sense for the relationship and are the most effective.
- Define project and working guidelines as soon as possible. – The hiring team and the outsourced team should define a list of rules to follow for the working relationship (ideally, before a project begins). This should include not only communication preferences but also responsible parties on each team, duties, and milestones.
It’s easy to get so involved in the starting of a specific project that companies get a little lost in gathering the details before looking at the bigger picture for long-term success. By setting up these rules ahead of project start dates, everyone knows their role and place so that when the job does begin, there’s no confusion and only productivity.
- Avoid any bottlenecking or knowledge silos. – Sometimes projects stall or get held up when a few people on either team have all of the info (or specific info required to move forward) and don’t share it with the rest of the collective team. Obviously this isn’t a malicious power move (in most cases), but it can happen accidentally when some people aren’t made aware of changes, general info, or specific project requirements.
While this goes back to the importance of effective and regular communication between the teams, it’s important for project managers to proactively keep these bottlenecks from forming. This means keeping each team member, in-house and outsourced, informed and in the loop on all things that may have an effect on the project. From testing feedback to requirement changes and beyond, everyone should have visibility and insight into what’s going on at all times to ensure productivity and smooth workflows.
- Find the right nearshoring partner. – Putting in the frontend effort and work before signing on the dotted line with a nearshore software outsourcing provider is the key to making everything work. Experienced nearshore partners have the skill sets, communication guidelines, and overall toolkits under their belts to ensure that there aren’t any issues like those listed above.
Before hiring a third-party company to take on their outsourced work, hiring businesses must do their research, consult references, look at reviews, and really interview their potential outsourced hires to guarantee the right fit. If the relationship isn’t a good match, things will inevitably go downhill quickly. This means lost time, money, and productivity for everyone involved.
By following the guidelines listed above, hiring companies help ensure a successful partnership from the very start with their chosen nearshore outsourcing partner. These rules do take some work from all parties involved but the results are always worth the effort.
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