Offshoring services has been common to businesses nowadays, making it one of the fastest-growing industries in the world. In fact, the offshoring market size is expected to reach USD405.6 billion by the year 2027.
Even with the benefits that offshoring provides, it could also be a cause of stress for business owners. Unlike when hiring an in-house team, offshoring would require strong communication and a lot of patience. There are challenges that could affect the performance of the offshored team such as having communication barriers and melding diversity.
Luckily, these challenges are easy to resolve by having people management skills and knowing effective management strategies. In order for it to be successful, managers should ensure that everything is on track. Here are some tips on how to effectively manage an offshored team.
How Managers Can Effectively Direct Their Offshored Team
When done correctly, offshoring could help in scaling businesses and maximizing resources. So here are six helpful suggestions to make sure that the offshored team is being effectively managed.
1. Always communicate with the offshored team
Communication is the key to creating a productive working relationship. Regardless of the business’s size, it is important for managers to have a reliable channel of communication.
With the advancement of technology, it is possible to reach anyone anywhere. Video calls are great for face-to-face interaction plus, teams can create a professional community within communication platforms. Holding regular meetings would help in developing clear goals.
However, it is always better to be sensitive to communication barriers, especially if the offshored team is from another country. For instance, avoid speaking English extremely fast when talking to a non-native speaker.
Other ways to communicate may be through phone calls, e-mails, or chat.
2. Provide flexibility into the schedule
This is one of the time management techniques that would help when handling offshored teams. This is not only applicable for offshore but onshore as well. Managers should allow offshored employees to wat reasonable times that are most productive for them.
Try to maximize the teams’ efforts by making sure that they are able to work when they feel motivated the most. But also ensure that the tasks should still be done on time.
For offshore, it is advisable to be mindful of the different time zones. Try to schedule meetings that would suit the schedule of both parties.
3. Make sure everyone is on the same page
This is one of the most important management tips when working remotely. Offshoring workforce from different locations and time zones may be a challenge. Find an effective way to ensure that the entire team is updated and in sync.
For example, use software that would allow the whole team to work on the same file. This is to avoid overwriting others’ work. This would build their teamwork and would be beneficial in accomplishing tasks.
4. Make the team understand the goals
This could be accomplished by developing a solid mission statement that could define the goal of the task. It is important that the team knows the purpose of each task, including the necessary information.
For instance, when offshoring inbound call center services, make sure to explain the tasks and their goals. It is not just simply telling the team to accept inbound calls. If the service is customer support, the offshored team should focus on customer satisfaction. For technical support, the goal is to provide technical assistance to customers. Clearly explain each project rather than generalizing the inbound call center solutions.
5. Provide the team with all the needed details
This is one of the management tips that would help boost the quality of work in offshoring. When the team knows all the information relevant to their tasks, they would be able to maximize all the resources.
For example, when sales support is offshored by a business, relevant details should be given to the offshored sales reps. It would help the offshored sales team to further explain the product or service of the company to its customers. They would be prepared to answer queries and take orders immediately.
6. Show gratitude and recognize good work
Most people are more motivated to work when they feel appreciated. Even simply saying “thank you” could help maximize productivity. The simplest gesture to let them know that they were a big help can go a long way.
One of the most effective management tips would also be providing incentives as a reward for doing great at work. This would promote friendly competitions within the team and would allow managers to get more involved with them.
Conclusion
Maintaining a successful offshoring partnership with your provider could be difficult and handling a team remotely might add up to it. But following some management tips and tricks could help to avoid misunderstandings.
Using these simple techniques when managing offshored teams could boost productivity and improve work performance. Since offshored employees feel connected to their supervisor, they would feel motivated to work on their daily tasks.
Offshoring is an effective strategy for most businesses. However, it only works when the offshored team is managed properly. That is why establishing the right business culture is important.
In One CoreDev IT (CORE), we provide employer of record solutions, well-trained, and professional teams that are easy to work with. We ensure that they are qualified to handle services for your company such as inbound customer support, technical support, and inbound sales.
Our company promise to be persistent in delivering outstanding service to help your business grow, and inbound sales. We also promise to be persistent in delivering outstanding service to help your business grow.
