I had an awful offshoring experience a few years ago. I received a bad deliverable, it was late, and we went over-budget. Pretty much worst-case-scenario. This project was so bad, in fact, that I would have been wiser to take the money and run it through a chipper/shredder. It would have saved a bunch of time and heartburn. (And who wouldn’t like to see $200k sprayed out of a chipper/shredder?)
Right now I’m in the middle of a really great offshore experience and thought I’d share what I did differently this time that made a difference.
If you’re not communicating directly with the people who are doing the work, don’t expect to get what you specified.
Communication is key to a great offshore experience. Don’t hire an offshore service agency. Offshore services can be an additional layer of complexity that hurt communications.
Sure, offshore services may have some contacts, but you don’t need them to find the company that is right for your project. do some research, it’ll help you make a more informed decision. Whatever you do, don’t let an offshoring service agency manage your project. Any extra layer between you and the company doing the work is a point of failure. Don’t build points of failure.
Go to Shanghai. Go to New Delhi or Sao Paulo.
Hire a translator and visit a few companies. You wouldn’t hire a company in LA, New York, or Chicago without meeting face-to-face, why would you expect to make a good hire on a company in another country over the internet and/or telephone?
It’s crucial to get a feel for the local culture. This may be the most important advice I can give. Get to know the food, the customs, and the area. There will be times in the project when you won’t understand the challenges for your partner if you haven’t experienced the culture. There is no book-on-tape for this. Get on a plane.
Technical terms don’t always translate well, even in English-to-English communication.
You’ll want a translator on your first trip to help you get around. You may want a translator on subsequent trips in-country, but only for your convenience and only when you’re not working. Don’t hire a company that you’ll need a translator to get the work done.
You’re dealing with two types of language barriers – Technical and Foreign. A non-technical translator is a point of failure in communications. Make sure leads on both teams speak directly and in the same languages. If this isn’t possible, throw your money into a chipper/shredder and be done with it.
Communicate every day.
I changed my schedule to accommodate our partner in Shanghai. I work a split shift – 8 AM to 12PM for my US half of the day and 8 PM to 12 AM for my Shanghai half of the day. It’s painful at times, but it’s necessary. And I do it every day beginning Sunday night. (Shanghai Monday morning.)
It’s important to be working on the project at the same time. I don’t spend 4 hours on the phone with China, but they know they can Skype me any time without inconveniencing me.
I could have asked our partner to be available at odd times to accommodate my schedule, but here’s how I see it: I’m already asking for them to manage production, budget, schedule, and hiring. The least I can do is to make it easy for them to communicate with me.
Don’t use email.
At least not for communication. Use it to formalize approvals or to summarize status, but don’t use it to for direction. Use a tool with short feedback loops, such as Skype or IM. Good direction doesn’t come in the form of a directive email, it comes through collaboration and conversation. Long feedback loops are a major point of failure.
Use Skype and Google Docs.
I’m a walking Skype commercial these days. It does chat, voice, and video. And if the internet drops in China I can use Skype to call a land line for a very reasonable rate. I also love Google Docs. All of the design documents are shared, so we’re always referencing live documents. There are no version problems.
Be smart: Let your partner be smart.
That’s why you hired them. Don’t discount their advice. The fact that they’re in another country has nothing to do with their intelligence and wisdom. Ownership of the end product should be shared.
*****
Hope this helps if you’re offshoring or outsourcing for the first time. I’d love to hear about practices that others have used successfully or unsuccessfully. Drop me a line.
Recap:
- Don’t hire an offshore service agency
- Interview & hire in-country
- Experience the culture
- Don’t hire a company if you’ll need a translator
- Communicate every day
- Work on the project during the same hours
- Use tools with short feedback loops
- Share ownership
