Globalisation and the pressure to cut costs and increase profits have led to a rise in offshore teams. However, one of the biggest challenges companies face is building and maintaining strong relationships and instilling a company culture when teams are located across the globe. While company culture does not sound like much, it is critical for long-term success, and by employing the right strategies to increase collaboration and bridge the gap between countries, you can create a productive and very successful working relationship.
Communication
Like every overpaid marriage counsellor tells us, a great relationship is built on strong and effective communication. This holds just as true when building a successful offshore team. Regular communication helps keep everyone on track and working towards the same goals; this does not have to be big, hour-long meetings. A simple 10-minute daily stand-up helps align both onshore and offshore teams, providing an opportunity to address challenges, share updates, and ensure projects stay on track.
Project management tools and informal instant message applications are also invaluable to help keep teams on track and accountable.
Trust and Transparency
Trust is built from day one; making sure there are clear and defined roles and responsibilities for new team members and what they need to achieve and by when ensures everyone is aligned. Transparency around expectations, deliverables, and processes helps foster a sense of trust between the teams. Assigning KPIs is important, but providing regular feedback—both positive and constructive—is essential to maintaining transparency, building trust, and motivating the team.
Cultural Understanding
Understanding the cultural differences within your team is essential for building rapport and preventing misunderstandings. The importance of this is also evident with onshore staff from different backgrounds, just like it would be with your offshore teams. Common differences to highlight are around religious practices, communication, and conflict resolution styles. Highlighting these differences with training and awareness will aid in onshore and offshore teams' understanding of each other and improve collaboration and productivity.
Team Building
We all know the benefit of having a cohesive team working together, supporting each other and client projects alike. Everyone has their own way of helping drive this sense of team and camaraderie within the workplace, whether that be the weekly pizza day, monthly gaming nights, or fancy dress Friday. Whatever it is that drives your company culture, you should continue to do it, including your offshore team in the festivities. Encouraging social interactions and including offshore employees in company activities fosters a sense of belonging and satisfaction. Even small gestures, like sending a branded company t-shirt, can make offshore team members feel more connected to the company culture.
Feedback
Having the ability to provide feedback to a team member, especially in the early stages, is essential for continuous improvement. Making sure you have scheduled periodic performance reviews and/or 1 to 1 meetings, providing a medium to discuss progress and address any concerns early on. This is also a medium that allows the team members to speak up and share their insights on ways to potentially improve existing policies and processes.
It is all too easy to forget about what is not in the office in front of you each day, but it is important to make time to engage with the offshore team members.
At Dijital Team we design and build offshore teams and enable customers to successfully navigate the complexities of remote team management and achieve success in their IT initiatives. To learn more about how you can, and increase efficiency and reduce costs, contact us and one of our industry experts will help design a service that delivers more than you dreamt it could.