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Software Development Outsourcing is becoming a widespread business model, which provides an opportunity to cooperate with talented tech specialists around the world. Global interaction is undoubtedly an effective way to increase productivity and enrich the staff, but the cultural differences can become a serious obstacle to implement this strategy. That is why it’s important to consider several factors that can help to overcome this challenge.
Tip #1. Open-Minded Approach
Discovering new cultures is not only a good way to enlarge knowledge about the world, but also to strengthen cooperation between IT specialists working in different countries. Appropriate cultural competence is the thing that will definitely be helpful in avoiding problems during intercultural communication in software development outsourcing. It is also essential to consider cultural peculiarities, national holidays, and other nuances to build strong relations with your outsourcing partner from another country. Therefore, don’t hesitate to learn something new about other countries, as respect for cultural identity is the key to success.
Tip #2. Communication is King
Communication is a leading factor that helps to overcome any kind of misunderstanding. Otherwise, just communicating may not be enough because it should be effective. It’s essential to find communication styles appropriate for both teams. Such tools as Skype calls, instant messaging, Slack, Zoom and various other platforms can help to always stay in touch with your offshoring team. If you face difficulties while offshoring recruitment and further communication, reach out to local agencies where you can find what Recruitment services are needed for. For example, Alcor provides highly qualified support for your team of software engineers. They search for competent and skillful IT specialists and make everything possible to find the appropriate candidate for your team. Besides that, at Alcor you can get further operational support, so such cooperation will be helpful in overcoming any kind of misunderstanding and cultural differences in offshore outsourcing.
Tip #3. Articulate Your Offshoring Strategy
To achieve a certain goal there’s a need to set up a strategy consisting of several steps. But it is not enough just to make up a list of goals and share it with the team. It’s also crucial to discuss each step of the process with team members of the software development team. After everything is discussed and the strategy is agreed with the staff, it will become a good starting point.
Tip #4. Develop Trust Through In-person Meetings
One more important issue is to work on the development of relations between the team and you. Clear ethics, respect towards each other, and trusting in the capabilities & skills of the business partner are key aspects to build strong relations. Hence, face-to-face communications and in-person meetings can also strengthen the bonds in terms of intercultural communication with software development specialists.
Tip #5. Leaders Build Strong Teams
A strong team is one more issue to overcome cultural barriers. Leadership skills will be effective not only to organize the work of the group but also to maintain all processes. A good team lead should integrate the cultural peculiarities of each worker to make a strong and well-organized team united with the common goal. Celebration of differences and respect towards each other are essential for an effective working environment, even if your development team is situated in another country.
Conclusion
To sum up, several steps including the integration of cultural identities in the working process, effective communication, a strong team and successful relations within the team, plus an open-minded approach will be helpful for overcoming cultural barriers in terms of intercultural communication in software development outsourcing.