Outsourcing with Distributed Teams

The days of solely relying on traditional onsite workers are dwindling as a majority of the companies look for a flexible approach to diversify their workforce. In fact, studies show that the global outsourcing market amounted to $85.6bn in 2018, whereas the IT sourcing market amounted to $62bn.

Building a distributed team allows the company to access a broader talent range from around the globe in order to fill particular business roles and enhance operations. The challenge in outsourcing securely with a distributed team is to provide the customer with a solution that’s not only higher quality than what the local market provides, but is also cost-effective, and less risky. 

While working with a distributed team has its challenges, if you approach this work-model correctly, the pay-off will certainly outweigh the efforts put forth in making long distance collaboration work.

So, for companies considering this step, we’ve assembled a thorough guide to effectively recruit and manage a distributed team:

Hire For Remote Compatibility

When recruiting for a distributed team, keep in mind that not everyone is cut out for remote work. Make a list of the traits you value in a top developer, including technical and engineering excellence, honest and open communication, the ability to work in a team setting, and soft skills that can translate in a remote setting. Here are some other characteristics you should look for:

Proactive

A team in the same geographical location makes it easier to conduct frequent check-ins, but since you don’t have this flexibility, the best resources are self-starters who don’t require constant guidance or assigned tasks to get things done.

Prioritizing gurus

Great remote workers use their intuitive sense to narrow down on work that should be marked as top priority.

Proficient writing skills

Communication with remote distributed teams may take a written form, which is why writing skills are particularly crucial for remote teams.

Managing distributed teams

A frequent concern when managing distributed development teams is the difficulty in enforcing coding standards, project management processes and team norms. 

Ideally, a distributed team, should be self-governing and empowered, with experience in establishing standards. As a rule of thumb for managing distributed teams, we use the analogy of creating a sandbox. 

The box edges represent team boundaries: the agreed-upon constraints, like frameworks and tools to be used, sprint cycles, and code coverage exceptions. While the process for collaboration is firmly defined, remote developers have the latitude to get creative with the software development—within the sandbox.

Track productivity with output

For remote distributed teams, it’s crucial that productivity metrics measure outcomes instead of output. Generating thousands of lines of unsatisfactory code isn’t considered more productive than generating hundred lines of high quality code in the same period. 

Ask yourself these questions: Does our team demonstrate continuous improvement? Is our development predictable, accelerating over time, and stable? Are we assessing the work against the right metrics?

Find the right strategic partner

If you’re looking to benefit your business by outsourcing your technical support to a group of experienced tech professionals, partner up with EX² Outcoding! They offer nearshore software development and IT staff augmentation in Latin America. Contact them today for more information.