Hire Offshore Software Development Companies Successfully: 10 Mistakes to Avoid

top 10 offshore development hiring mistakes
Created by CakeResume

Offshore software development is an efficient and economical solution for a company. 

Offshoring development services can help a company provide their clients with high-quality results in less time than developing in-house. Moreover, the company can focus on its main business activities.

Becoming business partners with offshore programmers seems like a no-brainer, right? 

However, many things can go wrong. You can hire the wrong offshore software outsourcing company and lose lots of money.

For example, you might find a very cost-effective offshore software company on the other side of the world. The language barrier and time difference end up being too big. Therefore, your project is delayed and costs you more than you expected.

Conversely, you might lose the chance of finding great talent if you are so afraid of hiring offshore programmers that you outsource to a local development team. After all, accessing a bigger pool of talented individuals is one of the advantages of hiring an offshore web development company.

Therefore, we recommend you to read the following common mistakes when outsourcing offshore software development and other IT projects.

#1. Not having done proper research

Always take the time to read and investigate any time you venture into something new. You might be excited about looking for a partner who can offer the offshore software development services you need and help you expand your business. But it will not work out if your partner does not understand your needs or has different objectives.

Ensure to interview as many offshore development companies or programmers as possible to avoid throwing your effort away. By doing so, you can find those that meet your requirements. 

After you have a list of suitable candidates, go for the most impactful questions. Ask the offshore software company about its working time and how much of it can they allocate for your project.

You can then ask them about their background and experience with similar projects if their time availability meets your requirements. Ask them to provide you with developer portfolios. You will find the right offshore outsourcing software development company if you ensure their time, experience, and work style satisfies your requirements. 

#2. Focusing too heavily on cost

It is normal to be worried about staying within a budget. However, the worst mistakes can happen when companies worry too much about reducing costs. It is true that one of the reasons why companies offshore software creation is to save some cash. Nonetheless, avoid putting money ahead of the project’s needs.

Yes, you have to consider the service fee of the offshore development companies. However, make sure you investigate and ensure they have the right technology and enough experience. Remember to prioritize the cost-effectiveness of the offshore development services rather than focusing only on the price tag.

Additionally, remember to check if the time difference between offshore development teams and you works out. Otherwise, you will not be able to communicate efficiently, no matter how cheap their fee might be. 

#3. Not being clear with your requirements

Start-ups and companies without much experience tend to be too excited about their projects. Sometimes, they jump the gun and hire an offshore web development team without setting their objectives at first. 

It will not matter what kind of offshore development services you hire if you do not have a clear goal. A clear objective allows you to set deadlines and project goals. That way, you can thoroughly explain them to the offshore programmers and be certain they have the right competencies. 

Try to understand your needs the best and set your goals clearly to avoid making this mistake when hiring an offshore software development company. They need to understand your requirements and be able to meet them comfortably. Otherwise, you will face many troubles.

✅ Example requirements for hiring offshore development services

  • Our users are tech-savvy people. They like to experience the best available technologies. Therefore, our app needs state-of-the-art UI and UX. 
  • We need our app to run on most Android versions. We need you to be able to deliver a stable and equal experience on all the versions our app will have. 
  • Our client’s website needs to provide the utmost luxurious experience. We need it to be interactive and have an eye-catching look. 

#4. Not having established long-term goals

A business relationship will not last if you only ensure that the offshore custom software development team can meet your most urgent needs. After all, most projects will not be a “quick fix.” The lack of long-term goals usually causes many projects to fail before finishing.

Offshore software outsourcing works best when you manage to integrate the developers in a long-term relationship with objectives in common. Unlike traditional outsourcing, offshoring tends to last longer than one project. 

You will most likely need the offshore software development company to help you with updates, bug fixing, and adapting to the market needs. Make sure to have a strategic plan of action.

If you do not make long-lasting relationships with your offshore programmers, you’ll face a horrible turnover that will surely hurt your project. 

✅ Examples goals for hiring offshore development services

  • We plan to support this app for the following five years. We need a team that can keep anticipating the market needs and updating our application so it can fully satisfy our user base. 
  • We have worked with this client for the past four years. We need our developers to stick with us for as long as possible to avoid going through the learning curve again and keep our customers happy.
  • As a  successful start-up, our client base is growing exponentially. We expect it to double in two years. We require a team that can grow with us. 

#5. Not considering privacy and security issues

It is a good idea to lean on non-disclosure agreements, even if companies are supposed to work together and help each other. Remember, it is vital to protect the data of your clients when you work with offshore development companies.

In this technology-driven era, data is more valuable than ever before. It does not matter what kind of project you hire an offshore software development company to do. Always protect yourself and your clients. 

💡 Tips for how to be safe when offshoring development services

  • Ensure the offshore software company or team you hire has an appropriate software framework to protect the data they are working with from cyber attacks.
  • Have your legal team thoroughly write a non-disclosure agreement that protects you from any trade secret leaks.
  • Read reviews of the offshore development company you intend to hire beforehand. There are several websites where their clients can provide you with vital information. You can also ask for references If you fail to find any reviews online. 

#6. Not being prepared for cultural differences

Sometimes, companies that decide to hire an offshore custom software development team fail to consider the weight of cultural discrepancies. Language or cultural barriers can get in the way of your project. Moreover, different cultures have different behavior norms, customs, and traditions that you have to consider.

For example, you would have to consider the holy week holidays if you hire an offshore software development team from a catholic country. In some Latin American countries, people take two days to an entire week off. 

A great way to prepare for these differences is using a framework to understand cultures and how they interact. For example, using Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory, a company can learn the main differences between their culture and the culture of the offshore programmer country.

#7. Not consulting a tech expert before hiring offshore software companies

Another tip to consider if you want to know how to hire offshore software development companies is to look for expert help. Aside from cost issues, a common reason why companies look for help offshore is the lack of knowledge and resources. 

Consulting a technical expert will help you clarify your needs before hiring offshore development companies. Experts understand different technologies and processes; they can guide you to find the best offshore programmers for your needs. 

For example, you could first hire a local expert temporarily so that they can help you go through the selection and hiring process. That can help ensure you do business with the best offshore web development company. 

#8. Not trusting the vendor and micromanaging

Whereas one of the main reasons companies look for offshore web development companies is to have more time to focus on their core activities, some companies have difficulties delegating tasks. 

By trying to control everything the offshore programmers do, you limit their creativity. Moreover, you diminish their contribution to the project and affect their morale. It might cost you great ideas that could benefit your project.

Ensure you thoroughly select the team to find a trustworthy offshore software outsourcing company. Additionally, do your best to foster a trusting atmosphere that makes developers feel comfortable with making decisions and proposing suggestions in their field of expertise.

Micromanaging every little detail of a task that you decide to outsource destroys any benefit of hiring offshore software development services for your company. 

❌ micromanaging behavior to avoid when hiring offshore software development services

  • You find yourself calling and emailing them every day, worried about the project’s state. Ensure you work with people you trust before hiring any offshore software team.
  • You failed to set a schedule, so you reach out to the developers every day. Instead, try to create a healthy relationship and wait until the scheduled meeting times. Respect the offshore programmers’ time and work. 
  • Whenever you have a meeting, you dismiss any idea the offshore programmers propose and try to impose yours.

#9. Having a rigid budget and strict deadline

Having a budget and a clear deadline is good, but not being flexible with them can backfire. Sometimes you might have to compromise when you face unexpected obstacles. 

The offshore programmers might present a costlier proposal, which might increase your project’s value; consider it before turning it away based solely on the cost - professionalism and expertise are expensive.

Similarly, time constraints are necessary for projects; you usually require offshore development companies to stick to a schedule. Nonetheless, keep in mind that offshore programmers are still human beings rather than machines. 

Offshore programmers might make the wrong calls if you rush the development process too much; as Shigeru Miyamoto, Nintendo’s famous developer, once said, “A delayed game is eventually good, but a rushed game is forever bad.” 

Avoid strict deadlines that force offshore programmers to work overtime and deliver mediocre results; instead, try to sit with them and come up with sensible time limits that work best for both.

For example, your budget and deadline might be too rigid if you tell the offshore programmers that you can only hire them for a big project. You want them to finish the project in less than a month. It would put too much pressure; a good result is virtually impossible under such conditions.

Conversely, a suitable deadline is flexible; for example, you could divide the project into smaller tasks. It would be easier for the offshore web development company to meet your requirements.  

Additionally, if they manage to finish earlier, it would give them some time to polish their works.

Similarly, you could offer flexibility to provide a suitable budget. For example, you could tell the offshore programmers that the budget can vary depending on the number of activities they have to perform. You can even offer timely delivery and high-quality performance bonifications to encourage the offshore software team.

#10. Choosing the wrong tools

Failing to choose the proper tools to work with the offshore software company you choose can cause challenges for the development of your projects. For example, not having a communication platform to work with remote offshore programmers.

Now that you know how to find the perfect offshore software outsourcing company, you should learn about the tools you might want to use to work together. You should at least look for project management and communication tools.

💡 Tools to use when working with offshore development companies:

  • You might want to use communication apps like Slack or even skype when you work with an offshore software outsourcing company. These apps offer instant messaging functions, which work well with remote teams. So the offshore programmers can reply at any time.
  • Google and its different platforms like drive, docs, sheets, and slides will be useful if your project requires working together, be it on documents, worksheets, or even co-creating slides.
  • Task-tracking systems are beneficial when working with big projects with several offshore programmers working on multiple tasks. Desktime, Proofhub, Hours, and many more are apps that can help you delegate tasks and monitor progress to keep everything under control. 

🔑 Key takeaways:

Hiring offshore software development services helps companies. It lifts some weight from their shoulders and allows companies to focus on core business activities. 

However, a lot has to be taken into consideration to do it right. You can make many common mistakes when hiring an offshore web development company.

To avoid them, you will have to do your research to understand your needs. Be clear about your requirements and come up with a long-term plan. Keep cultural differences and safety issues in mind. Look for expert help to hire a team you can trust. Finally, avoid focusing too much on deadlines and costs. Otherwise, it could harm your project.

CakeResume has developed a large tech talent pool and been trusted by more than 5,000 corporations. We can help you hire the right offshore or remote development team, offering you better flexibility and efficiency in recruitment.

--- Originally written by Roger Rene Ortega Figueroa ---

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