Frequently we hear companies say the reason for hiring in-house developers instead of outsourced or offshored is due to communication. The fear is that if the developer is not working in the company’s office with them then the communication channels will breakdown. Years of experience has taught us that you can hire outsourced developers to cut IT costs, while maintaining or even improving quality and communication.

The truth is, the internet has advanced far enough that anything can be done, including working with remote teams around the globe. The secret is maximizing the efficiency of the time you spend with your global team members.

Software development has many cycles, depending on the type of project you are building and your philosophy towards development. Most common is an Agile development cycle, wherein you have 1-4 week intervals that your team delivers against. In a weekly cycle, you have a start of the week meeting to review functional requirements and plan deliverables. Then at the end of each day you have a face-to-face meeting to review accomplishments, progress, and roadblocks. The core of this highly valued software development cycle can be easily executed on with remote teams. However, Agile is not the end all, and so we have identified other best practices that maximize team cohesion within a remote team.

  1. Weekly meetings with the entire team to review goals for the week and accomplishments in the previous week. It is important in this meeting to set clear goals and objectives to complete during the week. Address solutions to any large scale concerns at this time.
  2. Daily status meetings with each member of the team to review progress made the previous day, intention for today, and any roadblocks they may have.
  3. Open communication amongst team members on any issues or accomplishments. Whether it is a simple chat, email, voicemail, or call, or during your weekly or daily meetings. It is important to overcome challenges and celebrate triumphs as a team.
  4. Hire developers with great communication abilities. This is important for a local team and is exceptionally important for a remote team. Extend your hiring process to factor this into your next open developer position.
  5. Look for a developer that has had successful experience working on a remote team in the past. It can sometimes be challenging and feel secluded to a developer at first, even with daily meetings and open communication. Which is why it is that more important you hire the right personality fit, just as much the right technical fit.

At SourceBold, we have experience working in these exact situations and we are experts to make outsourcing your next software developer a roaring success. We would love to answer any questions you have and help you implement best processes for communicating with your team. Please fill out our consultation form to set up a meeting with us to learn more.