Managing offshoring

2007-09-29 16:43:39 Source :http://www.offshoringtimes.com

Their argument is, After all, offshore labor is so much cheaper that throwing more bodies at your projects is a nobrainer. In fact, here is where it pays you to devote some brainpower to your problems. For projects that are not running efficiently, scaling up an operation will only make matters worse. Whats needed is to identify and solve problems first. There are a range of issues that can affect efficiency of your offshore operation.

To begin with, you need to examine if the projects you are offshoring are the right types of projects and whether you have worked out the processes for executing these projects inhouse, if you do not have a clear idea of how to execute the projects in house, your problems only get worse because of distance and time issues. Once this is addressed you need to examine the processes for managing an offshore project , these processes should deal with distance time and working in multicultural environments.

An approach that is used to come to grips with this situation is to conduct an objective assessment of your offshore operation. This can help you take appropriate steps to address issues. Once the offshore organization is running efficiently, you may decide to staff up your offshore operation. In this scenario you will be adding staff to handle additional work load and not to mask an inefficient operation.

We had a telecon with the entire team working for me offshore and I allocated the tasks and set deadlines for each member of the team, at the end of the meeting, I asked, Are there any questions, Did everyone understand what each of you are supposed to do, No one said anything, I concluded the meeting and went on to other things, only one week later when we had our next review meeting I found out that half the people had not gotten even the basics of what I had said and obviously had failed to make any progress, it is so frustrating, we lost valuable time on this project

This is an example of failed communication due to cultural differences. Contrary to US culture, silence does not mean acceptance in other cultures. Since you set the deadline, they would make heroic efforts to meet the deadline rather than appear disrespectful to your wishes, especially if this is the start of a new relationship.
Another cultural behavior is respect for authority, for example if someone of a higher rank is present in the meeting, it is rare to get contrarian input from one of the team members. Despite hard work by the offshore team, these behaviors can adversely affect your project schedules. Due to western influence things are changing in India and other countries, it is to your advantage to understand cultural norms offshore and how they can affect your projects.