How to Ensure Effective Outsourcing Communication?

When you research IT outsourcing, you will definitely have a question on how to establish proper communication with a vendor. This is of no surprise, you worry about your project outcomes and don’t want to waste money on something that will turn disastrous (So don’t we).

We perfectly understand your concern. You are not alone with it as 21% of the Upcity 2022 survey respondents named communication the biggest challenge in working with an outsourced team. 

For this reason, we’re here today. Exactly to dispel your doubts and demonstrate how to establish solid and transparent outsourcing communication with your chosen vendor to get exactly what you want from your collaboration. Intrigued? Great, read on.

First to mention, reputable vendors take this burden off your shoulders. They cherish their reputation and thus make it their responsibility to provide you with a flawless experience. So, it’s safe to say that the best and most cost-effective way to establish great communication is to choose a trusted provider.

Using our example, we will introduce you to the backstage of outsourcing from a provider’s viewpoint and tell what’s important for us in the relationship with Clients and the work of the teams. This will help you figure out the process and establish solid communication faster.

For successful outsourcing communication (and collaboration), it’s vital to shape clear and realistic expectations and ensure the outsourced team members understand them correctly.

The more specific and clear they are at the beginning, the lower the chances of dealing with misunderstandings later. 

A reliable outsourcing partner realizes that it takes two to tango, and thoroughly participates in working out realistic and measurable expectations based on their experience and practice.

This way as you can see, we give the highest importance to developing clear expectations and start discussing your requirements right from the start (and proceed only after it satisfies both parties).

By default, outsourcing communication is carried out in English, making its fluent command a must for your outsourced team members. Theoretically, this could be any other language you and your software development vendor agree on, but it doesn’t change things a lot. 

A reliable outsourcing provider will ensure that their team members speak intermediate to proficient English, any additional language being a plus.

Once the contract is signed, responsible providers discuss with their clients how they will keep in touch. 

Another great benefit of choosing such a company is that it already has an established and proven communication algorithm that you can put in action right away. However, reputable vendors always ask their clients about their preferable communication channels. If there is such, they will utilize it to, again, present their clients with exceptional service and keep them satisfied.

Once you’ve decided on your outsourcing communication channels, a good practice is to assign one channel for each type of information exchange and follow this rule. 

For instance, you may agree to use email for sending/receiving reports, Google Meet for video conferences, and Slack for quick questions. 

This will allow both teams to avoid getting unnecessarily distracted from work — for instance, when they get an email they needn’t answer immediately — and, therefore, be more productive.

Emails, reports, and online meetings are great, yet top outsourcing vendors also give their clients access to their project management tools.  

These tools provide them with extra peace of mind — greatly simplifying tracking progress — and help them feel in control over the processes.

Moreover, the tools save a lot of time — checking the platform out can answer the client’s question, removing the need to arrange a call or write another email, effectively improving outsourcing communication.

Time zone differences might seem like a challenge for effective outsourcing communication, but with a reliable provider they are absolutely not. A trusted software development company will organize work in a way to make it maximally smooth for their clients from any part of the world.

Here’s our practice.

A lot of businesses that outsource software development want to reduce micromanagement. We perfectly understand that and, throughout our practice, have developed a communication system that proved effective in this view for a lot of our Clients. Here’s how it works:

Besides agreeing on how often to provide reports, outsourcing vendors that attach high value to the relationships with their clients always discuss the frequency of online sessions at the kick-off meeting. 

Besides, they assign dedicated people to participate in these meetings — usually, a delivery manager (maybe local), if not — a project manager or a team lead. 

It’s essential to remember that outsourcing involves working with people that not only speak another language and live in a different time zone but who also belong to a different culture. 

Across nations, many state and religious holidays are days off, and both sides should take these into account when planning how they will communicate.

It doesn't mean that the outsourcing provider should take a day off when it’s a holiday in their client’s country — the right approach would be to plan the work so that they won’t need to talk to the client on that day. 

Of course, the best way to discuss business and establish relationships is sitting together in the same room; however, this is not always possible when you outsource your project.

The lack of live communication can be settled with the help of video conferencing. It’s the closest to physical presence, allowing you to make eye contact and getting to know your partners “in person,” which greatly feeds into forging a strong connection between the teams.

Cloud technology can significantly streamline file sharing, playing a pivotal role in effective remote collaboration. 

First, they make exchange fast and secure. Even more importantly, users can make updates and access changes in real time.

As a result, the teams are protected against being misled by outdated information and can use the time allocated for communication more efficiently.

Both parties can come up with valuable ideas during a video conference, not to mention on-the-spot decisions and changes. To avoid misunderstandings in the future, it’s essential to write down the key points. 

Efficient outsourcing vendors follow a routine of drawing up an agenda for each meeting and adding notes to each point as the conference progresses.

Feedback is the backbone of effective business communication, especially in outsourcing. Constructive feedback can save both parties plenty of misinterpreting and re-doing tasks. 

In addition, relevant feedback on their work helps the team members stay motivated and be more productive. 

Effective communication is vital if you focus on the success of your outsourcing project. It can be achieved through a set of tried-and-true practices and the proper technology.

If you are looking for a reliable software development company that has a full understanding of both the communication process and how to assemble appropriate teams — just submit the form below and we’ll gladly demonstrate to you how we do it.