Outsourcing offshore services is becoming a staple for several businesses. However, managing offshore teams has continued to become a challenge for managers.
Moreover, proper management and coordination of remote teams are crucial for optimal business growth. Below are tips you can use to boost your offshore team management processes for streamlined workflow and increased productivity.
Tips for Managing Offshore Teams
1. Let the Team Know Your Vision
For effective management of remote teams try not to delegate tasks to the overseas teams without letting them understand your goals and vision. Also, managing offshore teams effectively involves making every member a partisan in your strategic planning journey. Share with them your plans and use their feedback to create a roadmap easily understood by all members.
2. Communicate Effectively
Also, proper offshore team management requires managers to have the right communication skills to connect and interact with members. Successful communication allows managers to understand people and situations better. It enables teams to overcome inherent diversities and create a vibrant environment for sharing ideas and resolving problems.
When managing offshore teams, use video conferencing because it builds good relations between you and your team. Video conferencing and other communication processes build rapport and help you read your employees’ emotions and understand their concerns.
3. Do Not Micromanage
Allowing team leaders to take charge boosts the morale of your teams. Micromanagement causes uneasiness thus hampering productivity and performance. As a business owner, give chance to team leaders to assist you in managing offshore teams as they understand their team dynamics better. Micromanaging can be annoying, it makes your team feel over-controlled.
Effective management of remote teams implies leaving your teams to undertake their activities and only popping in to check progress, answer questions, and add value. Instead of watching every move of your team and correcting every single mistake, assign them tasks, give them the goals, set deadlines, and let them complete the task without much interference. Provide an environment that promotes freedom which in turn will promote creativity, innovations, and promote openness among your employee.
4. Properly Define Tasks
Also, offshore team management can be made easier by assigning each member specific tasks. Ensure teams have a list of tasks to prevent duplication of tasks. Defining tasks correctly allows you to automate repetitive processes and let the team concentrate on other tasks.
Likewise, with the assistance of team leaders, clearly communicate instructions of each task enabling employees to avoid making unnecessary mistakes. Managing offshore teams effectively means letting every staff member understand the scope of the project and schedules
5. Accommodate Everyone
To enhance effective management of remote teams, try to learn and understand to promote cultural competency by creating an environment that accommodates everyone. Also, research about team culture to have an overview of how this might affect how teams communicate and handle problems. Knowing the culture of each of your teams makes communication and collaboration easy.
Identifying cross-cultural training needs and designing intercultural competency programs will reduce misunderstandings and conflicts among your remote teams. Culturally competent dispersed teams are easier to manage. Offshore team management shouldn’t be difficult when all your teams are gearing up for a shared vision.
6. Treat every Team Member as an Equal Partner
Likewise, as you deal with offshore team management, work towards making your offshore teams feel like they are part of your project. Just as you would spend time increasing employee satisfaction at home, don’t forget about your overseas teams.
Also, for effective management of remote teams build a solid relationship with them and establish a rapport. Take time to visit your teams and schedule regular meetings. Also, employees who feel appreciated and wanted will go the extra mile to meet the project’s objectives.
Allow teams to form emotional connections and attachment to the project. Emotionally attached teams are willing to work for you and sacrifice more time for the project. When managing offshore teams, it is important to make them feel a part of you as it will always work to your advantage.
Motivate them and recognize their efforts. Rewarding teams that demonstrate exceptional performance is a good practice in offshore team management.
7. Hold Meetings Regularly
Holding meetings on a weekly basis is vital when managing offshore teams for you to get project updates, review team performance, and provide continuous training. Meetings bring all team players on board and ensure they are on the same page.
Likewise, set alignments and weekly meetings with your team to enhance manager-employee relationships with your remote teams. Make sure you are accessible around the clock to assist in any inquiries and make an effort to build a relationship with them. This will go a long way in effective management of remote teams.
Also, in offshore team management, always make sure every group member attends the meeting and presents a report on their tasks. Employ the use of video conferencing and deliver information on time. Holding meetings regularly or even daily increases productivity.
8. Assign Team Leaders
Managing offshore teams becomes simpler if you delegate duties and assign leaders in each offshore location to help you manage your teams remotely. You will not always be available, so your team leaders will oversee the rest of the employees on your behalf.
While assigning team leaders assists in effective management of remote teams, don’t forget to select culturally competent leaders who can work well with employees from different cultures. Such leaders will oversee daily activities and provide you with performance and progress reports.
9. Ensure Team Satisfaction While Managing Offshore Teams
During offshore team management remember that you are dealing with people. Therefore, take note of their reactions and feelings. Lack of satisfaction can lead to increased employee turnover which is time-wasting and leads to additional costs of onboarding and training.
When managing offshore teams, hold casual conversations and find out whether they feel accommodated. To promote satisfaction provide a conducive working and skill development environment. Always be ready to listen to complaints and address them accordingly.
10. Understand Your Teams’ Capabilities.
Find out if employee skills match their capabilities as per the interviews conducted. After assigning tasks to rate their performance in line with their recently stipulated skills in the interview. Performance-based experience can help you find out offshore teams’ strengths and weaknesses, professionalism, and flexibility.
In your offshore team management, you want to make sure the team is competent enough and ready for the job in order to ensure easy management and ultimately the success of the project.
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