Metagyre, Inc.

The idea behind offshore outsourcing seems simple enough. India, China, Russia and other countries have thousands of high quality workers at exceptionally low cost. Yet, for the bonanza of talent, companies can expect project management and communications tasks to take on a new level of intensity or watch cost savings evaporate and quality plummet.

In spite of the difficulties and all the complexities, many companies are reaping the benefits of offshore outsourcing. Successful companies are seeing lower costs, employee resources freed for additional projects and a flexible work force that can scale to changing business demands. But these companies are not achieving positive results on their own.

What separates the successful from the outsourcing bust, cultural understanding and project managers who understand how to bridge technical and cultural gaps. Outsourcing is same around the world, assume the problem is communication based and that you are the cause of the breakdown. Clearly articulate (read document) the requirements (read everything you expect) and go over them again and again. When you think you’ve communicated everything clearly, have the offshore communicate it all back to you. Keep on this cycle until you hear from them exactly what you said.

To find out more about managing outsourced project read Metagyre’s offshore outsourcing methodology.