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8 Common Mistakes You Should Avoid While Hiring an Offshore Developer in 2023

Key Steps For Avoiding Mistakes

Hiring Offshore Developers - 8 Mistakes to Avoid

Hiring offshore Developers surely is one of the best hiring strategies in the market these days. Businesses are opting for offshore development services to stay competitive, reduce costs and achieve speed to market. Other benefits that can be leveraged by hiring offshore teams are specialized expertise, access to a large talent pool, and flexibility. But this is one side of the picture. 

The question is ” Hiring Offshore Software Developers Actually that Easy? “

Well, it comes with challenges as you work with teams beyond oceans. Miscommunication and cultural differences make it even more difficult.

Does that mean backing off and going back to that traditional way of working with in-house teams and bearing the cost of domestic software development? Absolutely not. In this article, we have explored the hiring developers mistakes that founders tend to make while hiring offshore developers. Also, we have enlisted some key steps to take to streamline the process and make the most of this hiring model.

Let’s get to the heart of the topic and learn the dos and don’ts of hiring offshore developers.

What is Offshore Software Development?

Offshore software development is a business model for outsourcing software development projects. As per this model development teams from other countries are hired for the software development projects.

8 - Common Mistakes to Avoid When Hiring Offshore Developers

Common Mistakes to Avoid While Hiring Offshore Developers

1. Focusing On Cost Only Besides considering other Factors:

Hiring offshore software developers is indeed a cost-effective option but focusing solely on the cost factor has its own drawbacks. If cost is the main driver you may end up hiring an offshore development team that is not as per your standard.

This can affect product development and quality and ultimately cost you more than the estimate. Other issues that may arise are:

  • Delays or rework
  • Collaboration challenges
  • Conflicts related to company culture and values
  • Security issues

Therefore, finding the right balance between quality, price, and expertise is very important besides the cost factor.

2. Research is The Key:

Finding the best offshore developers is no doubt a daunting task but extensive research can make your experience worthwhile. Most of the time founders face issues later in the projects due to the lack of adequate research about their potential offshore development partner at the start.

This happens when you try to save time and go through a few options at hand. If you wish to hire dedicated offshore developers, it is necessary to carry out adequate research including the following factors:

  • Research the market, culture, lifestyle, and work ethics of the region you wish to hire offshore development team.
  • Search and shortlist potential partners after a thorough background check.
  • Review portfolios, experience, expertise, and achievements.
  • Look for authentic references

Conduct multistep interviews to get a better sense of the work ethics of the offshoring partner and avoid misunderstandings in the future.

3. Not Consulting Technical Expert Before Hiring:

The non-tech founders tend to make a mistake by not consulting a technical expert before hiring. It is important to take a second opinion from an engineer and ask him to do a scalability analysis of the proposed team and project plan.

4. Don’t Forget the End Users:

When hiring an offshore developer, business owners often overlook the fact that they are making all the efforts for the end users. As the product they are developing is to be used by the user, it is better to hire a team that can satisfy the needs of the users as well as yours.

5. Setting Absurd Expectations:

Most of the time businesses plan to hire best offshore software developers but they forget the fact that they are working with teams beyond borders.

Hence, they expect the offshore team to work like the in-house team. For instance, the working style and processes of the offshore team can be different. Therefore, it will not be wise to work as one size fits all formulas. This not only hinders the productivity of the team but also lures you away from setting realistic goals and expectations for the project.

So, it is important to keep the challenges related to hiring dedicated offshore software developers in mind while determining the effort estimation.

6. Don’t Overlook Cultural Differences:

Cultural differences between the main team and the offshore team are understood in offshore software development projects. But sometimes there are certain differences that can become problematic. If you work with a team that has problems aligning its values with your vision and mission, conflicts can arise.

It is better not to waste your time in resolving these conflicts and hire a team with which establishing a healthy partnership is possible to avoid misunderstanding and delays. you can read our blog on Cultural Aspects to Consider While Onboarding Offshore Teams for better understanding of cultural differences.

7. A Big No To Micromanagement:

Micromanagement is very lethal for creativity, and it is important for managers to know that it can become very toxic at certain stages of the product development cycle.

So, it is better to hire an offshore development team that can work independently and doesn’t seek validation after achieving every single milestone.

8. Unclear Project Requirements and Goals:

Business leaders need to understand the fact that defining clear project requirements, in the beginning, is very crucial. Unclear requirements can lead to roadblocks, ultimately affecting the success of the project.

The scope of the project totally changes if the project requirements are unclear resulting in cost over-run, miscommunication, and delays.

To avoid this situation, always involve product experts and business analysts to make sure the project details and vision are communicated in the right way.

Mistakes to Avoid When Managing Offshore Developers

Now that you have learned about the mistakes to avoid while hiring dedicated offshore developers, let’s jump to the next step I.e., managing developers mistakes. This step is as important as the former to retain the standard of the project. The trade-offs of remote software development can be mitigated if founders and managers overcome these weak points in their hiring and management strategies. So here you go:

Working As Per the “Build now, fix later” Principle:

Most of the time the managers rush the team to meet the deadlines incurring Tech Debt. In software development, settling for suboptimal performance can worsen the longstanding core problems leading to a chain reaction affecting other areas. So, encouraging the team to just put out the fires throughout the project can make the team less capable and the quality is compromised.

Teams must keep a balance between planned tech debts and rectification of the bugs in time. Also, avoid the tech debt reaching the tipping point by refactoring and developers optimizing the code.

Making Frequent Changes in The Team:

Frequent changes in the offshore development teams can have negative impacts on the overall quality of the project. Every developer has a unique way of working thus disturbing the environment unnecessarily can result in patchy code. Here are the reasons why you should avoid frequent changes in the team:

  1. Disrupts workflow and communication patterns
  2. Loss of institutional knowledge causing instability
  3. Increased recruitment and training costs
  4. Delays
  5. Issues with quality sustainability

Not Having a Clear Communication Strategy:

Communication is the only thing that knits the cross-culture distributed teams across borders. Having a clear communication strategy is as crucial as any other thing for the success of the software development project. Outline your meeting schedules and channels beforehand, identify the point of contact if any issue occurs, and define the overall organizational structure.

Failing to Develop a Relationship of Trust with the Offshore Teams:

 Building trust with offshore teams is important for successful collaboration and teamwork. The lack of face-to-face communication sometimes can build trust issues and there is always a fear of developers abandoning the project. Although this is not the case if you are working with the best offshore software development company.

Also, managers need to have trust in the abilities of the offshore team to complete the project within the deadline and establish long-term partnerships.

"Lasting business relationships don’t just happen—they need dedication and consistent quality work. No matter what industry you’re in, if you win the trust of your partners—and vice versa—you can go a long way in meeting business goals."

Mistakes To Avoid When Hiring Developers - Key Steps

  • Clearly define the role and responsibilities of the position you are hiring offshore programmers for. This will help you identify the specific skills and experiences that a candidate should have.
  • Create a comprehensive and thoughtful job description that accurately reflects the role and the requirements of the position. This will attract the right candidates and help you screen out those who are not a good fit.
  • Use a variety of tools and techniques to assess candidates, including interviews, reference checks, skills tests, and other methods. This will give you a well-rounded view of each candidate and help you make a more informed decision.
  • Involve multiple people in the hiring process, including team members who will be working with the new hire. This will help ensure that the candidate is a good fit for the team and the company culture.
  • Take your time and don’t rush the hiring process. It’s better to wait for the right candidate than to hire someone who is not a good fit for the role.

Finally, consider working with a recruiting agency or professional hiring consultant to help you identify and attract top talent. They can provide valuable insights and expertise that can help you avoid making costly hiring mistakes.

Benefits of Avoiding Mistakes

Cost savings:

Working with the right teams saves you money as there is no need to rework and the project is delivered within the deadline and budget.

Quality Retention:

When businesses scrutinize and hire world-class offshore developers, quality products and services follow. There is no need to worry about quality retention when you are working with highly proficient offshore software developers.

No Missed Deadlines:

A good developer is one who is committed to delivering the work without missing the deadline. When you avoid these mistakes and hire the perfect team for your project, there is no need to worry about the timely delivery of the project.

Access to Top-Notch Skills and Expertise:

If you are looking for top-notch experts, then you must put a little effort into finding them. You may not always find them on the first go. Research and look for the right offshore software development company to avoid any hassle.

Benefits of Avoiding Mistakes While Hiring Offshore Software Developers

Conclusion

It is impossible to completely eliminate risks when hiring offshore developers, as there is always a degree of uncertainty involved in the hiring process. However, there are steps as mentioned above you can take to minimize the mistakes and increase the likelihood of making a successful hire.

CodeNinja is a reliable Software Development Outsourcing Company for hiring the best offshore developers. We have a clear process in place for vetting and filtering candidates. Also, we offer in-house training to equip our resources with today’s technological trends.