Nearshore Software Development Teams
The following article is a collection of several trustable sources, please see references below.
Companies have understood to impact of the current pandemic, and we’re seeing an increase of companies wanting to settle a team in a nearshore model. Being able to create a new team, with the support of a local one (or not) can be the perfect strategy for many organisations. There are a lot of factors that should be taking in consideration before you establish a Nearshore service with an external vendor. We all know that costs, HR capability, the country’s advantages and tech skills are valuable and are the first things that come to mind when searching for a good Nearshore service. Nonetheless there are other very important factors that sometimes are forgotten.
Another very important point is to understand your partner’s capabilities to hire, manage and keep a steady and longing relationship, and this is not always a matter of numbers. Meaning if a company has a lot of established Nearshoring teams, how will they prioritise you before other clients? Or if a company works with all the main companies that have talent (like all the major banks, telecom or energy companies), where will they hire more people if they are already working with so many clients in the same market. This means that the strategy of your partner should be carefully built to have not only man power but also freedom to grab talent.
There are other key factors to understand how to build a nearshore team, or how to create your own nearshore or near source center for your company.
Flexibility
By setting up a model that allows you to have full control of your software deliveries, or daily tasks, you contribute to a much more flexible way to upscale or downscale your teams, depending on the workload your project or projects have in a specific time. So make sure you select a nearshore partner that allows you to have this flexibility. Your goals might be to continuously expand your teams and capabilities, but it' s always nice to have a good strategy in place that protects your company in any case. On the other hand there can be a greater cost control and reduction by being flexible.
Generalists vs Specialists
A great point of discussion is also the Generalists vs Specialists battle. It is clear that, when building a Software Development Team, the decision for a Specialist nearshore partner makes more sense, as they provide the best professionals in the market. This happens because the developer identifies themselves more in a specialist company than in a generalist company. When your team includes a mix between Telecom Engineers, Field Engineers, Infrastructures, etc, then a generalist company probably will make more sense.
People
Another thing to point out about nearshoring software development teams is that, although the work is remote, there is always a personal aspect in the works. All the time, everyday. This means that teams are composed by human beings, not robots, so your strategy must include a “human side” onto the equation. And preferably your nearshore partner has already in place several initiatives to promote human interaction (remote or not), to guarantee happiness when it comes to the WoW (way of work), benefits, etc, which then leads to more retention as well. And one of the reasons our people stay with us for a long time, is because we follow several guidelines to create not only the best work environment, but to let our people be the ones who create the company. And this is unique, and kind of the opposite of the corporate culture. This article goes even deeper on this questions.
Cultural fit
Cultural fit is a key aspect. Your partner mindset should be aligned with yours but more importantly with the development teams. Since this is usually a long-term model, you will want your teams to be happy and integrated in an environment with a sense of belonging.
Transparency
By understanding your partner WoW and methodologies, you’ll be able to see if they are transparent. Test them to see how far they are willing to go.
Skill Set
Every company has their own expertise so this is something that you should take in consideration. Not only technologies but more importantly, the kind of projects your partner has been doing or has developed. In any case, any new skill should be easily hireable in the market. And since you will work in a daily basis with these teams, your partner should have people involved in the daily management with these skills (software development e.g.)
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