INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION
How offshoring works without conflict.
Germany is short of around 109,000 IT specialists, and most companies expect the shortage to keep getting worse. IT outsourcing can fill these gaps, and more and more companies are deliberately recruiting their developers in countries like Lithuania, India, Thailand, Vietnam or Cambodia. But the collaboration often fails to deliver what was agreed in the initial talks, and the disappointment runs deep on both sides. Many of these problems are the result of a divide in the mind. Our Managing Director Manuel Ludvigsen-Diekmann worked out which factors make the collaboration succeed without conflict, together with Lars Jankowfsky, founder of GRADION (formerly NFQ Asia).
What makes the collaboration succeed
Hand over responsibility
Distribute tasks fairly and give the developers part of the responsibility, from finding new team members to communicating with end customers. Especially in Asian countries, signaling trust boosts motivation enormously, because a breach of trust there means losing face.
One person who really wants it
You need at least one team member at a key position in the home team who is genuinely keen on the project and knows from the start that they will visit the team on site every six weeks to three months.
Choosing the location
For many people, flying to Thailand or Vietnam regularly feels more appealing than flying to Poland or Lithuania. That gut feeling has an impact on the success of the project.
Social skills and team building
People not only have to work together, they also have to be able to have fun together. Once the ice is broken, it is about integrating them properly, knowing their names and their quirks, and being open to their culture. Then it is not only Christmas that gets celebrated, but Chinese New Year too.
English as the official language
Only when all communication is consistently switched to English can you avoid a two-tier system and make sure your colleagues take part in the full flow of information.
The divide is in the mind
Common misconceptions
True or false depending on the location. For a senior developer in Vietnam you have to budget around €7,000 a month on average. In Berlin or Munich that gets a tired smile, while in more rural regions local salary levels are similar.
You should not assume you will find developers abroad with experience in tools like Shopware 6, Spryker or commercetools. Here too you have to invest in training, a 15% churn rate included.
Think in terms of availability, not money. The biggest advantage is not lower hourly rates, but available developers.
The biggest advantage offshoring offers is not lower hourly rates, but available developers.
Manuel Ludvigsen-Diekmann
Managing Director SHOPMACHER
Questions about collaboration?
For any questions about working with our Vietnamese colleagues, you can reach out to Julia.
Connect on LinkedIn
Julia Wilkens
Head of People & Culture
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