Working With Contractors Made Easy

Part 6 - Work with Offshore Contractors

With the growing reach of the Internet, more Web development shops are outsourcing work not just to contractors, but to contractors living in other countries.

Let's talk about some of the issues that you'll have to consider as you move to outsource work overseas.

Communication

Communication is key to any successful working relationship, and, as we all know, it's difficult enough to maintain clear communication with people in the same town, office (or even room!) -- let alone people on the other side of the world.

Let's look at some of the communications channels that will become critical as you work with international contractors.

Instant Messenger

Although convenient, instant messaging is generally an ineffective means of communication and should be avoided entirely. This is particularly true when you’re working with offshore teams because almost all communications will be electronic, and knowledge capture must be accurate and efficient if you are to keep the project on track.

Project communications are rarely so urgent that they require immediate response, and IMs will simply interrupt the contractor that you yourself are paying to do the work. Instead of IMing your contractor, try writing a clear, concise email with numbered points on it, so that your contractors can respond in a manner that fits their schedule.

It’s also important to get an understanding of how your offshore developers work, and their internal office schedule. This information should be used to create a communications schedule including daily checkpoints, and some communications ‘windows’ for everyone to follow.

For example, my biggest development team is in India. They’re 9.5 hours ahead of my office in Boston. We’ve discussed scheduling and workflow many times and settled into a workflow that works for both of us. We have the following communication system in place:

7:30 AM Boston Time / 5:00 PM India Time

• Offshore team provides report on daily progress, and uploads any work performed that day.
• I agree to contact the team within one hour if I have any immediate concerns with the progress.
• The offshore team agrees to wait one hour for any response from me. After that, they are finished for the day.
• If there is no progress report, or nothing significant to report, the team can contact me via IM and tell me that there’s nothing to report.
• It is unacceptable to have zero contact, even if there is nothing to report.
• If I don’t hear from them within about 30 minutes, I will call them on the phone.

I handle my client throughout the day, then quit in the early afternoon. Later that night, I’ll return to my desk to provide support to the development at the beginning of their workday.

9:30 PM Boston Time / 7:00 AM India Time

• I agree to have any notes, changes, issues, or questions sent via email by this time.
• The offshore team agrees to respond with any questions or issues within one hour.
• If there are no questions or issues, they may contact me via IM.
• It’s unacceptable to have no communications at the beginning of their workday, even if there is nothing to discuss.
• If I don’t hear from them within about 30 minutes, I will call them on the phone.

The key is to always allow for as many iterations and communication rounds as possible in every workday. The day/night cycle allows for one large iteration, and, for, a large project with great momentum, this is typically enough. However, I insist on these extra communications cycles on smaller projects as well, because I’ve found that it increases productivity dramatically.

Time Differences

Time differences are hard to get used to, but can ultimately work to your advantage as you approach a round-the-clock schedule. I actually prefer having my ‘development shift’ occurring at night, while the ‘client service shift’ happens during the day. It provides a convenient and sustainable cycle for development, and allows developers to assume a ‘daily-build’ mentality, which results in a comfortable project flow and convenient communications cycle.

Language Barrier

Language barriers are easy to address. Simply put, if your offshore contractor isn’t able to communicate effectively in your language of choice, find another contractor. The risks associated with language barriers among technology providers is huge and should always be avoided. Spelling and grammar problems are insignificant, but it’s unwise to work with a contractor who doesn’t understand everything you say at all times.

International Contracts and Legal

Legal situations become very complex when working across international borders. Typically, it takes a significant (and expensive) legal effort to establish a binding agreement with an offshore contractor or team. This usually involves the creation of 2 separate contracts (one for each jurisdiction) or the creation of one multi-jurisdictional contract. Either approach is highly complex and difficult for a small company to accomplish.

In addition to the obstacles associated with establishing legal agreements internationally, any such agreement is extremely hard to enforce in the event of a conflict. Taking an offshore contractor to court would be expensive and time consuming at best, and is probably not an option for a small business.

To remedy this, we can revisit the general guidelines established in the ‘Good Business’ section above. The best protection is to establish long-term, mutually beneficial relationships with offshore entities, and to cultivate an environment where it’s in everyone’s best interest to continue working honestly.

Conclusion

Ready to start working with contractors? Be sure you're ready to invest some time and money into the recruiting process, use trial projects, and treat your contractors fairly. Remember, good business is the key to success and your contractors will take care of you if you take care of them!