How to Overcome Cultural Barriers When Working with Virtual Employees
How can you develop an understanding and transparent communication with a person that you have only met over the internet? What about when cultural barriers are involved? Cultural differences have a significant impact on how coworkers communicate with each other and their managers. It affects their decision making and the way they deal with task assignments. It effects how individual developers view target audiences. Allshore Virtual Staffing has over 10 years of experience bridging the gap of cultural difference between outsourced employees and our clients. We’ve put together a few practices to follow when outsourcing a web development project.
Cultural Awareness
Cultural awareness is vital to the success of your team, but how is it established? Begin with an understanding that cultural awareness is a two-way street and both parties should be compelled to accept and understand cultural diversity. Each culture brings its own complexities and benefits. We encourage conducting workshops highlighting the cultural background of your team to promote awareness. This will allow you and your team to see things from all perspectives.
Appropriate Development Methodology
Agile methodology allows for changes during the development of a project and is commonly used in the U.S. However, In Southern Asian countries, like Pakistan, employees respond well to elaborate tasks and consistent schedules. In order to bridge this gap in working style, Allshore developed a two-manager support system.
The Client Success Manager is responsible for aiding communication and tracking time and scheduling. The Technical Success Manager provides technical team leadership by guiding and coaching developers. They also support clients with technical matters. Together, they provide clarity in scheduling and tasks while encouraging creativity and independence.
Consistent Communication
Consistent communication is critical to the success of a collaborative team. Outsourcing presents two unique cultural barriers in this regard: language and time. At Allshore, we made it our goal to remove those challenges. Our developers are vetted through an intensive interview system that helps ensure they have the English communication and comprehension skills required for successful development. All employees at Allshore work U.S. business hours. We aim to decrease the gap in time zones, allowing you to effectively communicate with your team during your workday when it is most convenient for you and your clients.
Outsourcing presents unique challenges and cultural barriers, but Allshore helps to eliminate those barriers by providing a bridge between you and your team. We embrace cultural diversity while maintaining high expectations for understanding and collaboration. By working with us, you are choosing to expand your team in a cost-effective way without sacrificing diversity or communication!
If you’d like to learn more about Allshore or speak directly with our sales team, please fill out our contact us form here!
