A Few Outsourcing Thoughts.

Background

Underwriters Technologies has outsourced a significant portion of its work to offshore programmers for nearly 20 years. Along the way, we've encountered several challenges and gained valuable insights. Below is a small list of our key learnings and recommendations.

The Outsource Site Problem.

Whenever you engage with platforms such as Upwork or Fiverr, or explore other outsourcing avenues, be prepared to encounter an overwhelming influx of automated responses from bots or individuals merely casting a wide net. Additionally, your contact information may become accessible to outsourcing agencies in India, leading to an onslaught of unsolicited phone calls. These calls typically do not address your actual needs; their primary goal is to persuade you to purchase their services.

To mitigate the influx of irrelevant responses and unsolicited communications, we've implemented several strategies:

1. We clearly state at the beginning of our postings that respondents must start their reply with the name of a very large fruit. This instruction is meant as a filter; any response that fails to comply, not beginning with "grapefruit," "watermelon," or a similar keyword, is promptly discarded. This approach helps us quickly identify and eliminate proposals that haven't been tailored to our specific requirements.

2. Given that our requirements are predominantly technical, we introduced a fictitious technology as a filter. In our postings, we mention looking for proficiency in "RUGM" under the skills section. Should an applicant claim expertise in RUGM, they are immediately disqualified, as it signals they haven't thoroughly read the job details—RUGM is a made-up technology.

Hire 3. Keep 1.

To further refine our selection process and ensure we hire the most capable offshore contractors, we adopt a strategy of hiring multiple candidates for the same task. Although we do not assign these contractors to critical customer-facing roles, they do provide valuable support to our team.

For each new position, we devise a short, one-week project derived from the task at hand. We then hire three individuals to tackle this project simultaneously. Our experience has shown that usually one, sometimes two, of these contractors will stand out based on their skill set and, crucially, their ability to communicate effectively with our team. Our goal is to hire three contractors initially but to retain only the one who proves to be the most suitable at the end of the week.

Blindsided

During your screening process, it's crucial to adopt a more inclusive and broad-minded approach, taking into account the cross-cultural nuances that might come into play. Understanding the culture of the people you're considering hiring is essential. You may find it beneficial to research and become familiar with their cultural background and practices.

For instance, our company once collaborated with a team from Pakistan over several years, gradually integrating them into our operations, one member at a time. This close relationship even led to some team members visiting our home office in Austin, Texas, to work directly with us. However, we encountered an unexpected challenge when, one Friday night, we received an email stating: "Insurance is against Islam. We can no longer be part of your transgressions." 

While this team did provide us with a grace period to transition, the sudden need to assemble a new team and restart operations placed a significant strain on our company. This incident, stemming from a religious objection to the insurance business, highlights the importance of understanding and respecting cultural and religious beliefs in international business engagements.

Communication

Our approach to communication and maintaining a daily rhythm involves a precise and disciplined start to each day. We have instituted a policy where an online meeting takes place at 9:04 AM every morning on Slack, corresponding to the time at our home office in Austin, Texas. This meeting is mandatory for all our developers, and we adhere to this schedule strictly, starting at exactly 9:04 AM without exception.

Setting the meeting time at 9:04 AM emphasizes the importance of punctuality. It signals that the time for preparatory activities, like grabbing a coffee, is before the meeting, not at or after 9:04 AM. This level of precision has helped instill a sense of urgency and discipline, ensuring everyone is ready and online at the appointed time.

Before implementing this system, we allowed offshore developers to work independently and submit completed products. However, this often led to scenarios where the work deviated significantly from our expectations, resulting in useless outcomes and delayed milestones. Now, our daily check-ins allow for immediate corrections and adjustments, preventing weeks of wasted effort.

Communication is further facilitated through Slack channels, supported by custom language translation tools. All messages are initially posted in English but are then translated into Ukrainian, and, as necessary, into Arabic or Spanish to accommodate the diverse backgrounds of our team members. This practice has proven beneficial, even for team members fluent in English, as they frequently refer to the translations alongside the original messages.

Additionally, we use a Kanban board for real-time tracking of tasks and projects. This system has fostered a cooperative environment where, for instance, a developer in Winnipeg might assist a colleague in Cairo or Manila, regardless of whether the Winnipeg developer is directly responsible for those particular deliverables. This year, such cross-collaboration and support have been key highlights, showcasing the effectiveness of our communication and project management strategies.

 Perfect vs Good Enough

The principle "you get what you measure" underscores a current challenge we face: our focus on the minutiae of tasks yields exceptional work on individual components, yet this meticulous attention often results in the accumulation of backlogs for broader deliverables. As team members strive for perfection in each task, they inadvertently prioritize perfection over progress, leading to a situation where the quest for flawless execution hampers the completion of larger project segments. This perfectionism, while admirable in its dedication to quality, acts as a barrier to efficiency, highlighting the delicate balance between excellence and expediency.