Mastering Time Zone Differences in IT Outsourcing to Get 2x Excellence

Quick Summary: Maximize the potential of IT outsourcing by conquering time zone differences. Explore our blog to navigate challenges, discover effective strategies, and leverage tools that streamline collaboration across different time zones. Uncover the benefits of overcoming temporal barriers and fortify your productivity in global outsourcing.

Offshore Outsourcing has evolved into a multi-billion-dollar industry globally, with a debate that traces its roots back to the 1970s.

However, it presents both advantages and disadvantages, in speeding up development and coordination challenges respectively. And it is inevitable – if you are involved in software development outsourcing services, challenges regarding overlapping time zones will surely arise.

Did you know that 62% of today’s employees collaborate across different time zones with their teams?

Undoubtedly, time zone differences are a serious challenge, impeding meeting project deadlines. But with the right strategies and a reliable outsourcing partner, you can easily hire remote developers and complete projects on time and within budget.

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In this exploration, we will delve into prevailing over the overlapping time zone differences in IT outsourcing. If you are also struggling with time zone differences while managing offshore teams, we have outlined the benefits, challenges, and proven ways to manage time zone differences, making outsourcing a strategic decision for your business.

Let’s dig in!

Understanding the Time Zone Challenges in IT Outsourcing

The term “time zone challenges” refers to the difficulties that arise when coordinating and collaborating with team members across different time zones.

Have you ever experienced this challenge, where time zone differences create obstacles that affect the seamless execution of your projects? If so, it is crucial to understand the nature of the challenge before finding how to overcome it. Let’s dig in!

1. Coordination Conflicts: Coordination is one of the extremely concerned troubles faced by an offshore outsourcing team member. It arises when team members struggle to synchronize tasks due to geographical, cultural, and communication barriers.

2. Lesser Real-time Collaborations: To keep pace with today's dynamic tech landscape, the inability to make real-time collaborations and feedback can affect the problem-solving and free flow of the information process.

3. Missed Responses and Deadlines: Missed responses, project deadlines, and giving clarifications due to time zone differences severely slow down project progress and the decision-making process.

4. Employee Burnout: Teams working outside their regular working hours and in different working environments may experience burnout, impacting on their confidence and productivity.

Now that you know the key challenges associated with offshore software development, time zone issues can disrupt real-time collaboration, project deadlines, and employee motivation. If you are a tech leader planning to offshore outsource your projects, keep reading about how to successfully manage time zone differences and successfully mitigate these challenges.

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Strategies to Manage Time Zone Differences in IT Outsourcing

Did you know Statista conducted a poll and revealed around 10% of participants experienced disappointment with time zone differences?

If you are also struggling to manage teams in different time zones, here are proven strategies that will help you define protocols and manage time differences effectively between your offshore teams and nearshore software development teams regardless of business engagements with the offshore vendor.

1. Make Use of the Agile Methodology

Adopting agile methodology to manage your offshore software development time zone differences is the first and foremost essential choice. What it means is that – manage your communication and discussion frequency based on project requirements. You know 71% of businesses prefer agile methodology for their projects. It acts as a great helping hand to work without waiting for approval and support from other team members in different time zones.

2. Make the Right Choice of Teams

Most often, the problem is not the broad number of offshore developers, but rather their proficiency in the domain which creates trouble. It’s not enough to hire dedicated developers from the best destination, you need a workforce with exceptional time management abilities and skills. People who can work with bare minimum supervision.

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3. Stick To a Single Communication Channel

The best way to manage time zone differences is to keep your interactions in a single and established communication channel. This will encourage the recipient to grab the message without disruption initiated by interruptions and the potential for errors. While communicating with dedicated software development teams, keep a single email ID or use tools like GoToMeeting, Skype, etc.

4. Project & Time Management Tools

You will find many tools available to help efficiently operate your software project. Utilizing these tools like Jira, Redmine, Github, etc., ensure seamless coordination, complete transparency, and efficient task assignment. Moreover, these platforms facilitate mutual convenience, enhancing project and task management, ultimately contributing to a more streamlined workflow.

Apart from this, having the tool will not just solve the problem, you will have to ensure both teams strictly use the same tool for task assignments instead of giving tasks over emails/skype.

5. Common Source Code Repositories

In scenarios where software development outsourcing and onsite outsourcing teams are working on the same project, it's essential to have a common source code & version control system to ensure each team member works on the latest source code. You must ensure each team member finishes his work with proper commenting at the end of the day.

6. Centralized Access to Minutes of Meetings and Project Progress Reports

Although you have a detailed idea about the status of various tasks from the project management systems, it's essential you set a centralized access to a comprehensive reporting structure that includes – overall project progress status, completed tasks, planning of the next set of tasks, project risks, etc. Furthermore, you need to ensure teams prepare MOM with specific items discussed, conclusions made, and action items. Those meetings should be recorded and put up in the centralized project portal to access it anytime.

7. Local Holidays List

You must have a clear-cut idea about the local holidays of your offshore team to avoid any last-minute dependencies.

8. Have Emergency Numbers

You must have the emergency numbers of your offshore team so that in times of emergency they can also be available during short notice depending on your defined SLA with them.

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Benefits of Working Across Time Zone Differences

IT Outsourcing is advantageous to every organization in different forms. This fact is highlighted by studies too and shows that firms who are smartly outsourcing gain major benefits, like top-tier quality, innovation, efficiency, cost-efficiency, and so forth. Let's look at a couple of them:

• Global Collaboration: Leverage a diverse range of skills and perspectives by tapping into a global team spread across time zones.
• 24/7 Productivity: Achieve round-the-clock productivity as team members working in different locations contribute during their respective work hours.
• Faster Project Turnaround: Utilize the time zone differences to your advantage, ensuring that work progresses even when some team members are offline.
• Cultural Diversity: Embrace a rich tapestry of cultures, fostering a global mindset and promoting a more inclusive work environment. As a result, you can master cultural differences ensuring offshore outsourcing success.
• Enhanced Problem Solving: Access a wider pool of ideas and solutions by having team members with diverse cultural and professional backgrounds.
• Market Expansion: Seamlessly cater to a global customer base by having team members who understand and can respond to diverse market needs.
• Skill Development: Offer opportunities for professional growth as team members learn to navigate and collaborate across various time zones.
• Cost Efficiency: Optimize resources by leveraging talent in regions with lower operational costs, potentially reducing overall project expenses and other hidden outsourcing costs.

Radixweb: A Globally Acclaimed IT Outsourcing Company Since 2000

Empowering businesses for 2+ decades, Radixweb stands as a beacon of innovation and a reliable offshore development company. We have a team of 650+ vetted tech talent who are committed to consistently delivering innovative solutions to unparalleled tech expertise.

We have successfully delivered 4200+ projects to 3000+ clients globally by transforming time zone differences from a challenge into a competitive advantage. By strategically placed teams, smart scheduling, and seamless communication channels, we don’t just bridge time zones; we make them work for you. To strengthen your outsourcing capabilities and productivity, consider hiring dedicated developers from Radixweb – a hub of certified tech enablers.

So, let’s experience a synchronized global workflow with our experts – where time is no longer a constraint but a tool for unparalleled efficiency and success.

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Key TakeawaysTime zone differences can be a significant challenge with offshore software development, but with effective strategies and management, it’s not a big deal to your project’s success. Time zone differences offer opportunities and costs simultaneously. It becomes a problem when it causes delay. It can be a great opportunity when it's been used to reduce costs, shorten time to completion, and lead to earning competitive advantage.Well, the key is to adapt your approach to adjusting multiple time zones while maintaining a shared vision and effective communication throughout the project.To get more detailed insights, feel free to contact our experts.