How technology makes offshoring easy
Key takeaways:
- Managers now have access to several technological tools that allow them to scale their team’s productivity.
- Many technologies make managing tasks and processes easier including communication, collaboration, team management, and supervision.
- Communication technology such as Skype or Zoom will come in handy when you have an offshore workforce.
- Technology makes offshore team management much more productive.
The Internet and employing offshore workers have helped businesses not only save costs but have enhanced their productivity, too. While working in-office allows managers to watch their subordinates, having an offshore staff is a modern equivalent that works equally as well, if not better.
With several cutting-edge technologies being introduced to enhance offshore working, managers can now assign, delegate, collaborate, and even supervise their employees from different continents. We give five ways that technology can skyrocket the productivity of your offshore workforce.
Productivity-enhancing technologies
One of the major reasons employing offshore workers continues to be lucrative (apart from saving on costs to employers is because of the availability of various collaboration technologies. Most of the data that companies are using to collaborate are hosted on cloud platforms. This essentially means that users or staff can access the information from anywhere in the world.
From communication software like Skype to collaboration apps such as Trello and Google Workspace, you can rest assured that the best technology is available to enhance productivity. These apps allow a large team to work together to achieve a common business objective. Some are free but most will require you to subscribe to their premium versions.
Five ways tech can help improve productivity
Technology has made life easier and faster. This is also true at the workplace where businesses are now recording unprecedented levels of productivity. Here are five ways that technology can help you improve the productivity of your offshore workforce.
Better communication
Communication is key. You have probably heard this cliché countless times but you may not know exactly how to best implement it at your office. It is extremely difficult to assign work, collaborate, and complete a project successfully if there is poor communication between you and your team. Sure, you could opt to use the conventional email but at a time when there are new tools that allow you to communicate instantly, you could be shortchanging yourself.
You can now use Skype for long-distance video calls anywhere in the world or Zoom to host project meetings regularly. All your team needs will be a working Internet connection and you can host either video or audio calls without interruption. There is also a plethora of social media platforms that your team can rely on to ensure effective communication. Proper communication between team members will knock out deadlines and increase the productivity of your offshore staff.
Team management tools
Many offshore projects involve more than one team member and you must manage these teams well for better efficiency. Anyone that has worked with or managed several people on a project can tell you how frustrating it can be. Group projects often require everyone to be cooperative and do their part or the whole project experiences delays, or even worse, fails. However, team management software such as Microsoft teams or Slack can come in handy when you need to manage a larger team more effectively.
You might be wondering how an efficient team management tool can help you increase the productivity of your offshore workforce. Well, once you can effectively assign tasks, set deadlines, and communicate effectively to your team, then projects are bound to move swiftly. Remember, managing a team is more than assigning tasks. You will also have to give feedback, resolve conflict, and make decisions with regard to your project, too.
Effectively collaborate on projects
One of the main challenges that affected offshore working in the past was the inability to collaborate on projects. This problem has become a thing of the past thanks to the introduction of several technologies. Now, people can work together in an organized manner even if they are in different parts of the world. With cutting-edge tools like Slack, Hangouts, and Screencast-O-Matic among others, you can easily work with an offshore team.
Project management software offers you two advantages that other technologies have been unable to match. First, your data is stored in the cloud, meaning it can be accessed from anywhere in the world with just an Internet connection. This also means that you do not have to send or share any materials with your team as they have access to everything. Secondly, this software makes it easy for your team to communicate, work together, contemplate different issues, and hit your goals.
Monitor or supervise your staff in real-time
Another key benefit of using technology is the ability to monitor work in real-time. Some productivity apps allow you to track the number of hours that your employees put in and you can even monitor how they’re working in real-time. While this was also a challenge in the past, technology has made it possible for employers to track the progress of employees even when they’re remote.
Of course, you may not have time to monitor all your employees’ work in real-time. These apps can, however, give you timely updates on your staff’s progress so that you can assess their productivity
Let us help you improve the productivity of your offshore workforce
An offshore workforce presents you with many benefits. Managers often wonder how they can effectively supervise offshore workers. Technology has made these challenges a thing of the past. There are several types of technology to help you ensure there is not a dip in your staff’s productivity.
At Doxa7, we know what it takes to run a successful offshore project and will help you to get a more productive workforce. Simply, contact us today for a free consultation and we’ll help you skyrocket the productivity of your offshore team.
