Tips When Building Your Nearshore IT Team

You will need qualified IT professionals to expand your software development projects and build quality applications that people use and love. There’s no doubt about that.

But there’s only so much talent you can retain in your location and country. There has been a growing demand for software engineers, so the competition is tough. It’s getting harder and harder to hire tech talent and retain them.

With that said, companies looking to grow their IT teams have been opting for nearshore instead. Nearshore outsourcing allows you to access a vast talent pool in nearby countries without compromising communication, culture fit, and software quality.

As a nearshore outsourcing company based in Portugal, we have helped establish many technical teams for our clients and partners, helping them succeed in their software projects. But we also know the challenges behind building and maintaining a successful nearshore team.

In this article, we share some expert tips to help you boost IT recruitment and create a nearshore dream team with little to no effort. It all comes down to this:

• Understanding your software and tech
• Setting up your project requirements beforehand
• Define key goals for your nearshore team
• Specify responsibilities, roles, processes, and expectations
• Establish communication tools and channels 

1- Understand your software and tech 

Before reaching out to a nearshore partner, you need to dive into your software product and learn about the tech stack your team uses and what they would like to achieve once the project evolves and grows.

It will allow you to have a clear idea of what skills, tools, and profiles you will need in your nearshore team, therefore, supporting your core development team (if you have one) instead of disrupting their work.

If your software project hasn’t even started yet, you can discuss it directly with your selected nearshore partner to help you define the best tech stack for your project.

2- Set up your project requirements 

Once you have a clear vision of your software needs, it’s time to define detailed project requirements. 

Question yourself and your project managers: How many team members do we need? What specific roles do we need? What does the team look like? What level of expertise? Tools? Methodologies? Budget? Everything. Every single detail.

Having clearly defined project requirements will help you communicate your needs to your IT nearshore partner so they can help you build the dream team for your project.

3- Define key goals for your nearshore team

It is important to define goals for your nearshore development team, just like any other team and project inside your company. For instance, if you are developing a new product from scratch, a key goal for your nearshore team could be to launch the beta version on a specific date. 

To make it easier, break down bigger goals into smaller milestones. This way, you can set daily, weekly, and monthly tasks for your nearshore developers once the project starts.

Having clear goals is beneficial not only for you and your company but also for your outsourcing team. These goals provide a sense of completion and achievement, thus motivating engineers to keep engaging and being productive.

4- Specify responsibilities, roles, processes, and expectations

Following the same logic as the previous step, to create a positive collaboration in your nearshore team, you must define specific roles, responsibilities, and expectations for each member. 

Setting specific KPIs and responsibilities for all members will help maintain harmony between the team without anyone overstepping boundaries while keeping your project organized. 

This is also very beneficial as soon as your software project scales and grows. With clear KPIs and proper team management and processes, you’ll maintain software quality in the long run and retain your talent.

5- Establish communication tools and channels 

Effective communication is crucial for all teams and projects. However, it becomes even more important when team members are working remotely and living abroad. 

Nearshore operations, in particular, can present several challenges. But with proper communication channels and tools in place, these obstacles can be easily overcome. 

When building an IT team, make sure to prioritize creating effective communication channels and utilizing appropriate tools. This will help keep the team connected and engaged, even when members are located in different parts of the world.

Fortunately, there are many great options available, including Slack, Teams, Notion, Confluence, and Google Meet. By choosing the right tools, you can enhance collaboration and streamline communication, leading to a more productive and successful nearshore team.

6- Share constant feedback

Your nearshore team members can only grow and improve through constructive feedback. This is an important step because, without communication, the team will never understand where to improve. 

So, schedule frequent meetings with your nearshore partner to discuss what is working, what is not working, and what can be done to improve. While also listening to suggestions on how to collaborate with your nearshore developers.

Do not hesitate to contact us if you are seeking nearshore IT companies in Portugal. Our team will guide you through the process.

Article written in collaboration with Priscila Correia.