Proliferation of Virtual world has minimized the gap among businesses in the Global village. But, the appealing factor of virtual development that is implemented in Offshore Model of “High quality, low cost endeavor” is often wrapped up with the complexity of being able to understand the other side. A weak Communication between the Offshore Client and the Vendor can lead to problems such as
- Productivity Loss
- Mismatch of deliverables and expectations
- Loss of valuable time
- Redundancy of tasks
There is more to communication than merely conveying the content. Besides the semantics, which is the key to being at the same wavelength, Attitude and Diction with which the information is shared are equally important. Apart from the problems that arise from differences in culture, language and time zone, the communication could be fudged if there are multiple people communicating from the offshore vendor side to the client. Such ambiguities can be alleviated by implementing appropriate Strategies for communication, as mentioned below:
A. Using Communication Tools:
- Email
- Instant Messenger
- Phone calls
- VOIP
- Extranets
- Web Meetings
- Virtual Office Cabinets
- Ticket Management System
- Customized communication applications
B. Guidelines, Practices and Discipline
The two shores should communicate by following certain guidelines and practices
- Design the Discussion Document that takes into account the perspective from the both the offshore client and the vendor. The Document should outline the following:
- Tasks
- Roles assigned for the tasks
- Mode of communication between the client and the vendor
- Mode of intra-communication between the Software Teams and the Business Teams
- How to tackle or mitigate any unexpected Issues or Risks
- Status Reports [Daily, Weekly]
- To avoid any communication gap, the correspondence should take place with discipline according to the defined schedule.
- Risk of information loss is eliminated if both the client and the offshore vendor delegate their tasks through the Project Managers from either side, which enables smooth information relay among the client and the vendor employees.
C. Techniques
- Clarity of goals before any meeting or phone conversation
- Concise to-the-point discussion
- Documents with bullets and points
- Send summary of discussion
Though E-Business communication tools such as e-mail, tele-conferencing, fax, chat, video–conferencing all serve as a conduit to effective and efficient means of information transfer, their usage can be more productive if used with a planned approach. An effective communication does not end with a healthy initiation, but is sustained keeping the momentum by maintaining agile response loop. Hence, a proactive approach from both the client and the Offshore Vendor is mandatory to further the business goals.
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