5 Most Common Outsourcing Mistakes & How to Avoid Them

Whether we like it or not but we all live in the world, where everything is required to be done as quickly as possible with no loss of quality.

And the business of software development is not an exception.

Many companies unable to meet deadlines with the help of the staff they have or just looking for cheaper labour force decide on the strategy of outsourcing.

Outsourcing tends to be a perfect solution for many cases, it helps to reduce both overheads and costs, but one should always keep in mind that this way has some of pitfalls, which can lead to the crash of the whole plan.

But there are no reasons to worry, the majority of them is quite easy to escape.

We have gathered for you 5 most common mistakes software developers make in outsourcing and have described how to avoid them.

Mistake #1. Underestimation of cost

One of the main mistakes in outsourcing is setting the saving of budget as a main priority.

Of course one can expect to spend less money when hiring people on the side, but you should always keep in mind that you get exactly what you’ve paid for. 

If a developer asks for fulfilment of a task twice as little as the normal cost is, there should probably be some reasons for that.

So if you are not fond of writing tons of corrections, you’d better stay away from such low-price specialists.

Mistake #2. Outsourcing the wrong positions

 It doesn’t take a genius to understand that not all positions are equally good for outsourcing.

Moreover delegating some tasks to a person out of the company is always a risk. 

So you’d better start with small tasks, which would be easy to fix in case of failure and which don’t depend much on professional knowledge and experience.

If you are satisfied with the outsourcer’s performance on such tasks you can step by step switch to bigger tasks requiring more responsibility.

But still don’t forget about regular control and at least weekly reports, otherwise one would end with tons of undone or badly done work just before the deadline.

Mistake #3. Absence of detailed plan and flaws in methodology

To have a good detailed plan is always a plus, but if you are working with outsourcers it is a must.

One of the most common mistakes is forgetting about the fact that such additional employee doesn’t usually have the picture of the whole process.

So the more information and details you provide the better performance you can expect.

Don’t be lazy to describe key targets and main steps need to be taken. It is important to come to choosing the candidate for outsourcing with a complete plan ready. In general one should take the following steps:

If you are hiring a few outsourcers, it’s also advisable to think about the hierarchy among them so as to make the control easier.

And of course try describe the task as detailed as possible to avoid misunderstanding.

Mistake #4. Cutting an outsourcer from the process

Outsourcers are often thought of as additional workers, which are not expected to show any initiative.

That type of thinking actually deprives you of some brilliant ideas an outsourcer may come up to.

Just let him feel being an important part of the team and give the chance to take the leading part in fulfilling the task.

If you are going to hire this outsourcer again, give him some room to grow, this would do a lot of good both for you and for him.

With this change of attitude you will turn a simple worker who is good only for execution of the tasks set into a devoted employer, who cares about the future of a company.

Mistake #5. Lack of preperation for outsourcing

Many companies see in outsourcing a magic key to success. It really can be very beneficial, but the company should be prepared for this type of business.

It is of high importance to plan outsourcing strategy wisely and take into consideration the amount of work, size of the team and many other details including the plan of future development of the company.

Only having recognized all those things one can understand the number and type of outsources which the company needs.

One should devote some time to training current employees to cooperate with new executives, no matter whether it is a long-term or a short-term project.

We hope these tips will help you to avoid common mistakes in outsourcing, make your work more beneficial and get most of your IT budget.