Training Offshore Teams: 5 Best Practices for Small Businesses

Outsourcing has become a part of many companies’ strategies, whether start-ups or large corporations. And with the COVID-19 health crisis, remote work has become a norm, with organisations adopting the setup and working with offshore employees. 

No matter where your employees are based, training them is crucial in boosting their productivity and efficiency. But how do you effectively train your offshore team? 

Read on to learn some of the best practices in training offshore teams.

1. Create a structured training plan

Training an outsourced team starts with creating a structured training plan. For starters, your training checklist should include a company overview, training videos, standard procedures, team culture, and the expected deliverables from your offshore team. This will help establish clear expectations around their role and what is expected of them.

When preparing for offshore training, it helps to ask yourself these questions: 

• What do I expect my offshore team to learn from the training?
• How will the training help my offshore team contribute to the company’s mission and goals?
• How will my offshore team’s training development drive the company’s growth?

Answering these questions can help you set clear and measurable training objectives. Once the activity commences, look for an opportunity to learn about the team members’ expectations regarding the training. 

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2. Monitor training progress with metrics

Failing to track training progress is one of the mistakes you should avoid when training your offshore team. Assessing training progress enables you to gauge if you are achieving your objectives. You can use various training progress metrics, such as learner engagement, training return on investment, and training experience satisfaction. 

In addition, setting up a tracking system for pending tasks and deliverables will help keep things in check. You may use project management tools and software to organise tasks and activities according to priority.

3. Assign mentors for your offshore team

Besides having a regional leader to oversee the training program, your offshore team should also have a mentor who will guide them throughout the training. This can be as simple as choosing a team leader from among your offshore team and asking them to monitor their fellow team members. 

Then, encourage accountability by defining the team leader’s responsibilities and laying the consequences of failure to perform their delegated functions. This way, the team leader will become more engaged and focused on guiding the group.

You may also assign an onboarding manager to facilitate and oversee the training process. It would help if you chose someone with experience in cross-cultural team training. 

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4. Recognise and reward your offshore staff

A Deloitte study shows that employees who receive recognition from their company are 14% more engaged and productive than those in organisations that do not value recognition.

One way to appreciate your offshore team for their time, dedication, and efforts in undertaking the training is by handing them certificates of completion or training completion awards. You may also offer incentives like gift cards, coupons, or tokens. Likewise, commending them in team meetings is a great way to demonstrate your gratitude.

If your offshore employees feel valued and appreciated, they become motivated to work towards your business goals.

5. Provide opportunities for growth

Training should also open career growth opportunities for your offshore team. For one, you can delegate ownership to team members by entrusting them with additional responsibility. Making them feel they are a vital part of the training process can help elicit their active participation, ensuring training progress.

Just as giving recognition and rewards increases employee productivity, providing development opportunities improves employee performance and engagement. This approach helps create an encouraging and productive culture for your offshore team. Leadership development programs, continuing education courses, and career development services are typical examples of employee development and growth opportunities.

Stronger Together

Managing hybrid teams entails training both your onshore and offshore teams. To ensure training success, it is essential to create a structured plan, monitor training progress, and assign training mentors. In addition, providing growth opportunities and recognising your offshore team for their dedication to the training is equally important.

If you are looking to partner with an outsourcing service provider, consider working with a BPO company in the Philippines, like optiBPO. We can help you plan, build, and manage a dedicated offshore team that serves as an extension of your organisation. Contact us today to learn more about our outsourcing services!