Find Your Multishore Soulmate

So you’ve decided to incorporate multishore. 

Outsourcing is a no-brainer when your company wants to add resources, boost specialized expertise, or expand global reach — while keeping costs down and maintaining scalability and flexibility.

Unlike traditional outsourcing, multishoring takes advantage of our interconnected world by distributing outsourced tasks and processes to multiple locations around the world, rather than relying on just one location. That means you get the best possible fit for each type of task, access to the most diverse talent, distributed risk, and continuous time zone coverage. What’s not to love?

But (there’s always a but): Just who exactly are these strangers you’re letting into the family?

You’ve done your due diligence: They’ve got the technical chops and expertise you want, and the cost savings are significant. They meet your specs and check all your boxes, fit the RFP requirements: the hard facts, the measurables.

But there’s one critical measure that is often overlooked, and yet it can make or break an outsourcing partnership:

1. Will they be a good fit with your company culture?
2. Do they share your values?
3. Will they get your jokes?!?

Grok this way

You’ve spent serious time and effort building your brand and developing a company culture that embodies the values that make your organization successful. Innovation, productivity, engagement, team cohesion, employee satisfaction…they all hinge on a positive, vibrant and secure company culture. Now you’re bringing in new team members, located far away. Will they grok your company culture? Will they represent your company and brand the way you need them to? 

Picking a multishore partner aligned with your company culture and values is crucial for many reasons, including: 

Reputation and Brand Image

To your customers, interactions with your multishore partner feel like interactions with YOU. Your multishore partner’s behavior and work ethic WILL reflect on your company’s reputation and brand. 

Quality and Consistency

Company culture sets expectations for the quality and consistency of delivered work. Make sure your multishore partner aligns with your values and adheres to the same standards of quality and consistency that your company upholds.

Communication and Collaboration

Shared values and culture make it easier to communicate and collaborate effectively. Understanding each other’s expectations means smoother interactions and fewer misunderstandings.

Cultural Fit

Being aligned means everybody gets along and can integrate seamlessly into your organization’s workflow. Result: better teamwork, efficient project management, and positive working relationships.

One of Us?

Now that you’re onboard with the why, let’s tackle the how. 

First up, it’s critical to define your values and culture. Make sure you have a clear idea of your company culture and values, and that you can communicate them precisely. If you can’t define and express them, it’s highly unlikely you can determine which multishore partner will meet them! Documenting your culture and values will help serve as a reference point during the evaluation process.

Next, it’s time to do some background research: review the potential multishore partner’s website for mission statements, company policies, and information on their company culture and values. Do they provide information on that? Not every company does, and if the information isn’t easy to find, that’s a sign it might not be something they haven’t spent much thought on. 

After that, ask your potential partner directly: are they creating a positive workplace culture that encourages growth, collaboration and satisfaction? Can they provide examples of how they do that? Ask questions about work culture, values, and how they approach their work to help you gauge whether their values traits align with your company’s.

Don’t just take their word, try to observe and evaluate for yourself. If possible, visit their facilities to gain insight into the actual work environment and employee interactions. Does the multishore operate in a way that aligns with your company values? 

It can also be helpful to ask for references or case studies from similar projects. See if you can get a firsthand report from some of their existing clients, to evaluate both cultural compatibility and performance. 

Lastly, mine your direct experience with the potential multishore partner for clues as to their culture and values. How do they communicate with you? Have they been open, responsive, and collaborative? Do they ACT like a company that embraces the same culture and values as yours does? Trust your gut, and if you have any reservations, ask for clarification.

So, What Next?

While expertise, skills, cost and other hard measures are obviously important when looking for a multishore partner, finding one that fits your company culture and embraces the same values is essential for a successful and long-term working relationship. Taking the time to build cultural alignment into your search process ensures a harmonious, productive working relationship with no surprises down the road. 

At Ex Squared, we take culture seriously (we are Digital Anthropologists after all). And our technology staff augmentation team does too: we pride ourselves on our exceptional culture, which centers around empowering our people, living our core values, and maintaining a strong balance across our customers, employees, and company.

We believe that a thriving workplace starts with a commitment to employee development, happiness, and creating a human-centered approach. If that sounds like a good cultural fit to you, let’s make magic together!