How To Motivate Offshore Team Members

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Offshore team

There’s no denying the importance of customer service. Good managers realize this. They also realize that team members; outsourced or in-house, are the key to good customer service. If team members interface with customers — like when they provide help desk services—they are the company to these customers. It’s critical for these team members to deliver positive customers experiences. That’s why savvy managers try to create the right workplace atmosphere. When team members are offshore, it’s even more critical. These offshore team members can feel isolated, remote.

Golden rules to keep the offshore team motivated:

Not every rule will apply in every instance.

But the ones that do will help you keep team members engaged and enthused.

1. Communication

This is a key motivation tool—may be the most critical of all.

A critical skill in communicating with team members—whether outsourced or not—is listening. Listen to what team members really have to say. It could provide insights into what team members are thinking and the state of customer service itself.

2. Clear Objectives for Offshore Team

Give your offshore team members clear objectives.

It gives them insight into what you’re trying to achieve as a company. It also promotes accountability—one of the keys to keeping team members engaged. Your success is a reflection of the quality of your work. That keeps them interested and motivated.

3. Allow For A Learning Curve

Offshore team members may need some time to learn your industry.

They may also need time to “bone up” on your products or services. And they may need time to learn your processes and technical requirements. Giving team members time—and the resources—to do this.

4. Respect Offshore Team’s Time

Offshore team members often live in different time zones. While you’re watching TV or sleeping, they’re hard at work on your project. By the time you login in the morning, they’ve already put in a hard day’s work.

Like you, they need time to unwind and to be with their families and friends. They also need time to take care of personal things, like going to the doctor’s office. Don’t expect them to available to you 24 hours a day to answer your questions or extend their working hours.

5. Good Communication And Feedback

Most team members take pride in their work. So they want to know when their performance doesn’t measure up. But managers don’t always provide prompt feedback when team members mess up. They let the mistake slide.

Provide prompt feedback when they mess up. Don’t wait for a formal review session. Providing prompt feedback gives them a chance to improve their performance. They’ll appreciate that.

6. Celebrate Small Victories

Most workers take pride in their work. And most work hard to do the job right, but if they’re interfacing with customers, like providing IT help desk services, that can be a challenge. Give them a pat on the back when they deserve it. The boost in self-esteem they get will pay off you’re your customers.

Let their immediate bosses know as well. It’s a chip they can use when it’s time for a performance review. They’ll appreciate it. It will also get them to work harder for you.

It’s not enough knowing what good customer service is. As a manager, you must provide the right atmosphere— one that keeps team members motivated.

That can be a challenge if they’re offshore workers. They can feel isolated, even remote. If they’re interfacing with customers, like providing help desk services, you need to keep them engaged and enthusiastic. The golden rules above will help you do that.

What are your thoughts on employee motivation? Do you have any “golden rules” when it comes to motivating offshore team members?

Let us put our proven experience in providing tech support for small and medium-size companies to work for you. Request a quote from one of our Sales Champions.



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