Building global teams is often the key to unlocking the ability to drive business growth and stay competitive in the market. However, global distribution brings unique challenges, especially in industries with complex regulatory challenges, like insurance. When looking to scale, insurance companies often look to experience operators to help drive global expansion.
Challenges:
A leading insurance provider based in North America faced significant challenges in managing its offshore IT operations. The company struggled with cultural differences and communication barriers, which led to misunderstandings and project delays. The time zone differences between the US and the offshore team hindered collaboration and slowed down development cycles. The provider also had concerns about data security and intellectual property protection, given the sensitive nature of the insurance industry.
Additionally, the lack of face-to-face interaction made it difficult to build trust and establish strong working relationships with the offshore team. The company also faced challenges in ensuring that the offshore team adhered to their specific development processes, quality standards, and documentation practices.
Solution:
To address these challenges, the insurance provider partnered with InOrg. InOrg took a proactive approach to bridge the cultural and communication gaps by providing cross-cultural training to both the US and global teams. They implemented a robust communication plan that included regular video conferences, daily stand-up meetings, and the use of collaboration tools to ensure seamless interaction between the teams.
InOrg also established strict data security protocols and intellectual property protection measures, ensuring compliance with the insurance provider’s security requirements. To foster trust and build strong relationships, InOrg assigned a dedicated project manager who acted as a single point of contact and facilitated effective communication between the teams. The project manager also worked closely with the insurance provider to understand their development processes, quality standards, and documentation practices, and ensured that the offshore team adhered to them.
Impact:
By partnering with InOrg, the insurance provider saw significant benefits in several key areas. The cultural and communication barriers were effectively mitigated, leading to improved collaboration and faster project delivery. The offshore team’s adherence to the provider’s development processes and quality standards resulted in high-quality deliverables and reduced the number of bugs and issues. The establishment of clear communication channels and the use of collaboration tools enhanced transparency and trust between the teams.
The insurance provider was able to leverage the offshore team’s expertise to implement best practices in code reusability, documentation, and testing, which improved the overall efficiency of their IT operations. The partnership also allowed the provider to align their technology teams with business objectives, ensuring that the developed applications met the needs of the business and its customers. As a result, the insurance provider delivered an improved customer experience and grew confidence in their IT capabilities.
The insurance provider’s partnership showcases the impact of leveraging global expertise to overcome the challenges of deploying distributed employee resources in a competitive market. By collaborating with a capable partner, the company enhanced its application performance, improved customer satisfaction, and positioned itself for success.