How to Successfully Onboard Your Software Outsourcing Team

Getting started on a new project is always fun, and when it comes to prep, that usually includes making multiple decisions on the tech stack, tools, and, of course, the team you will be working with. The ladder is kind of a big deal, so it’s important to get it right.

We covered various topics on IT outsourcing in past articles, including how to choose the right partner, the types of outsourcing strategies, and the legal aspects and data security. Make sure to check those out too. 

Let’s say you picked out the winning outsourcing team that will handle your next big project. What now? You might ask. Well, to make the transition smooth for everyone, including your in-house team (if you have one) and the outsourcing team, there are a couple of steps worth following to make the collaboration start off right. 

We will cover the important steps in the onboarding process when it comes to working with an outsourcing team and how you can prepare for everything to go smoothly from the beginning. 

Why Onboarding Matters

Onboarding your new outsourcing team is similar in many ways to onboarding in-house team members. But, there are a few aspects that might need a bit more attention when you’re working with remote IT teams from a different time zone and culture. 

While most outsourcing teams are very independent and don’t need as much guidance as a new hire at your company, skipping important discussions or steps can cost you in delays, confusion, or misunderstandings. So, first thing to keep in mind is don’t skip the basics! Share every important info that helps you and your new team get on the same page when it comes to your project. This means explaining in detail your expectations, what “done” means in your team, who owns what feature, and how decisions get made. Getting these clear from the start will help set the base for a successful collaboration. 

When onboarding is done right, your outsourcing team will be able to contribute to your project and to your company in a meaningful way. But it’s on you, as the project lead, to give them enough context to feel connected to the product.

Without onboarding, the first few sprints will be more about clearing up misunderstandings rather than shipping features. With it, you’re setting up your project for better collaboration and fewer surprises. 

Pre-Onboarding Prep Checklist

So, we know why onboarding is important and how it can help prevent issues during your collaboration with the outsourcing team. But how should you prepare, and what are the key aspects to think about before getting started?

First, as always, is defining your project’s goals and scope. You have to be clear on your goals to define what success looks like for your project. Communicate these objectives to your team and encourage them to ask questions, so everyone is on the same page at all times. 

Next, you need to figure out how you will communicate with your remote IT team. Do you have established channels you use with your in-house team members? You can add your new team in there and work out a way to regularly communicate and check in.

So, yeah, onboarding is more than just a formality that needs to be dealt with quickly. Especially when it comes to working with a remote team. It doesn't have to be a big deal, and following some logical steps will contribute to the success of your project and overall collaboration with your software outsourcing team. 

The First Week: Getting Started Right

If you’re thinking about working with a remote team on your next project but don’t have experience with outsourcing, it might feel like too much hassle and a lot of things to pay attention to. The truth is, in most cases, outsourcing actually simplifies processes compared to hiring, which involves different stages and multiple steps. Still, putting some effort into making the new team feel welcomed and involved can go a long way. The first week can make or break the whole project. 

Start with a kickoff call. It doesn’t need to be anything formal, just a call where you introduce everyone and explain the project and its main goals in detail. And, of course, leave room for questions. 

Another thing you should prioritize is giving your new team access to everything they’ll need. And, really, everything. Because nothing kills momentum faster than “Hey still waiting on repo access…” So, everything your team might need, including docs, design files, project boards, and Slack groups; they should have access to from day one. 

Help your team understand the why behind the project. Give a little tour of the product, details on who the users are, and info about what worked (or hasn’t) so far. No need to overcomplicate it, but don’t assume things are obvious either. Your team will deliver better results knowing all the important details. 

In our experience as a software development outsourcing company, the most essential part of starting a new project is being clear about requirements and expectations. It’s an obvious one, but you’d be surprised to know how many projects fail or misunderstandings happen because of the lack of clear requirements. Start with a small task first, to let your team get familiar with the codebase and workflows, and go from there. 

And another big one: stay available. Encourage communication and asking questions, and be there to assist whenever someone is stuck. It really helps build trust early.

Tools That Make Onboarding Smoother

You don't need a hundred fancy tools for remote employee onboarding. But the right ones can seriously speed up processes and improve overall collaboration. What we’ve seen to make the biggest difference are: 

Version Control (GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket)

This one’s obvious but worth mentioning: get your outsourced team access to the right repos from day one. Add a clear README, ideally with setup steps, environment info, and any gotchas to watch out for.

Project Management (Jira, Linear, ClickUp, Trello)

To keep track of tasks, bugs, and make processes visible, using one of these tools will make your life easier. You can customize them as you need, you can add deadlines or priorities, and it will keep your team members on the same page. 

Documentation (Notion, Confluence, Google Docs)

When you need to share docs with diagrams, different checklists, or even dev environment instructions, tools like Notion, Confluence, or Google Docs can really help. 

Communication (Slack, Teams, Discord)

Every team has a preferred channel for communication. You might already have one that works, so you can add your new team members in there for quick questions, updates, or sharing links. 

Code Collaboration (Slack, Teams, Discord)

When working on software projects, it’s often easier to just show something working (or broken) than to try explaining it. Luckily, some tools can make this easier. Loom, for example, helps you record and walk through an issue and share that with the other person. It saves a lot of back-and-forth. 

You definitely don’t have to use all the fancy tools, because, the truth is, if there are too many of them, that can be overwhelming or even slow you down. It’s worth experimenting with them though, and see which helps your processes the most. 

Conclusion

Onboarding remote IT teams can set the tone for the entire collaboration and working relationship.

If your outsourced dev team starts with clarity, access, and a bit of context, they’re way more likely to deliver clean code, ask smart questions, and actually feel like part of your team. Skip that, and you’ll probably spend the first few weeks cleaning up confusion that didn’t need to happen.

Open communication from day one, clear docs, instructions, and requirements in the first week can go a long way. 

Outsourcing works best when it doesn’t feel like outsourcing, and doing the onboarding right is the first step in getting there.