4 Steps to Hiring Full-time Offshore Talent with Eris Verne of Alfinder

Are you considering hiring a team of experts offshore? 

We all know that this option can give you a lot more bang for your buck. But does it really? The communication challenges, cultural differences and time variations may prove too much to manage for some entrepreneurs. 

It’s important to consider this as an option only when the organization has the tools & structure to support successful communication of expectations. When aligned with company values, these hires can bring the added diversity that is needed to fuel innovation.

Our guest today: Eris Verne, Founder of AIfinder.

Eris started programming at the age of 14. While in college he started an algorithm based company which solved the problem of internet filtering called APKN. The company was acquired two years later. 

After the exit of APKN, Eris discovered a flaw within a multidisciplinary field which intersects marketing, data, and behavioral analysis. So he founded Alfinder to be the most flexible behavioral data analysis solution, enabling industry leaders to predict market behaviors and learn audiences.  He currently leads a team of 11 talented offshore employees who have been extraordinary since day one.

Today we discuss:

• Why to hire offshore talent
• How to effectively acquire the right teams for your company

Challenge today? 

• Big risk to hire local
  • Costs
  • Commitments, legal issues
• Locating people for technical roles very difficult
• Taking a big gamble 
• Problems faced:
  • Knowing what to do with the offshore team
  • Cultural alignment 
•  Quality
  • Need a technical person to manage

Why is this important to the company?

• Frees your time to hand off work
• Offshore are in their own habitat - only need one person here to project manage
• Must be a technical founder! 

Rick’s Nuggets

• Communication is the biggest hurdle
• Contracting makes sense

How do we hire offshore talent effectively?

• First Determine what you need 
  • It’s best to find a technical person to assist you with this
  •  Do not hire individuals! Hire through an agency
• Identify an agency
  •  They might not be technical people themselves so make sure they understand your needs.
  • Agencies usually have a way of tracking their candidates, ask as many questions as needed to understand the details of how the do so
  •  The agency you choose should be ok with you changing, adding and removing candidates from your team regularly
  • Don’t fall into the trap of letting them handle your team and get your own project manager
• Interview & Hire
  •  Feel free to set up your interview as you would normally
  • Understand candidates backgrounds and challenge them with technical questions
  • Make sure there is NOT a language barrier or move on
  • Do not spend days on hiring and going through 5 interviews with a candidate
  • Hire Fast, Fire Faster!
• Set everything straight
  • Try not to share internal news with them
  • And don’t expect them to learn a new technology while working for you
  • After you find fit candidates for your needs, try to work with them on a technical level only
  • Monitor their everyday work
  • Set the bar as you would normally

Key Takeaways -Value:

• If you’re not a technical founder make sure you to have a technical person on your team
• Focus on the people who benefit from your software/solution rather than the people who are making it
• Hire Fast, Fire Faster

Guest Links:

Eris Verne: LinkedIn 

Company: Alfinder  Facebook  Instagram

 

This show is proudly sponsored by Criteria Crop