Rules to Better Outsourcing
RuleSummaryIntro
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Page Content
When dealing with western people, you want to avoid having screen captures etc. showing foreign characters.
Let us look at some examples:
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- Figure: Bad example - Chrome using Chinese as its language setting
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- Figure: Good example - Chrome using English as its language setting
You want all screenshots you take to be showing English. Most of the time it is as simple as going Tools | Options | Language | Default Language = English (US).
In chrome, you can follow these steps directly:
1. Three dots bar at the top right of the Chrome window;
- Figure: Blank Chrome page showing the 'Settings' button, 3 small dots
2. Click on Settings;
- Figure: Showing the 'Settings' page
3. Click on Advanced;
- Figure: Advanced tab in Settings
4. Click on `Add Languages`;
- Figure: Add Languages to your current chrome.
You should also change your Google language to English as well. If it is not already, take a look at these steps:
1. Go to www.google.com;
2. Click on `Sign-In` or `My Account` if you are already signed in
- Figure: Google page without an account
- Figure: Google page with an account
3. Click on `Language & Input Tools`:
- Figure: Language tools in Google account page
4. Now click `Language` and search for English.
- Figure: Language picker
5. Done! You changed your language to English.
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- Figure: In Azure https://portal.azure.com it is as simple as clicking on the Cog icon
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- Figure: The Office 365 cog does not show the language. Some cheap versions of Microsoft Office 365 only allow Chinese, so you need to uninstall and install the English version. It requires you to download a language pack which is a bit more of a hassle....
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- Figure: If you do not have the English version. In Microsoft Office open the rich client application such as Outlook or Word, then install and configure as per https://rules.ssw.com.au/SiteAssets/make-sure-all-software-are-english/3.png
Communication can be difficult (even if English is your first language!). It might be tempting to only communicate via IM, but this will not improve your skills or build a relationship as well as communicating verbally.
- Stop: Just using IM
- Start: Asking ‘Can I call you?’
...
- Start: Using video call (if weak bandwidth just use it for the first 10 seconds)
- Start: Make up for weak English by typing while speaking
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- Figure: A group call should look like this
Here are some tips to have a better call:
- Answer the call with video
- Sound - Be ready with the headset already on (it looks disorganized plugging it in after you take the call)
3. Sound - Check the sound quality of the microphone - you need a good mic and it should be close to your mouth - if you are using the laptop mic, sit in close.
4. Video - Check the image quality of the camera. Beware of the angle of the camera - the ones with thin bezels now put the camera at the base, looking up your nose. Avoid them.
5. Consider what is in the background
6. Help the other person by taking a screenshot and giving them a mark /10 with good and bad feedback of the call quality and background.
Many companies use overseas developers to do some of their work, but the language barrier can sometimes extend past simply communications. Sometimes you can end up with foreign language snippets in your code too.
When you edit an aspx page in TFS, follow the below steps to avoid having Chinese characters appear.
- Set the default language on your computer as English(Australia).
- After you finish editing, but before check-in, make sure Code Auditor and Link Auditor 0.
- Check the whole page which you edited, and make sure no messy code or characters are there.
- Ask someone beside you to check the rule or page you just edited.
- Reply done in an email.
Make sure your Visual Studio encoding is consistent with Sydney to avoid encoding problems in the future.
The easy thing is to just quote the price in your local currency. Go the extra step and convert it to a currency they understand.
If you are not sure what currency to use, just use US Dollars, which is the international currency.
Of course, if you are dealing with somebody regularly, then you should know their preferred currency.
E.g. Chinese company billing someone in Brazil:
- Our price is CNY 1,000
- Figure: Bad example - the client will need to convert it
- Our price is CNY 1,000 (about USD $160)
- Figure: Good example - USD gives a clear understanding of the costs
Say your language is Chinese, of course, local Chinese customers would feel more comfortable communicating in English. The disconnect happens when head office needs to get involved. They can't review emails, read the history of email threads etc.
So make it easier to add English speakers into the loop at a moments notice.
The most polite way of doing this is to mention in the email why you are using English.
Hi Joe, hope all is well. I wanted to confirm our conversation...
- Figure: Bad example
(This is in English since I have included a Sydney colleague... let me know if you need it in Chinese).
Hi Joe, hope all is well. I wanted to confirm our conversation...
- Figure: Good example
Improper spelling, grammar, and punctuation gives a bad impression of your company and can result in your message not being conveyed correctly. Emails with no full stops or commas are difficult to read and can sometimes even change the meaning of the text. And, if your program has a spelling checking option, why not use it?
Web Content
When on a web page, install Grammarly Addon for Chrome so you can automatically check web content. For example, while editing in a CMS.
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- Figure: A typo caught by Grammarly plugin
Documents
When on Word, press F7 (or on the ribbon go to Review > Spelling & Grammar) to check your .docx text.
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- Figure: Click on "Spelling & Grammar" button to check your web content
Presentation
When on PowerPoint , press F7 (or on the ribbon go to Review | Spelling & Grammar) to check your .pptx text.
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- Figure: Click on "Spelling" button to check your web content
You should also keep "Check grammar with spelling" checked in your PowerPoint Options | Proofing:
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- Figure: Make sure "Check grammar with spelling" is enabled
Web Content
Any other text can be checked manually. Go to Grammarly, create a New Document and Paste your content to check your text.
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- Figure: A typo caught by Grammarly
Related rule
When discussing client work in an email, it is not always clear which client you are referring to. By using the ClientID as your email subject prefix, those involved in the email conversation will immediately know which client you are talking about.
- Figure: Make sure you add ClientID as your email subject prefix
Email is great. But in an emergency, you need to pick up the phone. Often the most effective methods of communication for a project is to talk directly to colleagues and clients on the phone.
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- Figure: Bad example - can't call a phone number
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- Figure: Good example - Able to call phone numbers
Remote offices tip: Don’t make being overseas a barrier. Of course, it is always best to provide a local number as that gives clients peace of mind and keep their costs down. Not many clients will call an international number and there are lots of options -
http://www.skype.com/en/features.
The next best alternative is to at least show your overseas phone number.
If you are working remotely you should be sharing your screen with your programming partner for the majority of the day. This allows you and your programming partner to see changes that are happening on screen, making the remote collaboration experience much nicer.
For a list of our recommended screen sharing tools, please check the
SSW rules for remote support.
Another good practice that follows on from this, is to leave a Skype session open. This eliminates to need to call your programming partner every time you have a query or question to ask.
