Our Q3 webinar has just concluded last week where Frank Lee, Yusry Harfuddin, and Shingo Lam have provided audiences with valuable expert insights on the tech talent landscape in Vietnam and how firms can build their remote tech team successfully there.
If you missed our webinar but are still interested to learn more, do check out our full video recap here or see key highlights below.
It’s All About The Appropriate Team Models & Structures
When it comes to scaling up your tech team operation, companies often wonder which option they have and how to identify the best option.
So Frank Lee – Founder and Managing Director of JDI, advised firms to first take a look at 4 typical team models before taking the offshore software development into execution:
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- In-house hiring
- Outsourcing
- Freelancing
- Building offshore tech team
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He believes that outsourcing and freelancing will be the best options for short-term projects since they are more cost-effective compared to in-house hiring. However, if businesses want to go long-term with 100% ownership and control over their tech operation, building offshore teams should be their best bet.
Once companies decide on their go-to models, they also need to finalize the type of structure of their team. Choosing the right team structure will pave a great headway to success for future projects.
There are 3 different types of team structure:
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- Functional
- Product
- Matrix: A mix of the two models above
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Scaling Up Overseas – How To Make It Smooth?
When it comes to doing business overseas, regarding outsourcing or offshoring, Yusry, the CTO of ReferReach believes that budget must be the first thing businesses need to consider.
He also recommended prioritizing basic tech roles hires first as a basic remote tech team should have:
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- Project Manager
- Business Analyst
- UI/UX Designer
- Senior Software Engineers
- Junior Software Engineers
- Quality Assurance/Control Testers
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However, if you are not a technical co-founder or a product owner with strong technical background, consider to find one or hire a technical leader as the first hire.
3 Pillars Of Success In Managing The Vietnam Tech Team
Building a remote tech team is only half the battle, firms still have to manage and engage with them. Thus, Shingo – Technical manager of Dreamcloud, highlighted the crucial 3 factors in managing a remote tech team successfully in Vietnam.
Building A Healthy Corporate Culture
A “good fit” culture will transform remote developers into advocates, enrich their confidence, and ensure the company retains its top talents.
Establish A Strong Foundation For Employee Development And Retention
It is also important to always establish a clear career path with advancement opportunities for Vietnamese developers.
Drive Your Tech Team Commitment
Implement an OKR system to help Vietnamese developers navigate their responsibilities and goals. The key is to align their efforts and results with promotions so it can motivate them.
Webinar QnA Recap
Q: What Are You Really Like About Vietnamese Developers? There Must Be A Reason Why Many Companies Keep Going Back To Vietnam To Hire.
Frank: In my view, Vietnamese developers generally are more skillful than their neighbors such as Indonesia or Malaysia. Moreover, businesses can easily access a wider talent pool here with a cheaper salary rate.
Yusry: As a co-founder planning to build a tech team, cost and talent are two considerable factors. Generally speaking, the cost is comparable among developers in ASEAN. But when it comes to talent quality, Vietnamese developers are more technically excellent.
Another advantage is if you build your tech operation in Ho Chi Minh City, it will be more convenient to travel there. Thus, business leaders can meet their remote team monthly instead of quarterly or yearly compared to other offshoring destinations.
Q: What Does It Mean To You When Dreamcloud Is Acquired By Temus? What Does It Mean To Your Team And Your Journey Over The Past Few Years Being The First Hired In Vietnam?
Shingo: Actually I’m not the 1st hire but 3rd (laugh). However, when I joined, the remote tech team in Vietnam still lacked a foundation. So I said to Dreamcloud that I’d help them to expand, grow, and manage the Vietnamese tech team.
At first, there were a lot of difficulties but luckily we overcame them all. Currently, my team has reached 17 strong members. It could be said that we have achieved lots of great milestones together.
One of the main reasons why Temus acquired Dreamcloud is because we have the Vietnamese team there, which serves as a great initiative for them to expand to the Vietnam market.
Q: What Are The Best Tools For Communication? How Often Do You Communicate With The Vietnamese Team And How Often Do You Actually Fly In to Meet Them?
Frank: For me, and also Daryl (laugh), we spend 40% – 50% of our time, almost monthly to be in Vietnam. We hang out, have lunch, beer dinner, etc. together. That’s why I get fat even though I eat a lot of vegetables (laugh).
We use Jira, Confluence, Slack, Telegram, Zalo, and Figma to communicate. Then we also have daily and weekly huddles to keep track of all projects we’re doing.
Yusry: It’s not so much about the tools. It’s how we communicate as every organization may use different tools. For me, it’s more how you use the tool rather than the tool itself.
Generally speaking, you need to be able to communicate the tasks very well in advance and then decide which tool is efficient. I also strongly suggest you have a team lead within your team to break through the communication gap.
Shingo: I agree with Yusry. Communication within the remote teams is not about the tools. It’s the way we communicate with each other. Vietnamese is very shy to speak for themselves so you need to encourage and motivate them quite a lot.
Q: Tet Holiday Is A Long Break In Vietnam. So, How Could We Plan To Cover This From Resource/Product Support Perspectives? (If You Have A Whole Team In Vietnam)
Yusry: Actually we do treat Tet as a short break. Our team in Singapore also has 2 days off from work (Chinese New Year), and the Vietnam team only has 3 days off instead of the full 5 days. We just mutually support each other during Tet Holiday but we are expecting to have a support team in the near future.
So to me, it’s not a big deal. If it is a big deal, I may question the organization why your company can’t run when half of the team is away. It’s about your organization’s structure and plan, but not about the people.
Frank: I think since everyone is on leave on Tet, someone has to sacrifice. Some companies have a support team for those who are at home.
Shingo: Personally our team has a very special structure as we have both VN and SG members join together in every project. In other words, when we have public holidays in Vietnam, we still have some members working from the Singapore side, and vice versa.
Q: From An Insider’s Perspective, Shingo, Do You Agree With What Frank And Yusry Have Shared About The Vietnamese Culture?
Shingo: I agree with Frank that most Vietnamese love football. And the second thing is coffee. It’s the way they start a new day.
Yusry: In a nutshell, the Vietnamese expect to fix problems quickly. Therefore, I think it’s essential to listen to your Vietnamese team and take it seriously. As a foreign organization, we need to respect the culture of the country we work with.
Conclusion
Vietnam, driven by its wide tech talent pool and promising business landscape, offers huge potential for tech firms to tap into and build their remote tech team there. In fact, it is widely considered one of the best offshoring destinations in ASEAN for software development.
If you are planning to build your dream tech team in Vietnam, do drop us a line right now for a free in-depth consultation and read through our Vietnamese Developer Salary Report that we recently released. This report will equip you with everything you need to know about Vietnam’s IT landscape and salary rates in 2023 with the latest insights and data.
