The amount of technology work in Vietnam has improved over the previous 3 decades. The nation employs 250,000 engineers along with the estimated requirement anticipated to become 400,000 by 2018. A poll revealed a 2-year seasoned engineer is anticipated to make a max of US$1,160 a month and seems set to grow further.
Fuelling this need boom is your insatiable international appetite for technology talent. But why especially Vietnam as a supply for technical ability, and specifically off-shoring services?
Here are insights and strategic business advice from a few business pros.
Summary of the Vietnamese technology talent Marketplace
Charles Lee, Co-Founder, CoderSchool, a programming faculty established in Saigon that utilizes Silicon Valley program, find a shift in the sort of job achieved by Vietnamese engineers.
He shares:
“The single biggest change I’ve seen is the rise of true product development, rather than traditional outsourcing. We’ve seen many companies open offshore offices, with Vietnamese employees being fully integrated into the company, as opposed to being nameless, faceless outside contractors.”
Harley Trung is the manager of Engineering in TINYpulse, an HR SaaS platform which assists in analyzing workers feelings and functionality. He notes that lately, effective exits for businesses with the vast majority of software development or R&D performed in Vietnam are a contributor to placing Vietnam on the worldwide map for BPO accounting services.
As per a Cushman and Wakefield 2016 report, Vietnam ranks best as a BPO — a Pioneering place for 2015 and 2016.
Dat Vo, COO of Fetch Technology, a hiring and positioning service of Vietnamese applications engineers, highlights the chance to tap a youthful, lively and capable population cost-effectively makes Vietnam an appealing proposal as an offshoring destination.
Challenges companies face when offshoring high-tech ability to Vietnam
- Differing time zones with other technology hubs
Trung states,”At timezone GMT +7, Vietnam working hours don’t overlap very well with companies that sit in Europe (GMT 0) or the West Coast (Pacific time, GMT -7).”
Lee concurs. To him, a 12-hour time gap to the U.S. West Coast, and that’s where plenty of application development is completed now and can make it tough to collaborate in meetings and receive fast feedback on topics.
- Communication breakdowns, lack of controls and poor staff retention
Vo clarifies that Vietnamese is your principal language in business, education and at home all through Vietnam. Therefore, spoken English is hard for many.
He observed many businesses hire Vietnamese engineers quite loosely, as though they had been hiring freelancers. This frequently contributes to problems like uncertain employment terms and agreements. It then becomes inevitable that firms will suffer from a lack of control over their foreign staff.
- Deficiency of comprehension in Vietnamese work civilization
Lee highlights the culture of hierarchy, the deference to seniority that’s more widespread in Confucian-Asian societies which clash with how a few contemporary applications businesses run.
He explains, “Sometimes engineers here will think of themselves as more junior and be hesitant to speak up against a senior. On the flip side, those who think of themselves as more senior will be hesitant to admit fault or show weakness (often referred to as ‘saving face’), especially in a public setting.
There’s also one more humorous thing that has tripped up more than a few Western employers – people like to nap at work sometimes, especially after lunch. It’s fairly uncommon practice in the West.”
Business owner advice regarding offshoring technology ability in Vietnam
- Have a fantastic hiring beginning and fantastic business culture
Vo highlights that hiring is a vital role and performing this right from the beginning will avoid loss of management and poor staff retention. He advises start-ups to avoid hiring managers since they’re not committed, as their focus is divided among customers. Instead, he highlights on identifying candidates with the ideal pair of values. Beyond having specialized competencies, Fetch’s rigorous procedure includes networking occasions, meet-ups, and workshops that allow interaction with prospective candidates and understand them better.
Constructing a good work culture follows. Every developer is a part of the FETCH household, whatever the organization they operate beneath. We’re focused on developing a positive work culture of excellence and staff work through committed supervisors to oversee the well-being of every member, recreational centers, social and team building events, in addition, to regularly nights of happy-hours organized for your after-work beer catch-up.
- Contain all components collectively, such as the one in Vietnam
In terms of Trung, his private experience has revealed he could hire several fantastic engineers in only 3 years in Vietnam. In contrast, his Seattle office was challenged to seek the services of engineers since the hiring landscape is aggressive with a mean engineer remaining at a business for under two decades.
His advice to businesses needing offshore accounting services or abilities in Vietnam should constantly integrate it jointly with other international units.
“At TINYpulse, we have never thought of our Vietnam office as a technical offshoring solution. The companies have two offices, one in Seattle with a focus on Sales and Marketing, while the Saigon office carries a focus on Software Engineering. Both offices collaborate on the product, while the majority of engineers and QAs are in Vietnam.”
“There are many successful companies who have thriving companies here – we have CoderSchool alumni at companies like Lazada, Grab, TinyPulse, and several other innovative software companies both large and small – so it’s definitely very possible to build a truly amazing engineering team here.”