Offshore Scrum Master - a good idea? 3 tips
As a trained psychologist and Scrum Master, I understand the challenges you face as an agile manager. One question that sometimes comes up is: Is it a good idea to hire an offshore Scrum Master? Let’s explore this question together and find out what the pros and cons of this decision are.
Offshore Scrum Master
The advantages of an offshore Scrum Master
Cost savings: Agile project management emphasizes efficiency and economy. Hiring an Offshore Scrum Master can significantly reduce costs without compromising the quality of work - if implemented correctly. This is arguably the biggest advantage of an Offshore Scrum Master.
Flexibility: One possible advantage of hiring an offshore Scrum Master is the flexibility in terms of time. It may be possible to better support distributed teams working in India and Germany, for example.
Diversity: Diversity in the team correlates with innovative ability. Why? Because different perspectives can be brought in, maximizing the likelihood of tackling challenges and ideas creatively. Of course, this can also be promoted with an offshore Scrum Master, who may come from a different culture.
Those were the advantages of an Offshore Scrum Master - but what are the disadvantages?
Offshore Scrum Master
The disadvantages of an offshore Scrum Master:
Communication challenges: The Agile Manifesto emphasizes the importance of personal interaction. With an offshore Scrum Master, communication barriers can arise that affect the exchange of information. It would be important to establish clear lines of communication and schedule regular meetings to prevent this challenge.
Physical distance: Obviously, you can build a better relationship with people if you know each other personally. This is much more difficult with an offshore Scrum Master. At best, there should at least be regular meetings.
Cultural differences: The advantage mentioned above also has a disadvantage: different locations often mean different cultural contexts. These differences can lead to misunderstandings or conflicts. An example of this would be when direct communication is seen as disrespectful in one culture, while it is considered efficient in another. Team leads should take these aspects into account and promote cross-cultural collaboration.
Of course, there are other advantages and disadvantages to this role, but from my point of view, we have summarized the most important points. From which you can also draw some tips that should be considered in this topic. Speaking of tips, there is one more point to mention…
"Many team members are afraid to speak up!"
Solve this challenge
"We discover too many unexpected issues & bugs at a late stage!"
Solve this challenge
"Why does it sometimes take me hours to prepare a simple retrospective?"
Solve this challengeOffshore Scrum Master
An alternative to the offshore Scrum Master
Are you considering hiring an offshore Scrum Master mainly for cost reasons? Then Echometer could also be an interesting alternative for you.
Echometer is, in a way, a digital agile coach. We help agile team leads or team members to grow into a productive “Servant Leadership” role in a time-efficient manner with the help of psychologically sound retrospectives and health checks.
Of course, a Scrum Master cannot be replaced. But if it is not financially possible, then Echometer can be a great alternative. You can read more about exactly how this works on our main website.
Offshore Agile Coach
Conclusion - Offshore Agile Coach
In a nutshell: Offshore Scrum Masters or even an offshore Agile Coach (basically the same points apply here) offer flexibility and cost efficiency, but require careful communication and cultural integration. In line with the agile manifesto, a conscious, human-centered approach to the question posed in this text is crucial for success.
Lastly, another note: If you would like to try out how it feels to develop your team with our tool: You can start an agile retrospective without logging in below, in this case the “Keep, Stop, Start” workshop.
Alternatively, simply forward our website to the responsible colleagues: www.echometerapp.com.
