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eTec has a wide range of successful projects on the level of managing director, CEO, COO and CTO in medium-sized companies.
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With empathy and cultural sensitivity - R&D in internationalized structures
International teams allow companies access to a bigger talent pool. This means they can hire highly qualified employees from all over the world. On top of that, cultural diversity creates a bigger variety of ideas, perspectives and approaches to problem solving. This frequently leads to more creative and innovative solutions because different ways of thinking and experiences meet. Decentralized teams also work in different time zones and consequently projects can be worked on around the clock. As a result, projects are able to progress faster and the Time-to-Market can be improved.
There are, however, certain challenges that come with decentralized development teams. Managers have to coordinate a team to work effectively in different locations and bring people with different cultural and linguistic backgrounds together. The head of product development must be someone who is up to the task and his/her effective communication is of crucial importance. Clear instructions and feedback need to be given and an open communication climate should be supported throughout the different sites.
Virtual tools of communication should be used effectively to make sure that all team members are well-informed and involved. Agile methods such as Scrum are often used in decentralized R&D teams to organize and control the development process. To plan the work, prioritize and keep a track on progress, Sprints, Backlogs and regular reviews can be helpful. The leader of product development of an international team requires empathy and cultural sensitivity to understand the different ways of working of the team members and to foster an inclusive, cooperative and efficient workplace.
etec has many years of experience in sourcing qualified R&D managers for decentralized sources. We are currently working on these kinds of positions for several clients of the automation technology and can draw upon our experience, industry expertise and extensive network.
Do not hesitate to contact us to discuss your needs for a high-performing and internationalized R&D organization and to find the right leader for it.
