What Have We, As Software Outsourcers, Learned From The Pandemic?

COVID-19 has caused unprecedented disruptions to the global economy, but the outsourcing business has been particularly hard hit.  As soon as clients felt economic instability and an uncertain future, R&D budgets were slashed, transactions were delayed, projects were cut, and prospective clients disappeared.  Consequently, many outsourcers had to downsize or even go out of business. However, organizations adapted quickly and took advantage of the crisis.

CodeStringers is one of them. We were able to grow our business significantly despite the challenging environment.  Our success was recognized in the 2020 Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Companies; Top 20 software development firms of Design Rush; 2020 SVBJ Fast Private List; and most recently we made number 12 on the 2021 Inc. 5000 Regionals California list of fastest growing private companies.

How did we do it? 

#1 Never sacrifice integrity, especially in the bidding process

We discussed this in detail in a prior blog post. To summarize, it is very common for outsourcers to give prospective clients a budget number rather than an honest answer based on well-defined requirements.  This often wins the bidding process since it’s the customer’s magic number, once the bid is won and requirements are defined, the customer is hit with a change order that tells them the “real” price.

These dishonest bidding shenanigans become particularly tempting during challenging economic times, but CodeStringers refuses to engage in them.  Our goal is not simply to close a deal; it is to do such a good job and build such a strong relationship with the client that they want to work with us on their project.  Furthermore, as the clients' staff move on to other companies, they’ll want to hire us there too.

Ultimately, this strategy is more profitable and more rewarding for clients and staff.

#2 Keep the focus on our customers...

Everyone knows that customer satisfaction is of paramount importance to a business, but sometimes they forget this fact when a crisis like COVID-19 strikes. During the crisis, they tend to focus more on the numbers than on the people. 

CodeStringers is committed to avoiding this trap.  We absolutely keep our promises to our customers. Additionally, we do our best to help our clients through crises rather than focusing on our own. Many strategies and policies have been applied, such as:

• Product diversification and product adjustment: CodeStringers brings innovation, craftsmanship, and integrity to our customers. We also do the same with ourselves. This allows us to develop the right solutions for our customers’ unforeseen needs during these times of crisis.

• Create more value for customers by innovating. We think clients hire us not only to code but also to improve their business and products. Keeping up with technological knowledge will enable us to offer the best solutions for our customers.

• Leverage technology, respond faster and more flexibly: As a technology company, the transformation of the traditional working model to the remote working model is quite favorable for us. This not only reduces employees’ productivity but also provides the opportunity to respond more quickly and flexibly to customer requests.

#3 …and on our staff

Many businesses have implemented policies such as staff reduction, salary reduction, and unpaid leave. Codestringers is committed to maintaining our pre-COVID staffing levels so that our employees can feel safe enough to focus on innovation. Here’s what we’ve done:

• Make our employees feel financially secure: say no to staff cuts, salary reductions, and unpaid leave due to pandemic reasons. We maintain the same salaries and financial benefits for all our employees.

• Make our employees feel secure about the working environment: we allow our employees to work remotely during the pandemic, and we provide them with the tools they need, such as laptops or desktops.

• Make our employees feel safe at work: we fully implement prevention measures and provide prevention equipment such as masks, disinfectants, etc.

• Eliminated hierarchical thinking: or as our CEO always says, “I didn’t hire you just to agree with me.”  We encourage innovation and initiative at all levels of the company.

Basically, by making our employees feel that “we care about you,” we have found that they’re far more productive and they stick around longer.

Conclusion

When running a business, you always have to deal with unexpected crises. The best way to prepare is to be flexible, stay innovative, and don’t lose your values. If you can weather a storm like COVID, you will emerge stronger /  better able to face future challenges. 

CodeStringers