The topic of relocating one's mortal body from one country to another seems to be covered from all angles. Some say it's time. Others argue that the first group understands nothing and it's definitely not time yet. Some write about how to buy buckwheat in America, while others explain how to find a job in London if you only know Russian swearing.
However, the perspective of a company on relocation is rarely discussed. Yet there's much of interest in this topic, not only for top executives. Budgets, headcount, metrics, and other details can be incredibly dull for developers. So, what is it really like to open an office abroad, why do it, what are the costs, and how? And most importantly, how can our IT colleagues benefit from this?
This article is unrealistically lengthy, so in this series, we’ll address the question: 'Why?'
First, a bit of background and introductions. Hi, my name is Evgeny, I was a frontend team lead at Wrike for a long time, then a manager, and then boom, we’re opening an office in Prague, and I'm going as the director of Wrike Prague. It sounds rosy, but in reality, the Preacher was right, a thousand times right.
… For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.
Why?
The motives for personal relocation are usually clear: trying something new, learning a language, financial issues, politics, safety, and so on. But why would a company open a development office in another country? It's expensive, the market there is uncertain, and overall… There can be several reasons, and each one can provide its own benefits.
HR Brand
There’s an opinion that many top developers would like to work abroad. This isn’t always the case, nor is it always the top developers, and this can lead to huge debates, bringing us back to the timeless question that starts with the letter V: ‘To leave or not to leave’. Nevertheless, the outflow exists, and that’s a fact. However, moving to an unclear company with an unknown culture in an uncertain country is scary. This is where the crux lies. Opening a foreign office increases the chances of attracting good employees who would like to relocate to another country with minimal discomfort.
Tips
- Often, companies implement a sort of 'buffer period' that you must work through before they can transfer you. We at Wrike don't do that, but we understand that some employers might need this time to evaluate a person before making a transfer. the wrong one;
- Opening a new office implies expansion. And expansion entails the creation of new positions. So, this is the most suitable ground for negotiations and discussions. This is not true for all companies, but asking never hurts, right?
- One of the most important questions is: 'What teams are already there, and what are they doing?'. Often, companies move only people from specific areas, for example, a particular product or technology. It may turn out that this might not interest you or fit your expertise. We discussed this at length and decided that it’s better to make the office 'about everything'; this way, it's easier to find developers and teams and avoid reservations based on cultural, professional, or other criteria.
Funnel expansion
Sometimes it seems that IT is like a black hole — it just consumes and gives nothing back. And new specialists entering the market endlessly disappear into its bottomless depths. The talent shortage forces companies to seek new territories and drives them, just as in the era of great conquests, across oceans. The solution is not simple; nobody knows what local workers are like. What they want and what they can do. And this is probably a topic for a separate article. Interviewing Czech programmers turned out to be quite fun but challenging.
By the way, not all companies are willing to hire non-Russian-speaking engineers. After all, this requires translating working processes into English, changing onboarding procedures, and so on. It's difficult. Of course, it's especially challenging for R&D since sales or, say, support are usually localized. But what valuable insight can be gained from the fact that the company has decided and openly stated that 'we will have a multicultural R&D'.
Tips
- You will have non-Russian speaking colleagues. This is great, it really broadens your horizons, and allows for new connections and more. However, unfortunately, you won't be able to discuss the latest memes with a colleague if you don't know English. So if you are moving to a company that is willing to relocate you — be sure, they will ask about your language skills. On the other hand, working in IT in 2019 and not knowing English is absurd, isn’t it?
- Make sure to find out which team you will be working with after the relocation. This will determine whether you will spend most of your time speaking Russian, English, or perhaps remain completely silent. In general, this advice can be applied to any interview. Ask where and how you will be working. This is, by the way, a significant difference between Russian developers and Europeans.
One of the programmers during the interview asked for a tour of the office. Since we are in Prague and he is in Paris, we took a webcam and walked “with him” through the rooms. It very much reminded me of the episode from 'The Big Bang Theory', when Sheldon was afraid to leave the house and sent a robot in his place.
— Hi guys, this is Jean, he wants to be our front-end developer.
— *the guys nod at the laptop.*
Diversification of risks
Of course, here we are treading on thin ice and risk returning to the question starting with the letter V. But two/three/four offices in different locations are much better for any business than just one.
Be sure to read the article Shahin Sorkh about Iran and how developers live there. .
To be honest, reading this is quite sad.
Tips
- It's important to understand what the future holds for the office. Why was it opened? And it's worth asking what will happen in a year or two. You know, nobody likes the classic HR question: “Where do you see yourself in five years?”. Yet, we don't seem to ask it of ourselves. After all, it completely depends on what you you will be doing in two/three years.
Investment attractiveness
Business is business. And money is money. Foreign offices increase the attractiveness of a company in the global market, which can potentially lead to good investments. This might not seem like the most exciting topic for developers, but personally, I would prefer to work for a company with a solid budget rather than one without investments or funds. It doesn't necessarily mean that you'll be driving a Ferrari, but new MacBooks, monitors, and modern workplaces don't just appear out of nowhere. Even cookies and coffee cost something; that's the way the world works.
And one more reason for opening an office abroad comes to mind. The last and saddest one.
Just for show.
I can understand upper management, who cheerfully reports upwards: 'We have an office, everything is fine.' But in reality, there are only two salespeople sitting there, and that's it. Investors are happy, and stocks have soared.
Unfortunately, such companies exist, but I won't name them. For us, they are completely useless, and there’s no advice to give here. Unless I ask again: 'Why do you need an office?'
A friend of mine told me that their company pompously opened an office in China. All the announcements trumpeted that it would be a major engineering center, with glass, concrete, brains, and innovations. Yet, for some reason, no one saw any photos from the office. People would come back from there, that is true, but no one could actually get in. It was like Area 51. There were rumors that something so groundbreaking was happening there that all competitors were dreaming of stealing secrets from it. But in the end, after applying some Russian ingenuity (getting guests so drunk at the bar that they couldn't remember), my friend found out that the 'brain center' was actually a barn in the middle of a Chinese rice field.
Expanding the company means expanding ourselves.
From a pragmatic perspective, opening a new office for company employees is always a blessing because it means new positions, including quite senior ones. Here, the most important thing is to be proactive. I would recommend:
- Look around. What are the people around you doing, including your boss and your boss's boss? Maybe the new office will need similar people. And here you are, looking great;
- Determine where you are interested in developing.
- I came up with a position for myself — to write a 30-60-90 plan and goals for it. Let it be a draft; after all, you've never done this before. But it's better than saying, 'I want to be the ruler of the seas';
- Proactively present to management with a plan, objectives, and more;
- Profit!
Total
It's critically important to understand why the company is opening an office abroad. For both the employees of this company and potential candidates, much depends on the answer to this question: will you be sitting in a dying branch, or will it be a new, developing office? Will you be speaking English, or will it be another Russian-speaking ghetto? And what are the prospects for the company and for you.
In the next episode: choosing a country. Why the Baltic states are unsuitable, why it's impossible to live in Berlin, and why in London — the European IT capital, it's easier to open a fruit store than an IT company.
P.S.
If you're in Prague – feel free to visit us at Wrike. I would be happy to tell you why Czech beer isn't all that tasty. Or if you're in St. Petersburg, we're always glad to see you. Vítejte!
Source: habr.com
