The Holistic Approach to Cross-Border Projects

After reviewing multiple articles and listening to the opinions of several “experts,” it is difficult to ignore the depth of the divide in understanding of what is involved with nearshoring. While a plethora of data exists about the growth of international investment and projects, there are elements to operating “on the ground” that are rarely mentioned, let alone analyzed or understood. What is concerning is the considerable amount of hype produced by those eager to cash in on the nearshoring bandwagon that may easily influence the underprepared to act impulsively out of fear of being left behind. 

Entering a new market without a comprehensive, holistic strategy accompanied by careful strategic planning will surely fail. Unexpected high costs, long delays, and damage to brand reputation and employee morale are very real possibilities for the underinformed. If you began reading this article to increase your enthusiasm for your international project, my intention is not to dash your hopes. The potential to succeed is equally present, but only for those who fully comprehend the complexity of the factors involved.

So how can we minimize the potential for operations to go catastrophically awry? The elements are, on the surface, not difficult to understand. First, build a team of multicultural experts. Without a deep understanding of how the new operational environment differs between the home base and an existing international one coupled with individuals who can clearly articulate those differences and adequately disseminate their depth, there is little hope of success straight out of the gate. Planning and execution will also be flawed. Differences of business protocol, country regulation, local culture and language, and existing infrastructure are merely the top of the list.

To increase effectiveness in communication on projects that are strategic in nature and under intense time pressure, the best mechanism to employ is a cultural broker. According to Harvard Business Review, “Cultural brokers have experiences and relationships that span multiple sectors, functions, or domains and informally serve as links between them. In studies involving more than 2,000 global teams, one of us found that diverse teams containing a cultural broker significantly outperformed diverse teams without one. Companies should identify these individuals and help them increase their impact.” 

These individuals can act as “bridges” in projects where the broker effectively acts as an intercultural business translator to ensure that both (or multiple) cultures understand the goals and the steps required to realize the goal. In other instances where projects require longer-term planning and involve a higher degree of complexity, another strategy to employ is an individual, or individuals, who act as an “adhesive.” In these situations, the cultural broker remains in place longer with a higher level of participation to be certain that current gaps in understanding between the teams are eliminated and that new ones are not introduced when circumstances inevitably fluctuate with each new stage of the project. 

Additionally, an indispensable element of success in any international endeavor is transparency. Whether intentional or due to an insufficiency of business experience, lack of clarity in the current state or desired state conditions ultimately breeds mistrust and impedes, perhaps fatally, progress. In my experience implementing technology in 17 countries, there is only one true foundation for transparency: reliable, accurate data.  Without a common foundation which is built on fact, you might as well be constructing a sandcastle in a hurricane. The complicating factor is, given the example of relocating operational processes from more advanced business environments to Mexico or Latin America, digitalization is less common. It does exist and, in some cases, it is advanced, but it is not as commonplace and often not as sophisticated as a CEO or COO in the US or Canada may generally assume. 

Digitalization must be considered and incorporated into early-stage planning. Again, in this instance, current state knowledge of the target culture and country is indispensable. Local experts adept with the future state technology who have the ability to effectively translate the vision, goals, and expected results of the home country ensure that the vision is not only clearly understood, but realized in the target country. 

Without accurate i a across the organization, business intelligence and data analytics are severely impaired. Often, data that does exist in less tech-focused environments is created within different systems that cannot communicate with one another, thereby requiring time-consuming specialized resources to manually produce comprehensive reports. As a result, silos are formed and the overall business strategy for data architecture is nonexistent leaving room for security breaches and poor decision-making based on outdated, unvalidated information.

While it is, perhaps, unorthodox to list the first step of this entire process as the final one, I do so to emphasize its importance. Before taking any other action, perform a detailed, structured analysis of the existing operation as compared to the current state reality of the intended location environment, infrastructure, and team skills. Visit your new operational location and see for yourself what improvements are necessary, to what degree, and what may have been missed. 

Perform this analysis with experienced knowledgeable representatives from the cultures who are sincerely invested in your success and not only the next invoice. Individuals who are passionate about transforming your business will do so from a holistic perspective as they understand that often the challenges that are not communicated or obvious are the greatest impediments to success. Anyone not willing to be straightforward about the degree of risk, without scaremongering to increase their own profits, is not a true partner. 

Building the foundation for cross-border success is not a simple process, nor should it be. If your interest in relocating critical business processes to another country is simply to pass accountability to another party so that blame can be placed elsewhere when things don’t go according to plan, remember that it is your own reputation at stake in the end. Communicating your company’s mission and values and clearly translating them in a new environment leads to collective growth, innovation, and sustainable success. If that isn’t your intention, any company can be handed the assignment. When your goal is long-term growth, effort and commitment are what will make the difference every time. 

We are entering an era of global business in which an extraordinary level of international collaboration is required. Average approaches do not produce exceptional results. The old rules no longer apply.