When I joined the Hengtian global project in December 2021, a mix of excitement and uncertainty filled my mind. Despite my extensive background in software development and management, venturing into the global business arena posed a novel challenge. Fortunately, guided by a supportive mentor, I seamlessly integrated into the team and leveraged expertise to elevate our daily operations. Through our joint efforts, the team has grown from its initial under ten members to the current 80 members. Both work efficiency and customer satisfaction have continuously improved, creating a harmonious working atmosphere and significantly enhancing individual growth. Over these three years, we have successfully achieved the goal of becoming an outstanding team.
We are recognized as one of the 3 teams of “Team of the Year 2023” among hundreds of Hengtian delivery teams
At the beginning of the team setup, our team faced hurdles with communication due to our diverse backgrounds and lacked experience with global clients. Additionally, the technology stack required for the project differed from what we had previously encountered domestically. Although the team members had a solid foundational knowledge and understanding of many technologies, they lacked extensive practical development experience. Under these pressures, the team also had to deal with the extra challenges of time zone differences. Faced with these difficulties, the management conducted an in-depth analysis of the team’s current situation and established a series of processes and measures, such as standardized processes, delivery procedures, and meeting protocols, all aimed at helping the team grow rapidly. At the same time, as a “learning-oriented” team, each member was committed to learning and progressing, continuously enhancing their skills.
Initially, only one project manager possessed fluent English communication skills, and handled most of the client communications for a long time. Overcoming language barriers became a priority, leading us to implement a range of initiatives aimed at enhancing English proficiency across the team, which includes diversified training courses based on employees’ foundational knowledge, setting up an English corner to foster interest in English, hiring foreign teachers for practical training, recommending learning websites for off-hours study, establishing incentives to boost motivation, and implementing a check-in system to maintain the coherence and rhythm of learning. These measures have proven to be effective. Several employees successfully mastered English skills in less than six months, and I was fortunate enough to be among them. Imagine how much effort everyone put in to master a new language in a short time while ensuring work deliverables.
Certificates for completing the English training programs
At the technical level, we encountered challenges stemming from differences in standards between our clients and our prior experience. One memorable incident occurred when our code failed to pass verification upon going live, stalling the platform launch. At that time, we lacked an understanding of the verification standards set for the deployment procedures. What’s worse, due to the pandemic and work-from-home policies, we couldn’t get immediate support from others. To resolve this issue, all the technical staff in our department gathered online, delved into the underlying code, and discussed solutions in real time over two days and nights. After relentless effort, we successfully tackled the problem, and the project was able to go live smoothly. This experience left us with a profound impression that technology is what really matters. Therefore, we invested a great deal of effort in enhancing our technical capabilities, such as establishing a series of delivery specifications, inviting colleagues from other departments to share experiences, urging employees to learn new technologies and share their learning insights, etc. These measures made our subsequent delivery tasks much more manageable, steadily improving our overall delivery quality and continuously increasing customer satisfaction.
Our team is the championship of the “Fifth Programmer’s Day 2023” Programming Competition
As the number of projects undertaken by our department has increased, we have ensured that each project operates healthily and steadily by establishing talent echelons based on communication skills and technical capabilities. This has not been an easy task; as team managers, we must possess both outstanding English communication abilities and superior technical problem-solving skills, which made it difficult to find suitable resources in the market. To address this, we applied for special support from the company, increasing recruitment efforts, while also actively cultivating internal personnel through a one-on-one mentorship model to quickly develop TLs (Team Leaders). After nearly two years of operations, we have achieved a preliminary echelon structure for each delivery team, ranging from TLs to core members and then to regular members. In the third year of operations, we added the PM (Project Manager) layer to this structure. Currently, our echelon system is relatively mature, comprising PM-TL-core member-regular members. As an ongoing process, we regularly conduct talent assessments and research to understand employees’ development needs and concerns, and adjust the gradients accordingly based on these evaluations.
Our team was the proxime accessit of 2023 Sports Carnival
Cultivating a culture of professionalism and teamwork remains paramount in our journey. Through team-building activities, open communication channels, team culture photo walls, and encouragement to participate in skill competitions, we fostered a unified team spirit. Emphasizing a unique team culture through creative displays and recognition initiatives, we instilled pride and camaraderie among team members, culminating in the prestigious recognition as the company’s annual best team.
We have many more ideas and measures in the planning or implementation stage. A great team is a testament to effective management, and we are always dedicated to cultivating a strong and outstanding team.
