Working with a dedicated development team in Vietnam: What to know

Hiring a dedicated development team from offshore countries is often preferred for its cost advantages and access to a broader global talent pool. Vietnam is becoming a growing outsourcing destination in the APAC region, driven by its large, skilled talent pool, competitive development costs, and an open business environment. More companies, particularly from Singapore, are turning to Vietnam to hire a dedicated offshore development team.  

When hiring offshore developers in Vietnam through a Vietnam-based software company, the developers are typically employees of the vendor rather than the client. The vendor is therefore responsible for employment contracts, statutory benefits, working conditions, and other applicable labor obligations under Vietnamese law. However, working with an offshore team also comes with challenges, especially around communication, working culture, collaboration, and delivery expectations. 

This article provides a practical look at what to know when working with a Vietnam-based dedicated development team, including communication, working culture, and long-term collaboration. 

Key takeaways  

• Vietnamese developers are often comfortable with technical English, while business or nuanced discussions may benefit from clearer wording and additional clarification. 

• Vietnam has a relatively young workforce, and younger developers tend to be comfortable with direct communication, digital tools, change, and new technologies, while still valuing respect and team harmony. 

• Give corrective feedback privately. Keep public feedback focused on recognition and team-level improvements. 

• Plan ahead for public holidays. Longer breaks require early planning, clear handovers, and adjusted delivery schedules. For critical incidents, designated team members can remain on-call. 

How software engineers in Vietnam communicate  

English in practice  

Vietnamese is the primary language Vietnamese developers use in their daily lives, but English is commonly used when working with international clients. In practice, technical English may be better than conversational English. Developers are generally familiar with reading English documentation, writing code and technical documents, and discussing technical issues. However, business conversations or nuanced discussions may require clearer wording and occasional clarification. 

Communication tends to be respectful and relatively structured  

Vietnamese engineers generally communicate respectfully with PMs, Tech Leads, and clients. Communication often follows established roles and processes, which can make collaboration relatively structured. However, this can also make communication less direct or confrontational. Engineers may be more careful when disagreeing with a client, especially early in the relationship or when speaking to someone more senior. 

Developers may hesitate to say "no" directly  

Instead of saying “No, this won't work”, an engineer may say “This might be challenging” or “We could consider another approach”. This is not necessarily a sign of agreement; it can simply reflect a preference for constructive and respectful discussion. 

For clients, creating an environment where engineers feel comfortable sharing different perspectives can make collaboration even more effective. Asking questions such as “What risks do you see?”, “Would you recommend a different approach?”, or “What would you change?” gives the team a clear opportunity to share technical concerns and recommendations early. 

Additionally, establishing a clear communication framework plays an important role in managing an offshore dedicated development team, helping both sides stay aligned, track progress, and address issues on time.  

Time zone difference and working hours  

Time zone differences are one of the first practical concerns when working with an offshore development team. A large gap can make real-time communication, meetings, and issue resolution more difficult. However, a smaller difference can allow teams to collaborate closely while benefiting from offshore development capacity. 

For example, Vietnam operates on UTC+7, while Singapore is on UTC+8, a one-hour difference. This allows developers in Vietnam to maintain largely overlapping working hours with Singapore-based teams, making it easy to join daily stand-ups, discuss requirements, and address issues, while developers use the remaining time for focused development. 

Working hours can vary by company, but a typical office schedule in Vietnam is around 8:00–9:00 AM to 5:00–6:00 PM, usually with a one-hour lunch break around noon. Under Vietnam's Labour Code, normal working hours are generally capped at 8 hours per day and 48 hours per week. Overtime is generally not the default and is more common for urgent issues, critical deadlines, or production incidents. Under Vietnam's labor regulations, overtime requires employee agreement and is subject to working-hour limits and additional pay. For example, overtime is paid at least 150% on normal working days and 300% on public holidays. 

Corporate culture in Vietnam 

Building relationships within the team 

Vietnamese developers often work in a collective and relationship-oriented way. Team members may develop relationships that go beyond simply being colleagues, and a sense of familiarity and trust can make day-to-day collaboration smoother. 

For companies onboarding a Vietnam-based offshore team, it can be useful to create opportunities for informal interaction, not just project meetings. For example, virtual coffee chats, team channels for non-work conversations, and occasional in-person meetups can help offshore developers get to know their internal counterparts and build stronger working relationships.  

Be mindful of the generation gap  

Vietnam has a relatively young workforce, meaning a dedicated team may include developers from different generations. Junior and mid-level developers are more likely to belong to Gen Z or Millennials, while senior positions may include members from older generations. 

These differences can shape working preferences. Younger developers may be more comfortable with direct communication, tools, change, and new technologies, while also placing greater emphasis on work-life balance and clear career development. At the same time, values such as respect and team harmony remain important. Even when they disagree, younger developers may still prefer to express their opinions constructively rather than create unnecessary conflict. 

Giving and receiving feedback 

Vietnamese developers are generally open to feedback, particularly when it is considered as an opportunity to improve their skills and work. However, the way feedback is delivered can affect how effectively it is received. 

• Praise first, then suggest improvements: Recognize what went well before discussing areas for improvement.  

• Public recognition, private correction: Share positive feedback publicly when appropriate, while discussing sensitive or corrective feedback privately.  

• Encourage honest peer feedback: Anonymous feedback can give team members more space to share candid opinions while maintaining team relationships.  

• Focus on the work, not the person: Discuss specific actions, outcomes, or processes rather than making feedback personal.  

The goal is to create a feedback culture where developers feel respected, supported, and comfortable improving together. 

Public holidays in Vietnam  

Public holidays are an important consideration when working with an offshore team. Vietnam has around 11 official public holiday days per year, including Tet - the longest and most significant holiday, Hung Kings' Commemoration Day, Reunification Day, International Labour Day, and National Day. The actual break can be longer when holidays are combined with weekends or additional company leave. 

For international clients, the key is to plan around Vietnam's holiday calendar well in advance. Teams can adjust sprint scope and release schedules, complete critical tasks before the break, and avoid scheduling major deployments during periods when key team members are unavailable. Before the holiday, the team should also document ongoing work, update project status, and prepare clear handovers for anything that needs attention. 

A long holiday does not necessarily mean the project is left without support. For critical incidents such as system outages, security breaches, or other production emergencies, designated team members can remain on-call to respond when necessary.  

Final thoughts  

Effective collaboration with an offshore dedicated development team requires more than clear requirements and technical expertise. To have deeper insights into working with offshore developers, check out the article " Dedicated Development Team: A Complete Guide for Singapore businesses".  

For working effectively with a Vietnam-based dedicated development team, it is important to first understand the working culture of Vietnamese developers, from language and communication styles to how team members collaborate, build relationships, and give and receive feedback. With the right expectations, clear communication, and mutual trust, cultural differences can become less of a barrier and more of an advantage for long-term collaboration. 

Building an effective dedicated development team in Vietnam 

Adamo APAC is the Singapore office of Adamo Software, combining Singapore-based engagement leadership with Vietnamese senior engineering teams to deliver software for clients across Asia-Pacific, particularly Singapore. We build a dedicated team of mid-to-senior engineers from our Vietnam delivery center, integrated into your processes and aligned with your roadmap. You can flexibly scale up or down as your needs evolve.  

When choosing a dedicated development team makes sense:  

• You need 3+ engineers working exclusively on a project for 6+ months 

• You're scaling beyond your local hiring capacity or budget 

• You need flexibility to scale team size up or down quickly 

Adamo APAC provides dedicated engineering teams built for long-term collaboration, with most engineers being full-time Adamo employees rather than contractors or subcontractors. Most team members are Mid-level engineers with 3+ years of experience, while complex projects and leadership roles can be supported by Senior engineers with 5–6+ years of experience.  

Adamo's teams are designed to integrate closely with your existing workflow. Daily communication happens through Slack, Microsoft Teams, or WhatsApp, supported by 15-minute stand-ups and weekly stakeholder meetings. All work is tracked in Jira or your preferred task management tool, while source code is pushed to your GitHub repository daily, giving you clear visibility into progress and full ownership of the codebase. 

FAQs  

01. Do Vietnamese developers work during public holidays?  

Most developers take their scheduled public holidays, particularly during Tet. However, teams can arrange advance handovers and designated on-call support for critical incidents. If continuous development work is required, developers can work during the holiday period, but this typically comes with additional holiday pay, often around 3× the standard rate, depending on the specific arrangement and applicable labor regulations. 

02. How do Vietnam-based developers handle different time zones? 

Vietnam operates on UTC+7. For clients in nearby APAC markets such as Singapore (UTC+8), the one-hour difference allows substantial working-hour overlap for meetings, collaboration, and real-time issue resolution. 

03. What if Vietnamese developers disagree with a client's decision? 

Developers may sometimes express disagreement in a measured or indirect way. Clients can encourage open discussion by explicitly asking about technical risks, alternative approaches, and potential trade-offs rather than assuming silence means agreement.