It is a business tool that allows companies to hire amazing offshore staff at a low cost. You treat the staff like your own, except that the legal, back-office, and infrastructure are all taken care of. Businesses have been doing this since the 1960s.
Outsourcing changes the foundation of employment norms. Offshoring, distributed workforce, call centers, staff leasing, and remote working are all synonyms. Processes are streamlined, workflow becomes shorter and more precise, and outcomes are improved.
Offshore staffing can change the game. Even if you don’t use it in your company, it’s important to understand how it works. “If you don’t outsource and your competitors don’t, you’re out of business,” said Singapore’s late Prime Minister and founding father.
But outsourcing isn’t a panacea. It has drawbacks, and many businesses abandon it due to disappointing results. To learn more about outsourcing and how to make it work for your company, read on.
Benefits of Outsourcing
1. It saves you money
Outsourcing is done to save money. While hiring people is always expensive, I’ve found that using offshore staffing can help companies save up to 70% on total staffing costs.
Outsourcing eliminates some of the complexities and costs associated with employment, such as legal, recruitment, compliance, taxation, health care, and office management. Outsourcing allows for extreme job flexibility.
2. You get more qualified candidates
With offshore staffing, you aren’t limited to local candidates. Every company struggles to find great employees, so why limit your search to your local market or geography? Global employment opens up incredible job opportunities.
Recruiting is normally time consuming and costly for businesses. When outsourcing, the outsourcing company will usually handle the screening, hiring, and onboarding.
3. Doubling your workforce
Outsourcing saves money. If you could double — or triple — your workforce for the same cost, what would you be able to achieve? Outsourcing allows for this.
Doubling your workforce means doubling your resources to expand your company, clients, and products.
Challenges of Outsourcing
1. It’s remote
Some people love remote work, while others despise it. No choice with outsourcing. Your offshore team will be located elsewhere. The default remote tools and remote work must be accepted for outsourcing to work. True, remote work — and thus outsourcing isn’t for everyone.
2. It may be difficult to communicate
Managing a remote team is unique. Culture and communication have many subtle nuances that can impact quality and deliverables. An employer must have an open mind, a beginner’s mindset, and be willing to relearn some management fundamentals.
3. It’s very process-oriented
Offshore teams can be very methodical. They may be less innovative or agile than an onshore team. They thrive when processes are defined. This means investing in training, standard operating procedures, process mapping, and defining metrics and KPIs ahead of time.
Conclusion
Outsourcing is a tricky skill to learn. Like running a business, outsourcing is a skill that can never be perfected.
In reality, learning and exploring outsourcing can take time. Finding the right outsourcing partner and assembling a team takes time. But having an offshore team can be a huge advantage.
Outsourcing can benefit many businesses in many sectors, but it may not be right for you and your company right now. No harm in looking into it. If you want to learn more about outsourcing, you can start right now. After all, now is the time.