Outsourcing provokes strong emotions. While many assumptions about its advantages are correct, outsourcing continues to suffer such a bad rep despite its numerous benefits.
Outsourcing swiftly elicits strong emotions and split perspectives. Depending on whom you speak with, ethical debates will surely arise – Overcompetitive (aka low) salaries, globalization, job losses, retrenchment, and even whether outsourcing works when it comes to scaling a business or taking a business offshore. While these are crucial considerations, and while many assumptions on its efficacy are accurate, misconceptions are many– so many, that it gives the outsourcing world a bad rap.
Outsourcing is a wide umbrella phrase
Outsourcing is a wide umbrella phrase, that the term itself is more of a misnomer than an accurate description. People may use the phrases outsourcing, offshore, staff leasing, virtual assistants, and, increasingly, remote and dispersed teams interchangeably – and still be correct.
Offshore employment, a practice that dates back three decades, is extensively employed by large organizations. By 2024, it is expected to be worth more than $200 billion. In reality, contemporary outsourcing may provide several advantages, the most crucial of which is decreased labor expenses. In addition, outsourcing is now more comparable to ordinary local employment. The only difference is that your global team (or teams) are located in a foreign country or in several offshore locations.
While we are familiar with outsourcing advantages, it’s also had its share of myths.
Before recognizing the advantages of outsourcing, it is necessary to dispel some of the most popular myths:
1. Outsourcing is only for large corporations.
The most common misperception is that offshore hiring is only accessible to the world’s mega-companies. This WAS true when outsourcing as a strategy was in its early stages.
But times have changed. Small and medium-sized firms now have access to a gamut of outsourcing services.
Smaller companies may be concerned that outsourcing entails complicated contracts, long-term commitments, and daunting minimum workforce requirements. In actuality, you may begin with only one person, on favorable terms, with flexible cancellation and low startup fees. Remember that offshore staffing exists to make employment easier for your company.
The trick is to ensure that outsourcing is a good fit for your company before diving in. As a company owner, if:
- You believe you have limited recruiting resources;
- You can’t locate the people you need locally; or
- You wish to generate a new income stream, increase production, or reduce expenses
offshore may be an alternative to explore.
2. Virtual assistants are the only type of outsourcing assistance available.
Tim Ferriss’s 2007 book The 4-Hour Workweek introduced the “virtual assistant” outsourcing sub-type into corporate culture when he spoke about how VAs powered his company and lifestyle. This book contributed so much to raising entrepreneurs’ awareness of outsourcing, although VAs constitute just a small part of the industry’s entire potential and complexity.
Rather than referring to everyone as a “VA,” it is much more effective to create a team with distinct jobs and specific talents, such as accounting, marketing, lead generation, administrative help, appointment setup, sales, executive support, and so on.
3. Outsourcing robs people of their employment.
There is widespread fear that outsourcing implies that employees in other nations are snatching employment from Americans. But, to be candid, this is not the case. Despite 30 years of offshore development backed by technical improvement and globalization, the United States had its lowest jobless rate since 1969 prior to the epidemic. In May of 2023, the rate fell to 5.8%, the lowest level since the epidemic started.
If current workers are worried, employers are thus encouraged to engage them in the process. Making a precise list of all their duties for any given month is an excellent exercise. Then, have them emphasize the low-value, basic, and high-repetition work that stops them from doing their high-value, crucial, and essential tasks. This will show that the offshore personnel will immediately enhance their own function by eliminating tiresome activities and allowing them to concentrate on the crucial work that fascinates them.
If it is within your power to do so, make an effort to foster alignment and a feeling of community among the onshore and offshore personnel. This is the cornerstone of every good team, but it is especially vital when offshore.
4. Quality will decrease as a result.
Many people equate outsourcing with tedious customer service calls. People think of a bespectacled typist pounding away at a tiny corner of a cramped room. But the reality is far from that. Many BPOs, contact centers, and outsourcing offices are designed for function, aesthetics, and productivity. They have the best infrastructure, aesthetic spaces, modern data security systems, digital platforms, and office furniture worthy of an Architectural Digest cover. In addition, the industry offers highly specialized staffing solutions across a wide range of positions, businesses, and professions. The industry’s quality and complexity have advanced significantly since it began thirty years ago.
Do keep in mind that you may hire amazing individuals, but even the finest ones need a supportive training structure, clear protocols, and specific goals. Because this will be a “remote” function, it is critical to be as specific as possible with your needs and to spend extra time training at the start. Delegate. Don’t give up.
5. Less expensive is preferable.
When it comes to outsourcing, cheaper is not always better. You do want value for money. But the adage holds true — “pay peanuts, get monkeys”. Successful offshore staffing requires balancing the quality and volume of output with the complexity of process management. If you go too inexpensive, your quality, dependability, scalability, and simplicity of doing business will suffer.
However, for a reasonable fee, you can expect amazing outcomes.
Don’t settle with the lowest “bidder”. After you’ve confirmed capacity and ability to meet your requirements, check their work culture. See how employees feel working for them. The company should have a large workforce and, preferably, transparent pricing, which means that the employee expenses are distinct from the service prices.
6. Unicorn employees exist… we just have to find them.
When entrepreneurs begin to build their offshore teams, they expect a “unicorn” – an individual who is excellent at everything. It is not unusual to find a job description that requires someone to handle everything, from web development to sales calls to social media postings to accountancy.
However, the unicorn employee does not exist!
It’s preferable to start by hiring offshore people for very narrow positions with defined procedures and goals. This ensures success.
Outsourcing does not have to be frightening or difficult.
People believe that outsourcing is more complicated, frightening, and a behemoth commitment than it really is. But the new breed of offshore employment is adaptable, scalable, and entrepreneur-friendly. By keeping these myths in mind, you may avoid possible problems and guarantee that your outsourced staff is a good match for your company.
Scaling your small, medium, or large business?
The easiest and most trustworthy way to grow and crush your objectives is via outsourcing with an offshore team.
NEARSOL is a US-based BPO and service company that offers clients custom-design solutions. With major hubs in Manila and Iloilo, it began operations in 2011 and has since gained a strong presence in the Latin American regions, the Caribbean, and the Asia Pacific, winning many awards for quality and service along the way. Most recent of which is its Great Place to Work-Certified™ Recognition, a global accreditation that tells stakeholders what employees think of the company culture. Visit our LinkedIn to learn more about our company and our global footprint.
