Offshore outsourcing in a general sense refers to having work done in a different country. This common practice is mainly to leverage cost advantages. For business owners like you, if you are looking to offshore outsourcing some of your business processes, its other key advantages are the following:
- Get work done faster through a global talent pool.
- Acquire services from well-skilled talents.
- Flexibility both in manpower and extended working hours.
Today, offshoring has been most commonly used in the IT industry. This is because it has been one of the hardest-to-fill professions over decades. This also makes it harder for corporations to keep up with their client’s demands. As a result, many foreign tech companies choose to offshore their teams.
Furthermore, Offshore staff leasing is a business delivery system wherein a company takes in employees from an offshore outsourcing service provider either for a long- or short-term basis. This setup provides several benefits to organizations, including reduced expenditure costs, access to skilled labor, more flexible business operations, and improved focus on core business processes.
Offshore Outsourcing in the Philippines
As of today, the Philippines is one of the leading countries that provide excellent staff leasing services for both local and international clients. This is due to the following:
- A highly skilled workforce that the country boasts.
- Access to excellent infrastructure.
- Minimal labor costs.
More so, many companies that have tried offshore outsourcing services in the Philippines have likewise experienced significant growth in their businesses. Remember that industries become more global and accessible as time passes. Offshoring in the Philippines will enable you to leverage not just your workforce, but as well as your strategies.
If you want to try offshore outsourcing in the Philippines, it is only natural that you would want to get the best value for your money. However, for you to maximize the return on your investment, it is equally important that you also maximize the productivity of your leased staff. Below are some tips on how you can do just that:
1. Have precise requirements and time frames for your projects.
It is already challenging to manage staff who are working a few feet away from you, let alone staff who are working several time zones ahead or behind. In such cases, the best thing you can do is to strictly define the following:
- All delivery and quality expectations.
- What you want to be accomplished, including when things should be accomplished.
In this way, you are giving your staff a concrete target that they need to complete.
2. Clearly define roles.
If you have ever worked in a position in which you are not sure what job you are supposed to do, then you are aware that not having a clearly defined role is frustrating. It also creates confusion and it could make one feel lost and demotivated. With that being said, take the time to orient your leased staff where their responsibilities lie and what their roles are. Doing so will enable them to focus on doing those jobs.
3. Provide the tools they need.
You may have the right people for the job, but they will be rendered useless if you do not provide them with the proper tools. They need to move forward with their work. This will include proper training and such technology. It is especially critical if they are working on a specialized project, so be sure to set it up for them.
4. Establish performance metrics, provide feedback, and communicate.
Monitoring the progress of your project as well as the performance of your offshore outsourcing leased employees is critical to ensure your business success. You also have to provide regular performance feedback. In doing so, follow clear performance metrics so that your staff will know what areas they have to work on.
Also, take it as an opportunity to communicate with your staff. It will help you to know what you can do to support them and help improve their performance. If you cannot personally attend to this, have a reliable manager to track your staff’s productivity and monitor project progress and results.
5. Recognize and reward
Nothing boosts the productivity of an offshore staff if his or her work is recognized. There is no real single solution for how you can reward your staff because each one of them is different. Your best bet to get to know them individually and learn what drives them so that you can work your way around those factors is to establish a reward system that is not always based on money.
Maximizing the productivity of your offshore outsourcing leased staff is not always easy. However, if you can apply a few of the things mentioned above, you will be able to work your way toward establishing a good working relationship with your staff. It will ultimately lead them to become more productive
What are the Risks of Offshoring Staff Leasing?
While offshore outsourcing may have an array of advantages to your business, just like any other venture, it also has its possible risks. Offshoring, if not done right is also susceptible to the following:
- Cultural differences. Since you will be working with people from outside of your country, cultural differences can harm your offshoring strategy.
- Time zone differences. This is one of the main disadvantages of offshoring. Offshoring companies operate within a 5-12 hour difference from their clients. In deciding to offshore, it also means that you have to adjust your work schedules to accommodate time differences.
- Language Barrier. Communication and Language issues are another thing since you will be working with people whose primary language is not the English language.
- Proximity. You cannot easily have a face-to-face meeting with your offshored team, considering the distance, costs and time to be spent in traveling overseas.
Prime Outsourcing is a Philippine-based company that offers offshore outsourcing services. If you want to make the most out of offshore outsourcing benefits, ensure that you’ll only make a deal with a proven and tested company in the field. Learn everything about how you can further boost your business through advanced marketing and outsourcing strategies here.