Developed countries around the world have experienced the benefits of offshore outsourcing, which simply means finding labor from other countries other than your own. American companies typically outsource IT, manufacturing and other services to save money and stay competitive in their industries. Proponents of offshore outsourcing say that it can help workers in every industry worldwide become more agile.
Reasons to Outsource Globally:
If your company has never tried offshore outsourcing before, how do you know if outsourcing right for you? Here are some reasons that your company may want to consider offshore outsourcing for a portion of your business processes:\n
- Lower labor costs: Simply put, the cost savings remain the primary reason organizations choose to outsource some labor overseas.
- Wider knowledge base: When outsourcing software development or other technical needs, you may find that seeking talent internationally gives you professionals with a wide range of technical experience and capabilities.
- Focus on core competencies: If your company does not have experience in application development, design, or testing, it may make sense to outsource offshore, enabling your team to spend time on core business processes and help to balance the workload during peak times.
- Stronger project management: Offshore workers often have a different mindset than full-time employees, and this usually translates to a faster response time and efficient project management skills, which may help keep short-term projects on track.
- Faster time to market: With a wide offshore talent pool, your company may have more flexibility in turnaround time and can have labor working around the clock, helping you get projects off the ground and completed in rapid fashion. \n
Keys to Offshore Outsourcing Success
Before launching an offshore development initiative, your company should keep in mind these project and management items:
Language and cultural differences
While most developed countries offer English-speaking offshore talent, you may find that you need to understand certain cultural variations in language and meaning. This will most likely not become an issue, but over time you’ll develop a comfortable working relationship with your offshore talent and learn their preferred communication style.
Time zone adjustment
Since you’ll be hiring offshore talent across the globe, you will want to make sure that the differences in time zones are not a hindrance to your project, and plan conference calls and 1-1 meeting times accordingly.
Clearly define job requirements
At the onset of an offshore project or working relationship, you should outline your expectations of your contract worker, along with specific deliverables and a timeline to follow. This will ensure that the work completed meets your expectations.
Match skill requirements with talent
As you seek offshore outsourcing services, consider areas of the world where talent is plentiful for your chosen skill set. For example, India is a country known for its software and IT development skills. Beyond location, try to find a worker who has had experience in your chosen field or type of work, if possible.
Monitor progress
Keeping track of your offshore employee’s time is one way to ensure the success of any outsourced development project. Time tracking tools can help you do this by allowing offshore employees to login and track actual work times, even capturing screen shots of activity for helpful project management. When it comes time to pay your offshore worker, you’ll have a system in place to track hours and pay them accordingly.
Manage offshore workers as your own
Even though they may be temporary or contract workers, your offshore employees deserve the same considerations as full-time or local employees. Provide them with ample feedback, constructive criticism and even praise when deserved. Communicating regularly with your outsourced talent will help build a strong relationship with them and ensure success.
Be willing to pay more to get more
While one of the benefits of offshore outsourcing may be the lower project cost or hourly rate, be willing to raise your budget for things such as greater technical skill or rush jobs that require a quicker turnaround time. In addition, if you are working with an offshore development company that provides some project and employee management, you should consider paying more to that firm for being the liaison between your contractor and your firm.While the substantial savings of offshore outsourcing may be great, consider all aspects of hiring and do the math first to determine whether outsourcing makes sense for your company. Consider training and transition time, along with the ramp-up time and needs of your project, to help you determine whether to should hire locally, nationally or internationally.
Remote Resources’ staffing services can help you find ideal candidates from Viet Nam contractors. The company has spent considerable time finding top talent in areas such as web and application IT development, game development, graphic design, digital marketing, and more. Simply submit and describe your project and they’ll find you a match based on your budget, skill requirements and timeline.
Moving forward with offshore outsourcing
It’s a scary step to embark on a new adventure with hiring offshore talent. But with so many businesses currently outsourcing some of their business functions outside your country, why not take advantage of the benefits that outsourcing offshore can offer your business? You may find that offshore outsourcing enables your company to reduce costs while growing and improving its competitiveness and business focus.
Author: Susan Young
