Small and large businesses are at the mercy of their local talent pool. Given available resources, there isn’t always the right person to fill an urgent role.
Sourcing the right skills is tricky because covering for a vacancy or having employees wear multiple ‘hats’ isn’t always a sustainable tactic. Instead of exposing themselves to the leverage that in-demand candidates have in certain places, the savvy business goes overseas.
In many cases, outsourcing positions is an excellent alternative to on-site employees, but it also comes with risks that you must consider. Remember that outsourcing pros and cons aren’t only financial in nature.
Benefits of outsourcing work
Your bottom line benefits most from outsourcing work, but there are other benefits.
Offshore outsourcing means businesses don’t have to rent new space or equipment for their growing roster and have the same capacity for work without the required overhead.
Outsourcing and offshoring are now vital components for scaling any modern business. Advantages extend to the administrative realm as well as the physical. While a new on-site worker will require a desk, benefits, and other direct costs, they need training and extensive onboarding. The required HR efforts involve lots of paperwork and bureaucracy.
Outsourced talent largely works on a consultant model, meaning a simple system of invoicing rather than the complete absorption of a new team member.
A larger talent pool is another advantage of outsourcing. While developers and engineers might be in short supply at home, going abroad could mean increased diversity, more time saved, lessened costs, and better talent.
With their ballooning balance sheets, companies can invest more in research & development, marketing, or sales projects designed to promote growth.
Some companies have found outsourcing so much to their advantage that they have moved to a fully outsourced team. Others (especially in the technology sector) take advantage of talents found abroad at significantly decreased cost.
Risks of outsourcing work
Remote employees are typically no substitute for in-house human capital, but they can get very close. Hitting close to the mark requires perfecting oft-overlooked practices, such as proper documentation procedures.
In place of training, put extra effort into creating guidelines, brand books and other resources for outsourced talent. This will reduce mistakes and time spent on supervision and make overcoming minor hurdles much easier.
Why outsource if the best offshore workers will need custom guides and babysitters? The truth is that some will need a helping hand to get started, but it’s usually worth it for those individuals who can strike a careful balance. However, finding someone who is confident and consistent with the company’s standards is only half the battle.
Offshore outsourcing comes with extra fees in international money transfers and processing charges. Sending money between banks cross-border is expensive and sometimes adds up to 10%, severely cutting any firm’s margins.
Outsourcing staff with the help of CurrencyTransfer
Maintaining quality, practising efficient oversight, and controlling costs are all part of the challenge of outsourcing staff. Still, it pays off more frequently when a company can reduce its overhead wherever possible.
Some use services like PayPal and others to pay workers abroad quickly, but these services aren’t exempt from fees and can be equally expensive as going to the bank.
Accordingly, many businesses choose to open local bank accounts and rely on CurrencyTransfer to move money with greater agility and frugality.
