As a business owner, you know that your team is your greatest asset, but building a team of talented professionals who share your vision and drive your business forward can be a daunting task. That’s where offshoring comes in. In one episode of the Business Legal Lifecycle Podcast, Filta’s Co-Founder and Chief Growth Officer, Nerissa Chaux, shared her expertise and secrets on how businesses can use offshoring to achieve business success.
Nerissa has a wealth of experience in recruiting people from other countries. She started off by highlighting that before you dive into offshoring, it’s important to understand the difference between “offshoring” and “outsourcing” because while these terms are often used interchangeably, they refer to two distinct approaches to sourcing workers.
Offshoring vs. Outsourcing
Outsourcing is the specific task of outsourcing payroll, for instance. You engage a company, but you have no say if you get Martha, Mary, John, or Sam, and you have no control over who does the work. On the other hand, Offshoring is the process of finding employees in other countries to take over functions and become part of your team.
You’re responsible for their training, performance management, and their career, so they become a member of your team as opposed to someone who just does a task for you at some point in time. “Offshoring is more powerful because you have more control.” Chaux emphasized.
What are the benefits?
So, according to Nerissa, offshoring can be really great, especially for small and medium-sized businesses. Not only does it save you money, but it also gives you access to a global talent pool. But the best part? You get to see and pick who does the work! This means you can build a relationship with your offshore workers and embed them as part of your team.
With outsourcing, it can be frustrating because you don’t always know who is doing your work, and there’s a lot of turnovers. Plus, every business has its own way of doing things, so it takes time for people to understand your preferences. But with offshoring, you have your own dedicated person who becomes a part of your team. “It’s like having two offices – one in Sydney or New York, and one in Manila – instead of just some random person on the internet doing work for you.”
So, which jobs are best suited for offshoring?
Functions such as Web Development and IT, HR, Digital Marketing, Creatives, and Payroll or Admin and Finance are perfect for offshoring. However, based on her experience, customer-facing roles such as sales and customer service should be handled in-house to maintain a strong connection with your customers.
But isn’t offshoring taking jobs away from local workers? Not necessarily. In fact, outsourcing and offshoring can create jobs locally by allowing businesses to expand and grow.
What are the challenges with offshoring?
One of the main challenges of offshoring is maintaining a strong connection with your overseas team. To address this issue, it is important to build a relationship with your team members through regular communication. This can include weekly conference calls or brief Skype conversations to foster a sense of camaraderie and make your overseas workers feel like an integral part of the team.
It’s crucial to keep in mind that when you’re dealing with someone in another country or even in a different office, over-communication is essential. Nerissa emphasized that “the key is to remember that you’re working with another human being, not just someone from a different country or culture”. It’s important to build relationships with your team members, regardless of their location. Take the time to build relationships with your offshore team members so you can create a more cohesive team that is more productive and engaged.
Overall, offshoring can be a valuable tool for businesses looking to expand into overseas markets, especially if you have the right partner. By understanding the differences between outsourcing and offshoring, carefully considering which jobs are best suited for each option, and maintaining a close connection with your workers, you can build a successful global team that will help your business thrive just as what Filta has been doing with their clients.
So, if you’re considering offshoring, be sure to tune in to Nerissa’s episode at Business Legal Lifecycle: Offshoring with Nerissa Chaux or you can send her a direct message at nerissa@filtaglobal.com to get expert advice on how to make offshoring work for you.
