call center employee

Common Misconceptions About Outsourcing That Need Debunking

It’s 2018, the outsourcing industry is booming, and yet there are still persistent misconceptions that make a lot of business owners hesitant to try it out. Though it’s true that offshoring comes with a few risks, finding the right BPO (business process outsourcing) company to partner with makes it worth your investment. We’ve compiled the most popular myths about outsourcing and dishing out the truth behind it.

Outsourcing is expensive and unnecessary

Hiring an offshore staff isn’t mandatory if you can manage to get by with your current in-house teams. However, if you want to efficiently grow your business, outsourcing is a great option because it allows you to hire more people without straining your budget. Offshoring promises savings and depending on the BPO company you sign up with, there may be other charges that are added on top of the “cheap” labour fees. The misconception that states outsourcing being expensive and falsely advertised as a method to save on wages comes from reported isolated cases of BPO companies that take advantage of their clients. It’s best to check honest client reviews first before partnering up with an outsourcing firm.

Another reason for this myth is because most offshore staffing services need operational fees to fully set up your team. These additional fees are either fixed or incident-based, and still is cheaper than you purchasing new equipment or tech that is not readily available for your in-house team. At best, outsourcing is a great investment as long as the company you are partnering with provides you with good service and no hidden charges.

accountant doing work

Since labour is cheap, you only get what you pay for

You’ve probably read outsourcing horror stories online that goes like this: Client is in need of a service, compares rates between a professional freelancer and an outsourcing company. The client then chooses an outsourcing company because it’s cheaper, but then gives him an under-qualified staff that took twice as long and ended up being twice as expensive as the professional’s rates. There are two main reasons why such things happen: first is that not all BPOs offer interactive hiring processes, especially contact centres. This results in a mismatch of staffing and the service required. Second is that some clients jump on to business process outsourcing without doing preliminary research first, signing up for the cheapest service and forget to read the fine print. When deliberating offshoring partners, make sure to opt for organizations that offer collaborative planning and transitioning processes. That way, you get to be part of selecting the staff who will render you the service.

 

You don’t have any control over your team

While this misconception isn’t entirely wrong, it is only true to some extent. Again, this depends on the terms your outsourcing partner offers you. Contact centres often manage employees on their own, leaving the client alienated from their offshore team. Other outsourcing companies, including DBOS, work differently: we are always encouraging constant connection between clients and their offshore team through regular communication via chat or video calls on Skype. When looking for partners, make sure that the outsourcing company will let you manage your team and will include you in vital decision-making processes regarding your offshore staff.

 

Only big companies can afford to outsource

Here at DBOS, this is the perception we are striving to change. People think only corporate giants can outsource. Hiring an offshore staff can now be an option for small to medium enterprises. The goal of offshoring is to help entrepreneurs save on different aspects of their business processes, and should be made available to all companies of any scale. Outsourcing is now affordable and efficient, putting to rest this common misconception.

frustrated businesswoman

Cultural differences will hinder operations

Barriers in communication are bound to exist when you work with people who are from another country and of a different culture. However, this doesn’t mean that these differences cannot be resolved. One way to close this gap is to find outsourcing companies in countries which have similar work ethics and practices as yours, or offshoring to countries that speak the same language. This problem can also be easily solved by hiring an advisor to help guide you in communicating with your offshore team.

These are only a few of the common misconceptions people think of whenever outsourcing is mentioned. Did this article change your mind about hiring an offshore staff? If you’re interested in looking for an outsourcing partner, check out our services or download our free guides to help you get started on your offshore journey!