When outsourcing work, you would want to have a large source of talent so that you can get the right one for the job. Luckily, the modern outsourcing environment lets you go beyond geographical boundaries and get talent from abroad easily. But overseas outsourcing still has its challenges. Let’s explore how you can overcome these challenges and get great people from any country into your team.
The challenges of overseas outsourcing
Understanding the challenges that you are likely to encounter when outsourcing internationally is the first step to do. These challenges can affect your ability to work with an international team. It can also become costly if you come to this unprepared.
Cultural and social differences
Since your team would be of different nationalities, you can expect them to have different cultural and social backgrounds as well. Thus, what might be a common practice for one member can be unheard of for another one. There is also the issue of cultural activities that can affect work schedules.
As such, you need to do some research and get an initial familiarity with the cultural norms of the people you are hiring. Beyond that, give additional time for you and them to adapt to each other\’s ways. This move can make onboarding a lot slower than usual but is necessary.
Language and communication
Even in this modern-day global work environment, language barriers can be an issue when outsourcing overseas. This is particularly the situation when getting talents from a non-native English speaking country. That can make training harder, as you need to accommodate for the difference in languages.
Even if you are getting an English-speaking talent, you still need to be familiar with their nuances in communication. For instance, North American workers often speak more directly. That directness might not sit in well with other nationalities who are part of your team. Know how these communication nuances work and help your other team members understand them.
Technology issues
While the growth of the Internet has made overseas outsourcing a possibility, you still need to consider technological issues. For one, many countries do not have the same internet speeds. This difference can result in latencies that might slow down your team’s work.
Another consideration here is system compatibility. Depending on the country, your foreign team members might be using different technical standards. You have to make sure that these standards are still compatible with each other. This will ensure that they can access all of your servers, work tools, and other systems. You should also take these differences into account when doing production allocations to maintain effciency.
On-shore stakeholder concerns
Sending some of your work overseas can also raise concerns from local stakeholders. For instance, clients might worry that the offshored work might not be of the same quality as what your local team can provide. This one is a legitimate concern that you need to address to assure clients.
Stakeholders can also raise concerns about security issues. Some countries might have different Internet security laws, which can create openings for potential breaches. There is also the absence of close collaborations, which can make it harder to deal with security concerns.
Overseas outsourcing: Hiring the right way
Now that you understand the challenges, you can better plan out how to go with your overseas outsourcing effort. This starts with doing your hiring process right. Here, you need to have a good understanding of the country that you are hiring from. For that, your goal is to align your work culture with theirs.
Do a quick research of the country to know their practices. You can also consult others who have already hired from your target country. They can give you a more experiential insight into your potential employee’s work culture. However, you do need to temper your expectations based on your initial information. Remember that each worker will still have their preferences that might not be reflective of their culture.
Complying with the local labor laws
One of the trickiest parts of overseas outsourcing is that you have to deal with complex labor laws. Since your new hire would still be residing within their home country, the labor laws there would still apply to them. As such, you should know how these laws work.
Take into account the jurisdiction of the different labor laws when hiring. For instance, some countries might require employers to provide for mandatory pension contributions. Make sure that your home country recognizes the labor doctrines followed in your hires’ country and vice versa.
State these particular provisions clearly in the contracts that you issue to overseas hires. This way, you avoid ambiguities that arise due to the differences in labor law implementation. Additionally, you can work with legal counsels in the said countries to iron out possible conflicts.
Start overseas outsourcing small
With all the concerns that you might have with overseas outsourcing, it is a good idea to start small. Offer minor projects first to test the outsourcing environment of the country you plan to hire in. These initial jobs will help you gauge the viability of long-term work with talents from that country.
Once you are confident with the idea of working with international talents, you can gradually broaden your outsourced projects. However, you still need to be careful with the new hires that you will be getting. Be sure to implement the same rigorous procedures that you did during your initial overseas job offers to get the most suited people.
Managing your offshore team
Once you have assembled your team from overseas outsourcing, you need to get them working together more effectively. Here, you need to address the differences in work cultures early. This is especially the case if your team is composed of different nationalities.
Create an adjustment plan that your team can use during the early stages. This plan will include an introduction period where your team gets to know each other’s culture more. Ensure that your offshore team is well supported during this time so that they can settle in faster.
You also need to make your expectations clear even this early. Explain your company goals to your offshore team and tell them how they fit into that. Once they have a clear picture of their roles, your overseas talents can then better fulfill their work.
Create a communication plan
Good communication plays an even more significant role when working with an overseas team. The differences in cultures, time zones, and distances will have an impact on your team’s ability to work together. As such, you need to create an effective communication strategy that will overcome these.
Start by creating standard communication protocols that all your members will be able to follow. Define all the channels that your team will use and assign a specific role for each. Don’t forget to take into account time zone differences when setting your team meetings and other engagements. That will ensure that everyone will be available at a time convenient to them.
Ensure top performance
Building trust with your overseas team is vital so that you all can work together. For this, learn to respect your workers\’ expertise. After all, the people you put into the team passed your rigorous hiring process. So you should be ready to let them work as they want to. Remember that not everyone is fond of too much micromanagement, especially if the manager is located halfway across the globe.
You also need to ensure that their voices are heard on important project matters. Again, your hires’ expertise can help you a lot here. Your offshore team will also be encouraged to contribute more if they know that you are ready to listen to them.
But do not forget to evaluate the performance of your offshore team routinely. Some essential areas that you should look into are:
- Service improvement
- Quality assurance
- Compliance
- Customer satisfaction
By studying these four, you will have a good idea of how well they are contributing to your business. From there, you can determine which of your overseas outsourcing contracts to extend.
Boost your business with overseas outsourcing.
Overseas outsourcing is a significant business investment that you can make. But done right, it will provide your company with a new source of great talent. Follow our tips and you can be sure to get the right people from across the globe. And check out what we at Virtua Outsourcing Solutions have to offer for your overseas outsourcing needs.