Leveraging the exceptional talent available in the Philippines, we have learned valuable lessons in developing a successful small business through offshoring. To maximize the benefits of your offshore strategy, follow these six essential steps:
- Develop a Clear Plan
A well-defined, long-term plan is crucial for offshoring success. Determine your goals and desired improvements, and identify how you will impart knowledge, skills, and experience to the offshore talent you engage. Avoid ad hoc, unstructured offshoring, as it is unlikely to yield the desired results.
- Invest Time in Training
Engaging offshore talent presents unique challenges compared to hiring locally. Expect offshore team members to take longer to understand your business and its processes. Be prepared to explain concepts in greater detail and train them in areas where local hires may already be knowledgeable. Your time and effort in training will pay off in the long run.
- Manage Your Expectations
While investing in offshore talent can yield significant long-term dividends, it's important to manage your expectations during the upskilling process. Remember that the value proposition of offshoring is more exponential than linear, and patience is key. Give your team ample time to learn, and you'll unlock value not possible in a local context.
- Integrate Your Offshore Workforce
To maximize value, integrate your offshore team into your regular business operations and onshore activities. Include them in meetings, internal communications, and online social interactions. Filipinos thrive in a team-oriented environment and value collective achievement over individual success.
- Support Your Onshore Team
Offshoring should be viewed as a growth strategy, not a cost-cutting measure. To gain buy-in from your onshore team, highlight the benefits that offshoring can bring to their daily work lives. Use offshore resources to alleviate repetitive, mundane tasks, freeing up onshore team members to focus on higher-value work. This approach will demonstrate the value of offshore support.
- Emphasize Process Optimization
When offshoring, focus on processes, not roles or individuals. Identify processes that are best suited for offshore execution and document them. Establish consistent methods for initiating, managing, and approving these processes. Standardize how tasks are assigned and the information provided to your offshore team. Streamlining and documenting your processes will ensure more effective offshoring outcomes.
By following these six essential steps, you can optimize your offshoring strategy and fully harness the potential of offshore talent in the Philippines.