Insights

Options For Designing A Highly Effective
Offshore Staffing Platform For Your Company

Outsourcing and offshoring are time-honored practices that an increasing number of companies of all sizes are pursuing. But few companies know how to do it well.  The fact is that establishing a foothold in countries like India, China, Eastern Europe, South Africa, or the Philippines takes time and effort, and even large companies find the undertaking challenging.  However, challenges with finding affordable quality talent in the US is prompting many companies to go beyond their traditional hiring practices and exploring the global talent pool.

But developing a successful strategy is very complex and starts with determining which strategic approach is best for your company.
Below are several strategic options:

• Contract with a third-party vendor to hire, train, and manage staff, and establish a service level agreement (SLA). The SLA will determine the work the third-party employees will perform using the firm’s technology. This is the traditional outsourcing approach suitable for any size company.
• Tap a pool of offshore talent established by a third-party vendor as needed or contract project by project. This typically works for small companies and is used to relieve seasonal staffing bottlenecks.
• Become an employer of record offshore. This requires companies to establish an office overseas and hire, onboard, and train employees who will provide services using the company’s technology. This requires an investment of time, money, and travel similar to establishing an overseas subsidiary and tends to suit midsize and large companies.
• Build and operate an overseas office to offshore services and transfer resources in that office to other companies on a subcontract basis. Large and experienced companies tend to use this approach.
• Subcontract resources in an overseas office that another company built and operates. This can suit small companies just beginning to offshore.

The strategy selected will determine a company’s next steps. This article covers the practical “hows” and “whys” of moving to offshoring as a hiring strategy for companies.

PLANNING AND PREPARING STRATEGICALLY

A lot goes into deciding to hire off-shore talent, but once the decision is made, research and planning are paramount.

A key step in that planning process includes conducting a technology infrastructure assessment to make sure your infrastructure can support offshore teams.

How: Evaluate your current technology infrastructure and determine any necessary upgrades or additions needed to support remote collaboration.

Why: If the offshore team doesn’t have what they need to collaborate seamlessly, it can lead to frustration on both sides and, eventually, turnover. Being proactive and taking care of any issues in advance of hiring and onboarding will set you up for success.

As you research potential offshore locations to hire talent, consider workforce availability, living costs, political stability, language barriers, culture, time zone compatibility, and legal and compliance implications. With this information in mind, you can make quality decisions and build your recruitment plan accordingly.

Gain a deep understanding of each country’s work culture and communication styles and incorporate them into your plan.

Selecting locations where the work culture aligns well with your organization’s culture and values is crucial for long-term success. If your organization prefers employees to work autonomously with the freedom to make decisions, but the offshoring team wants and needs a playbook for every situation and decision, then it may not be the right fit. Misalignment in work expectations can lead to significant challenges.

Just as the basis for any job should start with a clear understanding of the roles, objective and what it will entail, the same goes for creating offshoring job descriptions. Don’t just repurpose the existing templates you use in hiring onshore workers. Make sure to include specific technical skill requirements, software proficiencies, language requirements, and industry knowledge essential for the role. In building your offshore team, be transparent about what the onshore and offshore teams will do, how they will collaborate, and when and where there is overlap.

How:  Write a clear and concise job description listing the required skills and tasks. Design and communicate the interview and evaluation process that assesses accounting, technical, and soft skills, plus cultural fit. Include the onshore team in the process so they can provide input on the roles and structure of the offshore team.

Why: Being intentional with the tasks and responsibilities of both the onshore and offshore teams and precise in job descriptions provides transparency, attracts qualified candidates, and streamlines the screening process, saving time and resources.

HIRING AND ONBOARDING OFFSHORE TALENT

Once you’ve completed your research and planning, written job descriptions, and established a recruiting plan, the next step is to recruit, conduct interviews, and start hiring. It’s essential to approach this process methodically, considering the order in which different roles will be filled.

How:  Develop a tiered hiring plan, starting with leadership positions, and clearly outline the reporting structure.

Why:  A structured approach prevents the chaos of trying to fill all positions simultaneously. Hiring from the top down ensures proper leadership is in place to guide subsequent hires. Local leaders can provide valuable insights into the regional talent pools and work practices and can serve as cultural bridges, facilitating a smoother integration process.

Upon successfully recruiting your offshore team, you need to implement a tailored onboarding and training program that addresses the unique challenges of integrating remote, international team members.

How:  Start by developing comprehensive, culturally sensitive onboarding materials. Then, document clear standard operating procedures with an emphasis on technology and data security. Lastly, remember to provide any language support needed and soft skill training to ensure effective communication.

Why:  Standard onboarding approaches designed for onshore hires often rely on implicit cultural and operational assumptions that may not apply in an offshore context. By developing tailored materials and processes, you can preemptively address these potential areas of confusion or misalignment.

After hiring and initial onboarding, the critical next phase is integrating offshore and onshore teams. Err on the side of over-communicating so that everyone understands work expectations, company policies, team protocols, career path, salary, rewards, and incentives for each role.

How:

• Comprehensive documentation: Adequately train the team on robust, easily accessible documentation covering all aspects of operations and expectations. Ensure materials are easily understood by team members from diverse cultural backgrounds. Put controls in place as new team members start to follow the processes.
• Mentorship program: Consider implementing a “buddy system” where you pair new offshore hires with experienced onshore team members. This can help facilitate knowledge transfer, cultural integration, and personalized support.
• Meet and greets: Host virtual regular meet and gre ets to foster connections across locations. Use diverse engagement formats such as breakfasts, games, and evening snacks to accommodate different time zones and work schedules.
• Consistent check-ins: Establish a structured system of regular check-ins at both team and individual levels. Use these touch points to address concerns, answer questions, and ensure ongoing alignment.

Why: This comprehensive integration approach mitigates the risk of information gaps that could lead to misunderstandings and inefficiencies. It also actively combats feelings of isolation among offshore team members. This approach recognizes that successful offshoring extends beyond task allocation, encompassing the full integration of offshore team members into the company’s operational and cultural fabric.

MANAGING THE OFFSHORE TEAM

While hiring and onboarding are crucial steps, the ongoing management of your offshore and onshore teams is vital for long-term success.

Effective management creates an environment where your offshore team feels valued, integrated, and motivated to contribute their best work.

They include:

• Optimize workflow across time zones.
  • Strategically assign tasks to leverage the global clock, enabling 24-hour productivity.
  • Implement handover processes to ensure smooth transitions between shifts.
  • Set expectations and leverage project management tools.
• Promote cross-team collaboration.
  • Make sure there are hours where the onshore and offshore teams overlap and encourage regular communication, both verbal and written, at all levels.
  • Organize cross-functional projects that integrate team members from different locations.
  • Facilitate knowledge sharing by implementing a rotational program or temporary assignments for team members.
• Cultivate a unified company culture.
  • Share and demonstrate company values while respecting local cultural norms.
  • Engage offshore team members in discussions about how company values align with their cultural context.
  • Create opportunities for cultural exchange and learning between onshore and offshore teams.
  • Be open to innovative ideas from all team members.

• Invest in professional development.
  • Provide clear learning and career paths for all team members.
  • Offer upskilling opportunities tailored to individual and team needs.
  • Develop consistent performance evaluation criteria for both onshore and offshore teams. Schedule check-ins and regular performance reviews so two-way feedback is captured and issues are acted upon in a timely manner.
• Leverage technology and prioritize data security.
  • Regularly review and update your tech stack to support evolving team needs.
  • Implement stringent security protocols across all locations.
  • Provide regular training on data security and cybersecurity best practices.

BUILDING SCALABILITY AND RESILIENCE

When implemented strategically, offshoring presents a unique opportunity to access a broader and global candidate pool with the ability to build high-performing teams for the future. Diverse, global teams can enable companies to not only overcome a current talent shortage but also create a more dynamic, innovative, and resilient organization for the future.

The path to successful offshoring may present challenges. However, with careful planning, cultural sensitivity, and a commitment to continuous improvement, it can offer persistent benefits and rewards to firms and businesses.

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The information presented here should not be construed as legal, tax, accounting, or valuation advice. No one should act on such information without appropriate professional advice and after a thorough examination of the particular situation.