Is Offshore Outsourcing Right For You?
Outsourcing is not something new. As many as forty years ago companies were sending their back office functions to others to do. Many companies do payroll outsourcing and most smaller companies and individuals outsource their income tax preparation each year. What is new is the use of Offshore Business Outsourcing for areas relating to customer service and relations.
By the 1980s the hi-tech industries saw the benefit of Offshore Business Outsourcing. Environmental issues at home and rising payroll expenses caused a mass exodus for the manufactures of integrated circuit chips and associated equipment. Hi-tech companies soon realized that they could free up the capital they had invested in onshore production facilities and devote those resources to research, development and sales. Software development soon followed. Software developers in the Ukraine or India could do the same job as a developer in Detroit or Chicago and for a lot less money. Companies were only having to pay for a product and not salaries, benefits, and medical insurance.
Some businesses lend themselves to Offshore Business Outsourcing more than others. Likewise there are some functions of a business that are more readily adaptable to offshore Business Outsourcing. Some initial considerations before making your outsourcing decisions are as follows. What are you going to outsource? Will there be a long term or short term cost savings after all associated cost are considered? How will quality control be maintained? How much control will you have over the process as well at the product? How will you establish and maintain two way communication for the project? And, do they have on board all the necessary skills and resources to complete your production on time?
The recent outflow of customer service functions to Offshore Business Outsourcing has not been without problems to the companies that have done it. Firms saw the opportunity to move their helpdesk function offshore but did not look closely enough at the unintended consequences. Many countries speak english but few speak American English to the point where they can easily converse comfortably with the American buyer. While their helpdesk personnel could follow a check list and trouble shoot simple problems they often caused frustration to the caller. The helpdesk function of customer care and sales has failed to be duplicated offshore. These are skills that have to be learned and do not come across when the operator is reading from a check list. When making the decision on whether to do Offshore Business Outsourcing look at all the possible consequences before you make your decision. It moving the function runs the risk of losing money or loyal customers it should not be undertaken. If it will reduce the chances of your increasing your customer base it should be looked at carefully.
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