Offshoring your non-core business functions does relieve some of the burdens and gives you the liberty to focus on your core projects. Whatever scale your business may be, offshoring is ideal assistance to the ever-demanding world of business. The growth and success of your company rely on how you are capable to compete and thrive in the current economy. Offshoring will reduce your cost as much as 70% which is also a cost-effective solution in growing your team through offshoring compared to growing your team in-house.
Flourishing together with the offshoring outsourcing industry is also the influx of freelancing virtual assistants. Now, you as a business owner, thinking of outsourcing some of your projects have to determine which offshoring direction you may need to take. Is hiring freelancers the right call or relying on an outsourcing provider will benefit you more?
To aid you in determining which approach you should undertake, you need to assess the needs of your business and how it will help you in addressing those concerns. You should have a clear definition of factors that need consideration, such as:
Costs
Trustworthiness/Data Security
Commitment
Amount of supervision
Clear communication
Quality of execution and delivery
These factors should be able to guide you in choosing the right kind of outsourcing for your business.
Here are the Pros and Cons of both approaches to help you decide which one will ultimately let you utilize the benefits of the offshoring outsourcing industry.
Pros of hiring freelancers :
- They are highly skilled in their trade. Freelancers usually specialize in one field and they are great at what they do.
- Most freelancers charge by the hour. Thus, it will cost you less than hiring a full-time person with no guarantee of actually working the hours.
- They can work flexible hours. They are capable of meeting deadlines as they are also great at managing their time to accommodate their clients.
- You don’t have to worry about unclear communications as you will be talking directly to them and clear up misunderstandings immediately.
Cons
- You are not their only client. Flexible working hours also means they can take more than one client at a certain period. And with that in mind, they can not fully commit to delivering certain tasks on time.
- They can fall out of the radar. Some freelancers quit without telling you. This sometimes happens when they have become unsatisfied with your prior arrangement and have found a more satisfactory one with another client. Or your project is not their priority anymore.
- Some percentage of freelancers lie in their capacities. Sometimes, they will assure you that they will deliver quality service and then fall short. This will result in time wasted and unexpected setbacks in your projects.
On the other hand, here are the pros and cons of seeking a partnership with an offshoring outsourcing provider.
Pros
- Cost-effective and time-saving. Offshoring and outsourcing let you save almost 70% on costs and most providers offer no markups and transparency. And your offshore staff will be built based on your business need without you worrying if they are the right fit for you with the help of full recruitment efforts.
- Access to a larger pool of talent. Building an in-house team will take time, with an offshoring provider, these talents are readily available for you.
- Accountability. In order for a partnership to work, the client and offshoring provider holds equal accountability on making the project successful.
- Exclusivity. While freelancers take on more than one client, an offshoring provider will make sure that your project will be their priority as they assemble an offshore team to specifically focus on helping you in your business needs.
- You don’t have to worry about your offshore team abandoning the project in the middle. While the offshore team is directly managed by you as the client, the offshoring agency will have its own HR department to instil company rules to the staff such as absences and unplanned leave.
Cons
- Downsize. Some companies that have decided to offshore sometimes encounter unexpected business loss hence needing to let go hired offshore staff.
- Hidden Charges. Now, we have already established that while most offshoring companies offer no markup fees and no hidden charges, like Virtual Colony, there are still some offshoring providers that promise the same thing and yet you end up with higher invoices.
In the end, it all comes down on how you filter and choose the right outsourcing path for you. Ultimately, freelancers are great when you want to hire someone for small projects while an offshoring outsourcing provider is the best option when you want a more comprehensive set of business help. You only have to get all the information you need and weigh the pros and cons of the industry before jumping on the bandwagon. Choosing the right offshoring company all comes down on how credible they are.
Virtual Colony is a regional offshoring company that specializes in insurance offshoring while also providing other offshoring services such as IT services, back-office support, marketing and sales and finance and accounting. The company offers complete transparency and no markup fees. You can be sure that the offshoring staff from the Virtual Colony is composed of talented and skilled individuals that can and will deliver quality services.
