When an organization shifts all or part of its business operations overseas, in search of better growth prospects and productivity, it is called offshoring. For example, large American firms like Dell Inc., Oracle, Qualcomm, Google Inc., Jonson & Johnson, and Microsoft Corporation, among others have their business operations running in various parts of the world.
But what is it that makes offshore staffing services an attractive staffing solution for such established names? Let’s find out!
- Massive cost savings in terms of labor and taxes.
One of the primary motives behind employing offshore talent is to reduce the cost of production and operations. For example, India, Malaysia, and China are well-known for the availability of inexpensive skilled labor. This presents a huge cost-saving opportunity for firms as they can get the same amount of work done by employees in these countries at about one-third to one-fifth of the cost in the US.
Another major cost-benefit arises in terms of taxes and government policies. Some governments offer massive financial incentives and tax exemptions which allow companies to cut back on a massive chunk of taxes that they would’ve lost to the government in the US.
For example, the Philippines is one of the emerging capitals of offshore staffing services as its government offers extraordinary exemptions on tax to encourage foreign investments.
- Helps make up for the shortage of talent in the homeland
The US Chamber of Commerce claims that there are about 11.3 million job vacancies in America, but only 6 million unemployed people are available to take up those – a gap of about 5.3 million! This shows that offshoring is not just an advantage, but also a necessity to fill the talent gap in some places.
- Maintain business continuity
Given the highly competitive nature of the industry today, businesses need to always keep on their toes and stay awake 24×7. Naturally, it isn’t possible for employees in one region to work round the clock. This is where offshoring offers a major advantage.
By having a workforce distributed across the globe, you can leverage the time zone difference to ensure the continuity of your workflow. When employees in one part of the world sleep, the rest of them will be up and working, thus ensuring maximum productivity for your firm.
- Flexible with the changing needs
Some parts of the year may be more hectic than the others. As a result, you may need to hire an additional workforce during periods of high workload and may require downsizing your team when there’s not much work. However, this repetitive cycle of hiring and firing is extremely uneconomical and inconvenient. Therefore, you need a staffing solution that is flexible enough to adapt to the changing needs of your business.
Offshore staffing services can easily adjust to the changing demands of your organization and are hence gaining consensus in an increasingly uncertain business ecosystem.
- Opportunities to scale up
Being present in multiple locations, allows your brand to be exposed to a wide base of customers across the globe. When people from diverse areas relate to your product or service, you get an opportunity to build your brand on a global level, opening extensive opportunities to scale up.
- Access to a wider base of resources
No country is self-sufficient when it comes to resources, be it human resources, raw materials, technology, or others. When you offshore your business operations to a particular region, you also gain access to resources exclusive to that location. This improves the quality of your product or service immensely and gives you an edge over your competitors.
Takeaway
Juggling multiple tasks at once can sometimes get too hectic for your in-house team. By outsourcing some of the labor-intensive and non-core functions to offshore staffing services, you can increase the efficiency of your in-house team and engage them in more strategic tasks. However, despite all the benefits, the process of offshoring is a complex one. Make sure you analyze all its risks and in context to your business needs before employing offshore staffing companies.
