Outsourcing to the Philippines vs the US – What’s the Best Choice?

OUTSOURCING TO THE PHILIPPINES: HOW TO DECIDE IF IT’S RIGHT FOR YOU

Call it sub-contracting, localization, redistribution, or virtual assistance. Whatever word used, it boils down to increasing businesses’ support staff by hiring individuals who can do a job for the company remotely. Does it work? In most cases, the answer is a reverberating, “yes.”

FINDING HELP

Entrepreneurs, “solopreneurs,” executives, and small business owners find themselves needing additional assistance as their companies grow, and tasks begin to get out of hand. They have choices in how they discover that extraordinary talent you may be needing:

• Hire an additional on-site employee, or two (The cost of hiring and training a new employee is an average of $4,000 per employee, not to mention the approximately 42 days it takes to fill the position)
• Partner with another brand by sharing members of your teams between your business and theirs.
• Hire temporary help.

Business owners in today’s world have plenty on their plates. They enjoy doing their jobs and are downright passionate about making what they do the best it can be. What they do not want is to be tied down to tasks that could be accomplished by someone else, such as:

• Inbox clearing
• Scheduling
• Administrative tasks
• Marketing tasks
• Email duties
• Events, and more

Internal talent can become overwhelmed, especially when your business is experiencing a growth cycle. Later you may need additional employees to keep up with the number of customers you have garnered. Still, business process outsourcing (BPO) is a decision that will make a massive difference in your output when considered carefully and allocated wisely.

WHAT IS AN OUTSOURCING COMPANY?

Companies that handle different types of support processes for businesses are called outsourcing companies. Jobs that fit the outsourcing model include:

• Information Technology
• Accounting
• Handling payroll
• Software development
• Real estate support
• Inbox management
• Content marketing
• Expenses and invoices, and more
• Customer service, and more

OUTSOURCING FROM THE PHILIPPINES

India remains one of the top countries on the list when it comes to outsourcing, but the Philippines are growing in their ability to offer BPO. The Filipino outsourcing industry is currently a multi-billion dollar industry and may double during 2020. The reasons that this country is excelling in the virtual assistant category include these offerings:

• English is the official language in the Philippines. It is called a “neutral accent,” so language differences never become a barrier to getting the necessary work accomplished.
• Education in the Philippines is much like the system in the US. The Philippine government even sponsors state-run courses that mesh well with the BPO industry’s relevant skill sets.
• According to the demographics of the Philippines, the average age in the country is 23-years. The work pool is filled with young, lively individuals, chasing an excellent job.
• Since the BPO industry in this country is a robust economic platform, the government has made it clear that facilitating its growth through the creation of infrastructure and policy development is a priority.
• Filipino workers in the BPO sector have improved their quality of life thanks to obtaining this opportunity to work in their own country.
• Your business is giving people who need jobs the ability to be gainfully employed.

ARE THERE DRAWBACKS?

Yes, unfortunately, there are some issues you may want to consider before you decide BOP/Philippines.

• You need to understand that if an outsourced business fails to deliver your job, you may have compromised your company internally and externally. When working with outsourced workers, you lose a bit of control. If they don’t deliver, you can’t deliver.
• Currently, the cost of hiring a virtual assistant in the Philippines is enticing. Still, it is not worth the savings if you do not also gain quality, efficiency, timely delivery, and more.
• Outsourcing your employment to people in the Philippines means the possibility that an American citizen who needs a job did not have a chance at obtaining the job you subcontracted. (Currently in the US, due to the coronavirus economic shutdown, 20.5 million workers from nonfarm payrolls were slashed, and the unemployment rate rose to 14.7 percent.)
• The more individuals who join your business operations, the higher the chance of misuse or exposure of confidential data.
• Making sure that remote employees are aware of the time zone “game” determines your ability to handle the work you have outsourced efficiently.
• A communication gap among the remote team and the in-house team can occur. The use of phones, chat, and texts can enable better discussions.

The quickest way to increase your income as an entrepreneur is to delegate more low-value tasks to others and fill your calendar with as many high-value tasks as possible. Use the income that you generate from high-value tasks to pay for the outsourcing of the low-value tasks.

WHAT TYPES OF BUSINESSES USE OUTSOURCING?

All the following businesses use some type of outsourcing assistance in the Philippines:

• Skype
• Slack
• AT&T
• Google
• Canva, and more

These big companies use BPO that ranges from call centers to higher-level business process outsourcing.

DO BUSINESSES HAVE OPTIONS IN THE OUTSOURCING WORLD?

Can BPO be acquired outside the boundaries of the Philippines? The answer is that many virtual assistance companies are based right here in the US. There numerous reasons why using American outsourcing might be the best choice for your company:

• Zirtual personal assistants can complete a variety of tasks, including finding an apartment to making dinner reservations for their clients.
• Individuals who work for Zirtual are college-educated, undergo rigorous background checks, and skilled in the areas of customer service.
• The Zirtual company offers a significant guarantee that assures confidentiality, privacy, and exceptional and unique concierge-level service.
• Current companies that use the services of Zirtual’s outstanding outsourced personnel are Google, TED, Fidelity Investments, Stanford School of Medicine, and more.
• We vet our outsourced personnel by their attention to detail, their exceptional interpersonal skills, and enthusiasm.
• Zirtual employees enjoy company stock options, a broad range of benefits, and open vacation policies.
• Our business features full-time and part-time positions.
• Most of our positions feature 100 percent telecommuting flexibility.

WHY OUTSOURCING COULD BE AN INTELLIGENT MOVE FOR YOUR BUSINESS

The first step in determining whether outsourcing could be beneficial for your business is to establish the business areas that could potentially be handled by off-site employees. These areas might include;

• Sales and marketing
• Customer support
• Human resources
• Creative services and more

There are also different types of outsourcing available:

• Process-specific outsourcing
• Project outsourcing
• Multi-sourcing
• Manufacturer outsourcing
• IT outsourcing, to name but a few

Businesses that use the outsourcing program have found that:

• It is not unusual to see a savings of up to 70 percent.
• Numerous companies find that they have access to a larger employment pool.
• Businesses have greater access to top talent in the US.
• Outsourcing can reduce training and labor costs necessary for employees.
• It can decrease and control operating costs while also increasing revenues.

IDENTIFYING THE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF YOUR EMPLOYEES

When business owners take time to understand each employee’s work functions, he or she will discover which workers, teams, or platforms require assistance. BPOs are in place to relieve the pressure on employees to complete non-core tasks that s. In turn, your team is bathing in high morale and can focus on the essential workflows to which they are assigned. This change is not to say that minor tasks are not also important for the welfare of your business. It does mean, however, that specialists can be completing these assignments while your home staff is keeping the ball rolling.

YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR BPO COMPANY

Reach out to your BPO concerning your purpose, objectives, and goals. You need to assess if you are communicating clearly with one another. Ensure that your vendor establishes what your needs are and how you want them to proceed. A vendor is more likely to be of assistance if the BPO can adhere to the set of standards your company expects. Be sure that the vendor understands and agrees with your business’ vision, mission, and core values.

Your business can hire one vendor to “take up the slack” in your company, but owners also have another option. Hiring multiple vendors to handle different functions would ensure that your BPO’s versatility to complete the tasks you have assigned them. Contracting more than one vendor may increase your costs, however.

Take time to read reviews about the vendor you are interviewing. Discover what jobs they assigned in the past and ask business owners if they are satisfied with their completed work, their creativity, and their ease at collaborating.

Meet with each vendor in person. Face-to-face interviews allow you to get to know the vendors as people and not merely an entity.

ZIRTUAL

Soma Water CEO & Co-Founder, Mike del Ponte, says the Virtual Assistant he found through Zirtual is now an integral part of his team. Even now, says Ponte, his VA is an essential piece to his company’s puzzle.

Rebekah Iliff had this to say about her VA:

Zirtual changed my life in one week flat! My VA, Kyle, is a total rock star, and I am grateful to them for coming up with such a needed business for busy “poverty elite” entrepreneurs like myself!

Zirtual partners with these businesses:

• Bench, an app that allows for secure sending of documents and reports
• Lyft, the ride service, offers a $50 credit toward a client’s first ten rides.
• Ruby Receptionist sets your business apart from others by making excellent impressions and an affordable price.
• Replyify connects to your inbox and sends personalized cold emails and follow-ups to sales prospects.

And there are more. Call us today for more information, more opportunities, and amplified success.