You have considered the benefits of outsourcing and made the decision to outsource part of your business functions. However, you have heard some horror stories about outsourcing companies and you don’t want to have a similar experience. How can you ensure success in this new journey?
The perfect outsourcing partnership starts with setting clear expectations for both parties. Learning which services fit your business model and understanding the value you’re getting for your investment will impact your company’s growth and work culture and the well-being of your new team members.
Let’s take a look at the different services, pricing models, and the importance of company culture in the outsourcing industry.
There are numerous services your outsourcing partner may offer depending on their capabilities. It’s important to be open at the start and to share all relevant challenges with your provider. This will enable them to offer a tailored solution that fits your unique needs. It is important to understand where your service provider’s responsibility and scope of operation begins and ends so that you not only know what to expect from them but also maintain a well-balanced workflow.
To better understand the operational terms that relate to the running of your external teams, here are some common models preferred by our clients:
EOR: An Employer of Record (EOR) is a third-party entity that legally employs your workforce and takes care of all employer-related duties like sourcing, onboarding, and managing payroll, while your in-house teams can focus on running your business’s day-to-day operations.
Staff augmentation: This outsourcing model is used where a company hires an external team for a specific timeframe to augment the functions and capabilities of the organization. The main goal of staff augmentation is to address short-term staffing needs and project-specific requirements, such as adjusting to rapid expansion and growth or seasonal ramps like Black Friday / Cyber Monday. Check out our pre-season advice and obstacles to avoid when preparing for the BF/CM rush.
Managed team model: This model is commonly used in the IT industry and entails an external service provider or third party that takes on the responsibility to hire and manage a dedicated team that aligns with the project requirements, as well as the company’s values.
Project-based model: This outsourcing approach, as the name suggests, is tailored for clients with specific project requirements. In this model, a partner oversees the project’s end-to-end development, while an internal project manager oversees progress and updates.
Ambiguous pricing and hidden or flexible costs that seem to increase with every passing month can ruin the outsourcing experience for a growing business. This is quite concerning as it negates one of the biggest advantages of outsourcing, which is to reduce the overall costs to the company.
The cost of outsourcing depends on the type of service required, the nature of the partnership, the complexity of the project, and the talents or skills you are looking for in your new team members. There is, however, one essential factor that will guarantee that your price expectations are met – and that is having a transparent pricing model.
Effective pricing is key to any business engagement to ensure long-term success for both parties. Maintaining open communication regarding hiring costs, additional fees, and the quality of the experience your new team members will receive, is essential for building trust in the business relationship. It is important to prioritize your team’s best interests rather than solely opting for the lowest prices in the market, as this approach will increase your team’s well-being and ensure better retention.
While studies suggest that 23% of small businesses consider high costs as the biggest challenge in working with an outsourced team, many recognize the benefits, such as scalability and access to specialized expertise. Transparent pricing could be the penultimate determining factor in your decision-making process.
At Boldr, we are committed to transparency in all our interactions. After identifying the solution that best fits our client’s challenges, we offer a detailed view of our pricing model and describe how our prices correspond with the value they receive when hiring our services. Our cost structure is tailored to each client’s specific requirements and team size. In addition, ensuring a positive experience for our team members is equally important. We prioritize their well-being and professional growth, recognizing that their satisfaction and success contribute to the quality of service we deliver to our clients.
Cybercrime and online security have become the primary concerns in the digital age, and subsequently, it is also a very real concern for companies looking to outsource critical processes where sensitive information forms part of the service level agreement or scope of practice. This is especially relevant for e-commerce businesses entrusted with the sensitive financial information of thousands of clients or B2B service providers using unique software or intellectual property.
Since a data breach can cost a company millions of dollars to rectify, this is a justifiable concern. While some companies never fully recover from a data breach, others require guarantees that protection of privacy rules and regulations are adhered to and that other safety measures are in place.
Over the years, Boldr has implemented numerous layers to its security infrastructure, including SOC 2 and PCI compliance. While compliance and data protection are constantly evolving, we are adamant about offering our clients the peace of mind that their information is always safe.
To build lasting relationships with your outsourcing partner, it is crucial that your company culture aligns with the values and goals of your service provider and vice versa. This alignment guarantees that you both share a commitment to quality, integrity, and ethical conduct.
Having a well-defined company culture often includes sharing a vision and objective that go beyond profit margins. This means sharing commitment to social responsibility, sustainability, community engagement, the growth and development of team members, or other values-driven goals. When your outsourcing provider understands and supports these broader objectives, they are more likely to contribute meaningfully to achieve them.
Modern organizations have become conscious of creating a positive social impact while reducing their operating costs. Impact sourcing is highly relevant to setting clear expectations with your outsourcing partner because it aligns social and environmental goals with the terms of the outsourcing arrangement.
By integrating impact sourcing into the expectations, you instantly establish a shared commitment to not only deliver quality services but also make a positive difference in society by ethically sourcing talent in a way that will benefit the community where they live.
Boldr has embraced the ideals of transparency, accountability, and a deepened relationship with our clients. If you are curious to know more about outsourcing or you are looking for an outsourcing partner that aligns with your company’s values, learn more about us here.
Aitana Rangel Garibay is Boldr’s creative writer and she is passionate about writing purpose-driven stories.