Finding the right offshore service provider for your business

The trend of offshoring business services has been around for a while now. Many companies have been known to opt for this model for its cost-effectiveness and quality results. It has led to a rise in the number of service providers in the popular offshore locations to cater to the rising demand in offshoring. Finding the right offshore service provider for your business becomes that much trickier in such a competitive market. Yet, your outsourcing experience, to a large extent, may depend on the service provider you choose to partner up with. So it is incredibly important to make the right decision.

Once your company has made the call for offshoring and narrowed down the areas and roles that need to be outsourced, you should consider a few things before selecting your service provider. They’ll be responsible for the management of your business operations offshore, so you might want to take your time and evaluate your options thoroughly. Here we share a few points you should keep in mind to find the right offshore service provider for your business.

Meeting your expectations

Once you have a clear picture in mind about your outsourcing needs, find a vendor that meets those needs. Depending on your business industry, ensure that your provider has expertise in that field or in the departments you are looking to outsource (in case those are back-office jobs). You’ll find different service providers in the market, some dealing with a specialty, and some providing a range of services. Evaluate your needs and approach a vendor that suits you best. It then helps to put forth your expectations before them in advance. Let them know about your demands and requirements, the skills you are looking for, the kind of assistance you need. The offshoring vendor you choose should be able to understand your business and requirements and meet your expectations efficiently.

Infrastructure and technology

As your offshore team will be working from your vendors’ offices, it is essential to take a look at the kind of infrastructure they offer. Your service providers should have state-of-the-art facilities, hopefully, located at a prime location in the country. The offices should be well equipped with the necessary supplies, and that includes high class IT infrastructure. As you’ll be hiring remote employees, they will be working and collaborating with you online. Having high-speed internet and excellent software and hardware is crucial. Furthermore, also ensure they have the latest technology for the services that are being outsourced by you. You are offshoring to increase your productivity, and technology plays a big role in it.

Location

We briefly mentioned it earlier, but the location is critical to the success of your outsourced services. It includes both the country and the city. While the country you select should be able to offer you services at a reduced price, it should also be able to provide you with quality talent. Countries like India have some of the brightest minds in all fields and industries, and the support of their government in advancing education and enhancing industrial growth makes it an ideal offshoring location. Additionally, having offshore offices in a prime place in the country helps you to hire the best talent for your jobs and gain easy access to facilities like adequate transport and electricity. So, please do your homework when picking a vendor with respect to their geographical location.

Reliability

You should be able to trust and rely on your service provider, plain and simple. The only way to know if your vendor is capable of handling your business is to see their records. Examine your vendor’s experience and credibility through client testimonials and references. Review their documents and records to check their quality of services. Get an idea about how they operate and what are the procedures in place to deal with various issues that may come up. It’s also necessary that you know how transparent they are in regards to the services provided and that you can communicate with them when required. One of the reasons companies are offshoring services is to be able to focus on their businesses. But if you are always worried about the work being done or the quality of services being provided, it’s counterproductive. So, select a vendor who has got your back.

Data security

Outsourcing means sharing sensitive information about your company or products with your offshoring vendor. Your vendor should have all the necessary security measures to protect your data from all kinds of threats, online or physical. Data leaks could be catastrophic for your company, so select a vendor with stringent security policies. Their systems should be secure, information protected through encryption, data backed up regularly, and employees bound by NDAs.

These are some of the parameters that can be used to judge your vendors and then decide. One last thing, if you want quality results, you should be willing to spend decent money. Lower offers from providers come with their own risks. But it’s not advised to compromise quality to save a few bucks. It would only end up costing you more in the long run. Hopefully, these points will help you in finding the right offshore service provider for your business.