We’ve been on an interesting journey for the past 18 months. One that I’d like to share and hopefully it might assist someone down the track.
In June 2022 we had a team member put in their notice. They had been with us for less than 12 months, but were responsible for an important role within the business.
We placed an ad and spoke to a few applicants but didn’t find the right person. Unemployment at record lows and even though this was prior to inflation and interest rate rises starting to kick in, the market was running hot.
We’d off-shored before. We had a lady working from her home and for 18 months she was fantastic. Then her performance nose-dived. To this day, no one would be able to convince me that she didn’t take on another role or more likely she’d subbied out her existing role with us.
We decided to do some more research on offshoring to try and see what we might be able to do better if we went down this road again.
For us, working from home was going to be a deal breaker.
Along with our previous experience, we also had concerns regarding internet connection and speed, power and privacy.
We started researching shared offices, or seating options as they are commonly referred to.
We spoke to a number of different companies and settled on BPOseats. We also choose Cebu over Manila – mainly due to cost of living.
In my opinion, the number one reason that people go wrong with outsourcing or offshoring is that they are prepared for the time it takes.
Six weeks in, I was convinced we’d made a monumental blunder. At the three-month mark, I was on the fence about whether to pull the plug. But by six months, it was clear that our decision had been a stroke of genius.
To be fair, if we asked an Australian to come in and do the same job, without any experience in the role, then I’d say the timeline would be similar. It’s just that the uncertainty and the pressure is amplified when you’re dealing with the unknown, offshore.
We’ve learnt so much over the past 18 months, and look forward to challenges and learnings that will present themselves in the future. Hopefully I can have the discipline to document these regularly and share our experiences with other business owners in Australia.