The article discusses what Offshore Staff Augmentation is and what benefits does it offer relative to a traditional outsourcing model.
Offshore Staff Augmentation: What is it and what benefits does it offer relative to a traditional outsourcing model?
Offshore staff augmentation is when you hire a team, or person, in a different country to augment your local team. In this approach companies will hire dedicated employees based on their exact needs to plug into current operations, just as if they would hire someone locally. This differs dramatically from a traditional outsourcing model because in traditional outsourcing, you are outsourcing a service, such as bookkeeping, call center, or data entry, to a third-party provider offshore. In the staff augmentation model, you, or a vendor that you work through, are responsible for the recruiting, onboarding, training, and management for the employee, just as you would be for a local employee.
Why Offshore Staff Augmentation works so well
Offshore staff augmentation is a fantastic approach for businesses looking to take advantage of the global talent pool without having to deal with the frustrations of a traditional outsourcing model. The largest companies in the world, JP Morgan, Citi Group, Accenture, United Healthcare, etc., use offshore staff augmentation at scale in the form of their own offshore subsidiary. The reason is that they have ultimate control and visibility over who they hire, the work being done, and the production of the offshore team. Now, for most businesses offshore subsidiaries just don’t make sense. At a scale of less than 250 people, it is hard to justify setting up a subsidiary, leasing office space, hiring a support team, etc.
That’s where companies like Connext come in. Connext helps companies build custom offshore teams at a scale that makes sense for them. We take care of the recruiting, IT, facilities, HR support, and provide additional training and management support. Even though you are working through a vendor like Connext, there is always work to be done on your side in an offshore staff augmentation model. Since the employees are working directly for you, as if a local team member, you must be involved in the training and day to day management of the employee. This allows the employee, or team, to understand your processes, culture, and expectations, and ultimately leads to a better outcome.
Offshore staff augmentation also allows you to customize your team how you would like. Rather than working through three different outsourcing vendors to outsource accounting, call center, and IT, for example, you could hire a team of offshore accountants, customer service representatives, and developers to support your organization directly.
Offshore staff augmentation gives companies the most visibility, control, customization, and flexibility of any offshore staffing model, and is ideal for any company looking to build a long-term growth engine offshore.
Who should use a offshore staff augmentation approach
If you want to expand your talent pool, fill openings quicker, and reduce cost structure while maintaining maximum control and visibility over your team, you should use an offshore staff augmentation approach. We help clients build teams ranging from 1-2 employees all the way to 50 or more. For the millions of companies out there who can’t set up their own offshore subsidiary, working with a vendor like Connext allows you to create the value of your own offshore subsidiary at any scale.
How to get started
First, you need to define what type of employee, or team, you are trying to build. You can either do this on your own or work through a company like Connext to help out. Then you go into recruiting, hiring, onboarding, training, and day to day management of your offshore team. For more information about how Connext helps companies get started with an offshore staff augmentation model, check out our onboarding guide here.
