Building an Operating System for the Outsourcing Industry – with Andy Schachtel of Sourcefit

In this week’s episode of the Outsource Accelerator Podcast, Derek welcomed back Andy Schachtel, President and CEO of Sourcefit. 

Sourcefit is among the leading offshoring providers in the market. With operations across multiple countries and a focus on innovation, Sourcefit offers a unique perspective on industry trends and challenges.

Andy shared a few eye-openers about the current state and future of outsourcing. He also discussed how Sourcefit’s operating system sets the company apart from other third-party solutions providers. 

About Sourcefit 

Sourcefit was founded by Andy Schachtel in 2009. “We began as a software development house. 

In the process of building large-scale applications for a number of our clients, we developed additional processes to support the applications, like customer service and moderation. 

Things just developed from there as clients came to us, started outsourcing certain processes, and then identified other processes that might be suitable,” the CEO recalled. 

At present, Sourcefit offers employer of record (EOR), staff augmentation, and fully managed outsourcing services. 

EOR vs. Traditional outsourcing 

Andy touched on the relationship between employer of record (EOR) and traditional outsourcing services.

“EOR has become more prevalent as companies have become more comfortable with distributed workforces, and there [are] lots of means for them to hire people around the world.”

He doesn’t see a hard line between EOR, staff augmentation, and fully managed services. For him, “it’s just more of a fluid engagement,” and it evolves over time based on client needs and comfort levels. 

Derek and Andy both think that EOR and outsourcing can work together, with outsourcing firms often offering EOR services as part of their broader suite of offerings.

Importance of building powerhouse remote teams

Another highlight of the podcast is the significance of employee engagement despite having a distributed workforce. 

“If you have the mindset of trying to build an organization that values [their employees] everyone on the team, I think that’s really the proper foundation for achieving [the] ultimate goal of working together towards one goal and working as hard as you can,” the Sourcefit’s CEO explained.

Further, Andy cautioned against purely transactional approaches, affirming, “It pays dividends to treat our employees well because it attracts the type of clients who are going to be good clients. 

If you have a client who wants to treat their employees well, they’re probably going to respect you as a business partner as well, too.”

Sourcefit’s operating system for outsourcing

As a BPO solutions provider, managing remote teams presents both opportunities and challenges. This is why Sourcefit has developed an operating system that goes beyond basic HR and collaboration functions.

Andy shared, “We’re trying to build a digital platform that allows [to handle] all of the processes that we do as an outsourcing company for all of these different companies in different industries…

Bring it all together in one space online and allow our clients and our own company to use the data and information to gain insights into how the teams are working, how they’re interacting with each other.”

Sourcefit’s management tool incorporates features like:

• Integrated HR, recruitment, and operations management
• Client-facing transparency and access
• Customizable KPI tracking and reporting
• Productivity monitoring tools (used judiciously)

“We have so many different software packages and tools that we’re using,” he added.

The future of work: Remote vs. Office-based

When it comes to the debate between remote and office-based work, Sourcefit’s President and CEO says, “[I guess] I’m location agnostic. ” He advocates for a flexible, case-by-case approach. 

“Listen to the employees and [to] clients as well and just come up with solutions that work for everyone without trying to stress too much about having to go one way or the other.”

The key is to remain adaptable to the needs of both employees and clients. “Assess as you go, of course. If the results aren’t where you need to be, you have to iterate and come up with a better solution…

Whether that means moving people back to the office, creating a hybrid setup, having monthly meetings, or instead of going the other way, [or] moving people to remote, then you just have to be open to any of those possibilities and just do the best you can with any of them.” 

Visit Sourcefit’s website to learn more about its featured services and how they can boost your day-to-day operations.