Optimizing for Value, Outcomes & Expertise Over Low-Cost – with Brad Stevens of Outsource Access

In this episode of the Outsource Accelerator Podcast, Derek speaks with Brad Stevens, Founder and CEO of Outsource Access. The firm now boasts around 500 staff since its founding five years ago. 

As a thought leader in the space, Brad talks about his journey into the offshoring world and how Outsource Access offers a unique value in managing offshore talent.  

Outsource Access and Brad’s beginnings in outsourcing

Brad recalls how he began his journey into outsourcing. 

“I’ve been an entrepreneur my entire life, building companies here based out of the United States and growing my last business. Ran into some challenges and really started exploring the offshore world.

Understanding it, where to find people, what they’re capable of. Obviously there’s a cost-saving element, but also just some amazing talent capability you can kind of tap into. So I really became a student of it.” 

He began simply speaking about the benefits of outsourcing, mostly to audiences of small and medium-sized businesses. Eventually, he decided to start his own.

“[I] got encouraged to launch my own operation. So I tried to look at what I saw as all the failure points of other offshoring companies in terms of making it a sustainable, reliable experience for small to medium businesses. 

And so we built Outsource Access with all that in mind.”  

Outsource Access acts as a true partner in helping clients integrate offshore staff into their regular operations. 

“People know that [outsourcing] exists. And even if they believe in the competency and the ability and the talent and so forth, [they] still need some help figuring out how to plug this into [their] business. 

And so we ended up adding a whole strategic advisory portion. Helping them really unpack what are their constraint points, of how they can use these resources. Then turn them into job descriptions then find the right staff.” 

Experiences with offshore workforces

Brad “gravitated” to the Philippines because of what he described as its “Americanized culture.” 

“You don’t have the culture gap that a lot of people struggle with when it comes to offshoring and virtual assistants, and I was just blown away by the people and the competency.” 

He speaks highly of the workforce there, praising their strong work mentality. 

“…just the raw mindset approach to work and willingness to deliver value. They’re very service-oriented. They want to have a positive impact.” 

He also brings up how many more companies are noticing the potential of hiring offshore talent. 

“I think what I’ve seen happen over the last several years, there’s getting more visibility. You’re hearing it among small business owners, they’re dabbling in it, they’re trying it.”

While Brad sees this as a positive, he also acknowledges how many come into the industry as clear novices. 

“It’s far more challenging than people kind of realize. They’re trying to get into the game, but they don’t know what it really takes to provide a sustainable, reliable experience for business owners.”  

Value of partnering with an established provider

Brad explains that much of their work starts with acclimatizing the client to outsourcing. 

“When we’re engaging with them, [we’re] introducing a whole new concept to them to solve their problems and their challenges that they haven’t considered before. So it’s very much an education journey.” 

His approach involves asking two questions. 

“What are you doing that isn’t the best use of your time? [And] the second question is, ‘What do you want to be doing, or think you should be doing as a business that you’re not getting to do due to time, money, or knowledge constraints?’

We send these two questions and send it to managers and the owner is blown away every time when they come back with like 40 things.” 

This has allowed them to create a structured process to their offshore solutions. 

“It creates this unbelievable runway of things that we can help unpack. It’s ultimately about getting people in that organization to their highest and best use.” 

You can visit Outsource Access’s website and explore its useful resources here. Brad himself can be reached via his LinkedIn profile.

Outsource Access also offers a guide for 200 “Automate and Delegate” tools that will help you maximize your outsourcing journey. If you’re interested, you can send an email with the subject “Accelerator” to [email protected]. 

For any questions about Outsource Accelerator, you can drop us a line at [email protected].