Lessons From the World’s Largest Employers

Leading the way

The outsourcing industry employs over 10 million people globally. The largest outsourcing firms employ as many as 800,000 people and are spread across as many as 60 countries, with literally hundreds of sites each.

With 800,000 people across dozens of countries — and seeing exciting growth — these businesses have developed a profound ability to manage staff and manage them well to ensure that they are productive, motivated, and happy.

Other businesses use these outsourcing firms to staff up and power their own businesses across a diverse range of industries, verticals, and skill sets. As artificial intelligence (AI) surges, they are at the forefront of automation process optimization to ensure maximum productivity.

With such impressive numbers, these offshore companies must be doing something right. What can other businesses learn from this model?

Customer-centric approach

A vast majority of the offshore roles in these companies are client-facing. Outsourcing companies make it a point to hire talent with potential and have experience dealing with customers. However, customer service is often far from perfect.  

In fact, most people think customer service sucks. It’s a constant battle to hire staff, manage, churn, raise standards, build SOPs, and train, train, and retrain their staff. Teaching staff — en-masse — to have empathy, and to really be concerned for the customer journey, and having the systems to support high quality care, is a highly complex exercise.

That’s why outsourcing companies continuously reskill and upskill their staff to ensure they align with clients’ evolving needs. Investing in talent is a must. These initiatives benefit the firm and allow employees to thrive in their professions down the line.

Embracing digital evolution

In the world of business, it’s all about survival of the fittest. One day, a corporation might be on the Forbes list; the next year, they might be washed out of the water.

Offshore firms are thriving because of their willingness to embrace change. In this day and age, it means updating digital systems and keeping tabs on the next AI enhancement.

It helps that outsourcing firms are among the early adopters of AI. But being there from day one doesn’t mean you’ll be there forever. “Change is the only constant” is an adage that outsourcing firms subscribe to.

Managing remote work

Offshore companies were well-prepared when the pandemic hit. They already had systems in place to ensure that their operations weren’t disrupted even when their employees worked remotely, within capital cities, or outside of them.

But they also understood that remote work has its drawbacks. As such, several companies established microsites — or smaller facilities with 200-300 seats located outside main cities and closer to where employees live. 

Microsites allowed these firms to fulfill tasks that are better done in person, such as reskilling, onboarding, and handling critical processes.

In their quest for success, offshore companies have zeroed in on the critical areas that need ample attention. They have the blueprint — readily available to everyone —  to thrive in a rapidly evolving corporate world. There’s a lot that people can learn from this industry.

Questions for your business

Is your company investing enough in talent? How is it adapting to change?

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