Many industry giants follow a particular method of work that allows them to grow further and stay successful. With the right mindset, every agency can do the same.
Even the greatest brands in the world need help with scaling and developing their systems.
Now, everybody's heard of Google, Uber, Slack, Amazon, and Vice. But not many people know that these businesses worked with a particular Canadian company that helped them create their brands.
In fact, the company in question designed entire user interfaces for these market giants, formulated their strategies, and helped them grow.
But how can a relatively unknown company get behind such colossal businesses as Uber or Google and satisfy their needs?
The answer lies in a particular technique familiar to everyone but is seldom used: nearshoring.
Nearshoring is when a company outsources work to another company or person in a neighboring country or a country on the same continent. For example, a US-based company outsourcing to a company in Mexico or Canada.
Nearshoring, as well as offshoring, can be highly effective strategies. They can allow businesses to get more work done, become incredibly efficient, and reduce expenses at the same time.
However, many agencies are wary of these outsourcing techniques due to one barrier that's getting in the way.
In this article, we'll explore the main obstacle that prevents agencies from achieving success through nearshoring and offshoring and explain one secret that will make the strategy work.
The Big Barrier to Nearshoring and Offshoring
The single greatest issue that prevents agencies from nearshoring and offshoring effectively is trust. In fact, a large number of agency owners say that they don't really trust outsourcing as a whole.
Looking at it on the surface level, this lack of trust could be understandable. Some agencies might've had bad experiences with nearshoring and offshoring, while others feel overly cautious towards an outsourced team that they can't oversee and interact with directly.
And for some people, having their team relatively near is comforting. By contrast, relying on employees who are in a different country can make agency owners feel like they're losing control.
Now, when people think about negative experiences with nearshoring and offshoring, they mostly recall interacting with one of those frustrating offshore call centers. But keep in mind that many of the calls coming from such companies are conducted by strict adherence to a script that can often be aggravating. So, the issue in those cases usually isn't the fact that it’s offshored. It's likely more of a matter of company policy.
From a practical standpoint, there are no real obstacles to using nearshoring and offshoring. Modern technology allows for easy communication, accountability, and the same level of engagement regardless of where the team's located.
When it comes to work efficiency, a creative, administrative, design, or any other team will do their job competently no matter their country of residence - provided, of course, they're professionals. A web developer is a web developer on every continent, and the same goes for the vast majority of outsourced employees.
In other words, all of the reasons against any form of outsourcing boil down to agencies not trusting a nearshore or offshore team.
Naturally, having a productive work relationship without trust is impossible. Agencies that halfheartedly try nearshoring and offshoring can never make it effective. Without trust, the offshore team will never have the freedom to do their job correctly and without second-guessing.
This approach ultimately leads to companies either missing out on the benefits of nearshoring and offshoring. Or worse, they end up with an overly complicated work process that doesn't deliver results.
The solution to this problem is relatively straightforward: the trust issue must be resolved. And some mindset changes can provide significant help in that regard.
Overcoming the Trust Issue
The first thing to understand about nearshoring and offshoring is that some of the world's leading agencies have been using it to great effect for decades. Thinking back to the example of the Canadian company and the giants it helped grow, it's clear that their journey would be much more challenging without nearshoring.
The largest companies in the world use nearshoring and offshoring not only for their customer service but accounting, project management, software development, and even working with clients. These businesses think globally and leverage modern technology that allows people to work from anywhere. They also have the best talent around the globe available.
When all this is taken into account, it's no wonder that these companies have such high profits and remain competitive in the market for so long.
The next factor to think about is the cost benefits of nearshoring and offshoring. Whenever businesses have trouble hiring designers, project managers, copywriters, or other professionals, outsourcing is the solution.
Hiring nearshore or offshore will come at significantly lower costs, ensuring that the company can always afford to have more hands on deck. Also, scaling will become much faster. Cost-effectiveness is one of the greatest benefits of nearshoring and offshoring and can make all the difference in how quickly a business grows.
Finally, the third mindset change relates to viewing the outsourced team as different from the local one. However, an overseas team is just an extension of the local team. From onboarding to delivery and company culture, the overseas team is exactly the same.
Businesses that are set up properly won't have trust issues with their offshore teams. Instead, they'll provide good communication, training, and support to their overseas employees, ensuring a productive work environment. At that point, no barriers will stand in the way.
Build Trust to Grow Your Agency
Nearshoring and offshoring can be the foundation for scaling your agency, as the examples of many multi-billion companies show.
Overcoming trust issues allows agencies to utilize outsourcing to the greatest extent. As a result, they can gain all of the benefits of the technique and start developing and growing rapidly.
To find out more about ways to scale your agency, apply to our agency accelerator program.
