A big part of your business success depends on the people you’re working with. However, an efficient and reliable team can be hard to come by without investing too much time or money. This is why a lot of companies turn to building their own offshore teams in the Philippines.
By working with a Philippine offshore team, companies like Amazon and Target can streamline their business processes for lower costs without sacrificing quality.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through the step-by-step process on how to build an offshore team, so you can meet your business objectives, achieve operational efficiency, maximize competitive advantage, and unlock new growth opportunities.
3 Benefits of Building An Offshore Team In the Philippines
Building dedicated teams in the Philippines can greatly benefit your business. Here’s why:
1. Cost-Effective Labor
Unlike in the US, where the average annual salary is $66,621.80 USD, the Philippines has a much lower average salary at $3,870.12 USD per year — that’s $322.51 USD or ₱18,423 PHP per month. In the Philippine BPO industry, salaries range from $3,236.60 USD to $9,512.95 USD a year.
From this data, it’s clear why many companies from developed countries prefer hiring a full team of offshore Filipino employees. Without the high operational costs of maintaining an internal staff, you can save on labor and overhead by at least 70%.
2. Access to High-Caliber Talent
Offshoring means an expanded global talent pool. Building an offshore team entails fewer budget constraints on labor, allowing you to hire specialized Filipino professionals at a lower cost than local talent.
3. Round-the-Clock Support
Because the Philippines is ahead of the US by 12 hours (or more depending on your company’s location in the US), your offshore Filipino employees can cover business and after-hours support to keep your operations running 24/7 and ensure fast turnaround times.
3 Ways You Can Build An Offshore Team In the Philippines
When building an offshore team, consider your capabilities when it comes to budget, available time and resources, as well as your current business condition. Here are the three main ways you can do this:
1. Working with an Outsourcing Company
The most effective method in building a dedicated offshore team in the Philippines involves partnering with a specialized outsourcing company that manages all aspects of recruitment, training, and management, aligning the team with your business needs.
2. Establishing a Dedicated Offshore Office
Setting up your own offshore office in the Philippines offers direct control over your team and operations but requires significant investment in time, finances, and resources to manage all operational aspects.
3. Freelance Platforms and Remote Teams
Using freelance platforms for building a remote team in the Philippines provides flexibility and cost-effectiveness, especially for small projects or budgets, but requires more hands-on management for coordination and quality control.
Unfortunately, not all freelancers are reliable. Some freelancers underdeliver on their promises, while others may refuse high-priority tasks because they have conflicting deliverables with other clients. Between freelancers and offshore teams, companies will opt for the latter as they are more reliable and consistent.
Step-by-Step Process On How to Build An Offshore Team
There are many ways you can build an offshore team in the Philippines, but the most efficient method involves finding a reliable outsourcing provider. Let’s go through how you can do this.
Step 1: Define Your Business Needs and Goals
As a business owner, the first step in building an offshore team is identifying your needs and business and project goals. You can do this by closely examining your current operations. Look at what's working well and areas that need improvement, such as customer service, technology, or market expansion.
You should also pinpoint the specific challenges your business is facing. For instance, if rapid growth is overwhelming your current staff, you might consider whether adding offshore team members to perform certain functions could alleviate pressure. Conversely, if innovation is your goal, pinpoint the skills and expertise needed to drive this, and assess if these are present within your existing team.
This phase is about aligning your operational needs with your strategic goals. Are you looking to cut costs, improve efficiency, or expand your offerings? Each goal will require different resources and approaches, and recognizing this early on is key to successful offshore team management.
Step 2: Choose Your Offshoring Partner in the Philippines
Choosing the right offshoring partner in the Philippines is a critical decision that can significantly impact the success of your offshoring venture. Begin by conducting thorough research to create a list of potential offshore outsourcing companies in the Philippines.
This can be achieved through online searches, ChatGPT, recommendations from business networks, and reviews and case studies.
Pay close attention to each candidate’s track record, particularly in your industry or for the specific services you need. It's important to evaluate a potential outsourcing partner not just based on cost but also on their proven ability to deliver quality work and their experience in handling similar offshoring operations.
Once you've shortlisted potential partners that can help you build an offshore team in the Philippines, assess their compatibility with your business by evaluating their communication skills and their company culture to ensure a good match with your own. An ideal partner should not only be capable of fulfilling your business needs but should also be flexible and adaptable to your working style and values.
Step 3: Let Your Partner Build an Offshore Team for You
Once you've selected a reliable outsourcing provider, it's time to leverage their expertise in building an effective offshore team tailored to your specific business needs and objectives. Here are the things that your partner will do for you.
Plan the Team Structure
Your outsourcing partner begins the process of building your offshore team by assessing your business and project requirements to determine the ideal team size and the specific roles needed. They consider factors such as task complexity, necessary skill sets, and the level of support your onshore team requires.
They also plan the role specifications and task distribution, deciding whether your team needs generalists for various tasks or specialists for certain areas, based on the nature of the work and your long-term goals. This ensures a balanced team dynamic with members whose skills complement each other.
Once there’s a concrete plan for the team structure, they will start finding the right people through their recruitment team, who are responsible for making job posts, sourcing talent, as well as vetting, screening, and interviewing candidates.
Handle the Training and Onboarding Process
Your outsourcing partner will also handle and manage the training and onboarding process of your team.
For the training process, they will prepare and hold specialized on-brand training that involves equipping the new talents with complete knowledge about your brand. By training them for your brand, you can ensure that you’ll get an offshore team that can work using your brand’s voice, values, and management styles.
To further guarantee a high-performing team, the best business process outsourcing (BPO) companies like KDCI Outsourcing certify talents through assessments, exams, live situational demos, and more.
Your outsourcing partner will also handle the onboarding process, which involves providing the talents with the systems and project management tools that your business uses for its operations. They’ll also take care of the necessary infrastructure and equipment.
Manage Your Offshore Team
Another key responsibility of your outsourcing partner involves managing your offshore team. They will monitor and oversee the operations and ensure that your staff maintains high levels of productivity and service quality.
To achieve this, the outsourcing provider monitors key performance indicators (KPIs) and ensures that the service level agreements are met. If not, then the partner will determine the areas for improvement and the possible resolutions to take.
Your partner will also prepare a report containing data-driven insights based on customer feedback and interactions, giving your business a better overview of the team’s efficiency. They will also provide regular updates and meetings to keep all parties aligned on project goals, timelines, and changes.
FAQs On Building and Managing An Offshore Team
We created this short FAQ to help you better prepare for effective offshore team management and building.
How Long Does It Take to Build An Offshore Team?
Outsourcing companies usually take four to six weeks to build a full offshore team. However, timelines may vary between providers, so we recommend asking the company’s outsourcing expert for the average timeline.
Which Tools Should I Use for Communicating With My Offshore Team?
You should use your company’s preferred communication tool. If your company uses Microsoft Teams, your offshore employees must have their own Microsoft Teams account for seamless communication and collaboration during working hours.
Which Project Management Tools Should I Use?
We recommend Asana, ClickUp, or Trello. Your choice of project management tool depends on your preferences as well as the tool’s features, reliability, and security capabilities.
How Do I Ensure Alignment With My Offshore Team?
When it comes to offshore team management, communication is always the key! Regularly discuss your project goals and expectations to avoid misunderstandings and keep everyone aligned on important matters.
Should I Hold Virtual Team Building Activities?
Yes! Virtual team building activities let you connect and bond with your offshore team members beyond chats and video conferencing meetings. Your team’s project manager can also choose to hold virtual team building activities — especially if most (or all) offshore team members are working remotely.
However, these activities don’t take too much of your employees’ time, so they can still work on their deliverables and maintain momentum.
Work With KDCI Outsourcing to Build Your Own Philippine Offshore Team
Building an offshore team in the Philippines is not an easy task. You need to allot ample time and resources to ensure that each step goes well, but this may not be possible for businesses with limited capabilities.
That said, make sure to work with a trusted offshore partner who will take care of everything for you, from finding the best people for your team to managing them and ensuring high-quality service.
At KDCI Outsourcing, we build a Philippine offshore team based on your needs, goals, and project requirements. Whether you’re outsourcing software development, accounting and finance, content creation, or customer service, we’ll find the right talent, train and certify them for your brand, and oversee your offshore business operations, giving you more time to focus on your core business processes.
Ready to progress on your goals and achieve business success with your own offshore team? Contact us to learn more!
