.png)
Middle market companies are the engines of economic development and job creation. Despite that, owners of mid sized businesses find themselves financially constrained and outclassed by bigger competitors with high brand recognition. But there’s still hope. With plenty of ways to grow and thrive in 2025, mid sized companies can take on the reins, step up their business game, and compete with the likes of larger corporations.
The National Center for the Middle Market (NCMS) said the United States has approximately 200,000 mid sized companies, with almost 50 million employees working in these businesses and comprising one-third of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the private sector. Mid market companies also earn around $10 million USD to $1 billion USD.
Interestingly, during the Great Recession, mid size companies stepped up and provided more than two million new job opportunities to professionals. This pales in comparison with the slashing of 3.7 million jobs in bigger companies. While mid size businesses are found in various industries, including retail and construction, they are mostly prevalent in health, education, and other service industries.
However, mid market companies are niche and not known by most customers, who are likely familiar with smaller businesses or popular big-name brands. Despite standing the test of time and driving employment and economic growth, mid market companies deserve more recognition from the general public.
A business is an investment as it is a risk. Mid size companies have a 31-year average lifespan, making them resilient and well-established businesses.
Unfortunately, companies may close down due to unforeseen circumstances, but in some cases, bankruptcy is caused by mistakes business owners themselves make. Here are four reasons why mid sized companies close up shop.
Starting a business is a leap of faith. But without a business plan, entrepreneurs risk shooting themselves in the foot. According to WinSavvy, most businesses (78%) with no or poor business plans ended in bankruptcy.
Developing a sound business plan gives owners of midsize companies a blueprint for success. It highlights goals, discusses products and services, and includes a market analysis and realistic strategies on attracting and retaining customers.
Business plans are not static, though. They evolve as market needs and trends change, so keeping business plans updated is key to staying ahead of your competitors and maintaining relevance.
In business, knowledge is power. Needless to say, the lack of financial and market knowledge is a recipe for disaster. Hence, an owner of a mid sized business must thoroughly research their industry and customer base and make informed decisions to have their shot at success, especially if they’re breaking into a highly competitive market.
Hiring a family member or friend is not always a good idea, and there’s nothing personal with that. Mid sized companies deserve highly qualified employees with the experience, credentials, and skills that propel your business to success.
Owning a mid sized business doesn’t mean taking care of everything alone. As you grow and scale your business, delegation becomes a necessity. By delegating tasks to your in-house, or even better, outsourced employees, you can free up your workload and focus on critical business functions.
From agility to outsourcing, this section explores how mid-sized companies are competing with big companies.
Business agility is how mid-sized companies are competing with larger competitors. Agility is defined as a company’s ability to adapt and remain flexible and resilient amid the ever-evolving complexities in the market. Being agile also means innovating and thinking outside the box.
In the case of Crumbl Cookies, established by Sawyer Hemsley and Jason McGowan in Utah, the company owes its agility to its weekly rotating cookie menu. With the menu catching the eyes and taste buds of social media users, the cookie brand has become a widely recognized and successful company, with franchises in Canada and across the United States.
The success story of Crumbl Cookies shows that agility and innovative business approaches contribute to success and brand recognition.
When middle market companies engage in strategic agility, they can identify emerging trends and detect changes in customer needs, allowing them to quickly innovate their processes or products and shift their business strategies to reflect the new market reality. Not only does agility aid in growth, it also evens out the competition between a mid size company and its larger competitors.
Data is everywhere. With advanced technologies simplifying data gathering and analysis, middle market companies approach business growth with data-drivenness in mind. Sweetgreen, Inc. — an American company with a 2024 revenue of $676.8 million USD — boosted customer engagement through a personalized loyalty program as well as cut down on food wastage by anticipating ingredient demand with the help of data and data analytics.
Thanks to data, any mid size organization like Sweegreen, Inc. can make smarter business decisions, minimize financial risks, and anticipate demand. What’s great about fostering a data-driven company culture is that it aids in agility and personalization, enabling middle market businesses to respond faster to trends and enhance the customer experience and loyalty.
The best part? All the improvements and efficiency that come with data contribute to boosted revenue and better returns on investment (ROI).
Integrating advanced technologies like AI is also how mid-sized companies are competing with large enterprises. Visionary Vogues, citing Deloitte, found that AI integration is employed in more than one functional business area of nearly half (47%) of American middle market businesses.
AI technologies are not just marketing buzzwords; they are the present and future of business environments. While middle market businesses typically have fewer resources, this should not be a roadblock to achieving growth. Because the truth is, AI can do wonders for your business, especially in terms of analysis and efficiency.
Aside from automating manual and tedious tasks, AI can analyze large volumes of customer and sales data. From that pool of data, it identifies trends, uncovers customer preferences, anticipates market shifts, and provides data-driven, actionable insights.
These insights guide mid size businesses in tailoring their future campaigns, expanding their customer base and market reach, and personalizing the customer experience. Fortunately, with the growing accessibility of AI-as-a-service tools like Google Vertex AI, mid sized businesses can augment their AI endeavors without pooling their resources on employing local AI experts and data science professionals.
Middle market companies benefit from a growth mindset. Because stagnancy is a no-no in the business world, change could mean tapping into another business model to accommodate changes in market and customer needs, creating new products or services, or trying out-of-the-box ways to market your offerings, as in the case of Crumbl Cookies.
Likewise, business leaders and workplace culture need to evolve with the times. For example, when integrating AI, executives and employees must embrace the technology with open arms, which entails experimentation, talent upskilling, or outsourcing for effective data consolidation and ethical AI use.
While mid size companies have the advantage of leveraging new trends faster than large companies, entrepreneurs must practice effective strategic thinking when making a new business move.
You might think outsourcing is only reserved for larger corporations like Google. But on the contrary, even a mid size organization can take advantage of outsourcing. Like any growing business, middle market companies grapple with budget constraints and operational inefficiency. Couple that with the rise of entrepreneurship and soaring labor costs in the US, and it’s clear why companies struggle with hiring qualified talent.
Outsourcing can take care of these woes, providing a mid size company with a talented workforce and world-class services that don’t break the bank. However, business owners must remember that this practice is more than incurring cost savings; it is a strategic investment that, when executed well, can be a significant driver of growth and innovation.
Outsourcing opens doors for new opportunities. It helps companies, especially smaller businesses, stay flexible and resilient as they navigate shifting business environments.
Outsourcing providers cater to larger companies and SMEs, but the best BPO companies tailor their solutions according to business size. Below are the perks of outsourcing in helping mid sized companies compete with enterprises.
From finance to the data science industry, the hiring landscape is competitive. Not to mention the cost of hiring in the US averages $4,683 USD, with the cost-per-hire for executives skyrocketing to a staggering $28,329 USD. For middle market companies with limited finances, the combination of stiff competition and high labor costs is a double whammy.
This is where outsourcing becomes a vital strategy. By outsourcing jobs and departments, owners of mid sized companies can explore a richer talent pool and hire experts at a fraction of local labor costs. Because outsourcing providers have readily available specialists, businesses can cut down on the cost and time of training new hires.
This doesn’t mean letting go of your in-house team. With the norm of hybrid teams, your local staff does whatever they do best, while your outsourced staff handles specialized or less time-intensive job functions. Outsourcing is all about collaboration, utilizing the best practices of outsourced teams while covering each other’s weaknesses.
Scalability is growth. It's how mid-sized companies are competing with big brand businesses despite the former’s lack of resources. BPO companies offer cost-effective, scalable solutions for your needs. For example, if your company faces a swamp of customer inquiries after a product launch, you can ramp up your local customer support team by outsourcing customer service.
This way, your in-house agents have an extra pair of hands, speeding up the closing of tickets without sacrificing customer relationships and experiences. Conversely, you can downsize your outsourced team in case of fluctuating demand. Thanks to outsourcing, mid market companies no longer endure high turnover costs and long hiring cycles.
Nowadays, innovation manifests in the form of advanced technologies. Despite the accessibility of new tech like AI-as-a-service, business owners who want to innovate and gain a competitive edge faster can seek the assistance of an outsourcing provider to augment their tech efforts.
Not only do BPOs have the tools of the trade — including AI, automation, and analytics software — they also have employees who are already proficient in the technology you use (or about to use). This leads to a faster adoption of new technologies, further enhancing operational efficiency and minimizing time and resources on in-house training programs.
Outsourcing doesn’t equate to cheap labor and low-quality services. BPOs put quality and customer satisfaction at the forefront. BPO companies also employ high-performing candidates and assign a project manager to ensure all deliverables meet their clients’ quality standards.
While outsourced teams are more cost-effective, they provide enterprise-level capabilities that rival in-house teams. Business owners seeking world-class outsourcing services must work with a reliable service provider to avoid backlogs, production delays, and poor ROI.
Like most businesses, middle market companies refuse to stagnate and get left behind in the dust. After all, they have more options on their plate, ranging from AI integration to data analytics. If financial constraints and the exorbitant cost of labor are hindering your company’s growth, we recommend partnering with KDCI Outsourcing.
KDCI Outsourcing is a premier Filipino BPO company established in 2011. Since our inception, we have helped plenty of large enterprises and SMEs achieve growth, innovation, operational efficiency, and cost-effectiveness through tailored offshoring solutions. Furthermore, our rigorous hiring practices and meticulous vetting of candidates ensure you get to work with top talent.
Whether you need outsourced web design, finance and accounting, or admin support services, KDCI Outsourcing has got your business needs covered. Build your offshore team with KDCI Outsourcing today. Contact us now for a price quote or proposal!
Although the country has a culturally diverse workforce, the hefty cost of hiring in the US is no laughing matter. It’s not just the high labor cost that’s making companies have second thoughts in hiring locally, but also the stiff competition caused by the war for qualified talent, along with the post-pandemic trend of early retirement and the rise of entrepreneurship among employees and the youth.
That’s why businesses in the United States are integrating outsourcing into their business model. With outsourcing, companies can optimize their workflow without driving up the total cost of hiring employees. Having said that, weighing the cost of hiring in the US versus outsourcing remains an important step in building or growing your workforce.
This is a million-dollar question for business owners. While in-house employees are valuable, they’re actually one of your most expensive investments! According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), a new hire costs $4,683 USD. However, this is only a benchmark figure, a point of reference. In reality, recruitment costs vary from company to company, and can be higher depending on internal and external factors.
When calculating the cost of a new employee, salaries, benefits, and bonuses are just one part of the hiring equation. If you sprinkle recruitment efforts, employee training and retention, office infrastructure, and IT software, you can expect a surge in cost per hire and overall recruiting costs.
Let’s not forget an employee’s experience level. Entry-level hires are cheaper, typically averaging $39,525 USD a year. But if you’re hiring candidates for senior positions, they’ll set you back around $122,377 USD to $174,508 USD per year.
Industry demand, America’s aging population, Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) and federal and state unemployment and taxes, and the cost of living per state can likewise influence the total cost of hiring in the US.
Business owners shoulder the cost of office infrastructure, utilities, and recruitment. The above section briefly mentions factors influencing the overall cost of hiring in the US. This section, however, will only cover the four main drivers of hiring costs.
Recruitment efforts are costly. Creating a job posting on different job search platforms may be a minuscule investment, but these can accrue additional costs on your recruiting budget. On Indeed, for example, you can create Sponsored Jobs (i.e. paid job postings) to improve your posting’s visibility and reach more candidates, resulting in faster time-to-hire.
When combined with paying HR staff, background checks, and HR management tools, your recruitment expenses can soar over time. Expect the cost per hire to be as low as $4,683 USD or as high as $28,329 USD — that is, if you’re hiring executives.
Onboarding means acquainting a new hire with your company’s culture, organizational structures, and internal policies. Part of the onboarding process is providing them with a dedicated office space, computer, and software — all of which cost money.
New employees undergo training, as well. This, again, costs money as businesses invest in training manuals and resources. Outside of that, training employees causes a temporary loss in productivity and efficiency since newbies need time to catch up and get used to the workflow.
According to Training Magazine and HR Daily Advisor, training costs are around $1,207 USD to USD$1,512 USD per employee.
Health insurance, social security, and PTOs — these benefits are a win for employees. For employers, it’s a different playing field, mainly because the cost of employee benefits depends on various factors, including the type of benefits offered, company size, demographics, and industry.
The average cost of benefits for employees in the private sector is $12.19 USD per hour, slightly less than those who work in the civil sector ($13.58 USD per hour). State and local sector employees have the highest cost of benefits, averaging $22.81 USD an hour. While costs add up, employers use benefits to balance return on investment and employee satisfaction and retention.
When a company can make employees stay, that’s retention. For any employer, retaining top talent is as essential as ensuring positive growth and outcomes. Of course, it’s not always possible to retain employees. They part ways with your company for higher salaries or better career growth, or sometimes, employees relocate or want a company that values them more. When this happens, it’s called employee turnover.
Like recruiting new hires, employee turnover is also costly. The cost of a turnover can vary, though. On average, each hourly worker who quits can set you back $1,500 USD. If a C-suite employee leaves your company, turnover will cost you around 213% of their yearly salary. For technical roles, the percentage ranges between 100% to 150%.
Beyond the financial aftermath of employee turnover, this can also lead to institutional knowledge loss as well as reduced morale and productivity.
In-house employees have their perks. They know the US market well and are easily available on-site. However, maintaining an in-house team is expensive due to high overhead and labor costs. That’s why it makes sense to outsource jobs.
Outsourcing means delegating tasks or a whole department to a third-party service provider, usually based in a nearby or faraway country. Hybrid teams are also the norm, combining in-house and offshore teams for increased flexibility and cost savings.
It’s never too late to venture into outsourcing. Because we live in a hyper-connected world, leveraging outsourcing and other business strategies is the only way to go up. Here’s what makes outsourcing a worthwhile business endeavor.
Cost-effectiveness is what draws companies to outsourcing. Brazil, India, Mexico, and the Philippines make the best outsourcing destinations because of their low cost of labor, which increases your savings while maintaining high-quality work.
The average cost of a Filipino BPO employee is around $7,890.47 USD to $9,635.4 USD, which can vary according to role and seniority level. From these figures alone, there’s no denying the significant cost savings that outsourcing brings to recruiting new employees.
Outsourcing opens your talent pool to a wider scale. That means you’re not only limited to candidates in San Francisco, Los Angeles, or any US city or state. Outsourced employees are as knowledgeable and skilled as local hires, providing a delicate balance of credentials, experience, and cost-effectiveness.
Because outsourced staff are cheaper, you can easily source talent that is otherwise not available or financially feasible in your local area. This makes filling open job positions and closing talent gaps easier, helping you grow your team at a lower cost.
Overall, international hiring gives you a competitive edge in the market, rewarding your efforts with customer growth and success.
BPO companies in the Philippines (and other parts of the world) take care of the recruitment process from start to finish. Clients provide the project specifications and employee qualifications, and the outsourcing company will source, vet, and hire potential candidates based on those requirements.
This reduces the likelihood of employing a bad hire who can cost your company thousands of dollars. Not only does outsourcing reduce your recruitment expenses and streamline hiring processes, your in-house team also has more time for job functions that require their attention and expertise.
Outsourcing and low-quality work don’t go hand-in-hand. Outsourcing companies have a designated project manager or team leader who handles the account, trains team members, and ensures quality assurance. The right service provider will not only promise a significant reduction in hiring costs, they will also meet your performance standards.
Outsourcing means embracing diverse perspectives from a diverse group of people. It also comes with overcoming cultural and linguistic barriers. In the Philippines, outsourced employees are fluent in English and culturally compatible with Western values. This leaves little room for misunderstandings arising from language and cultural differences.
Time zone differences are not necessarily a liability. By outsourcing, your business can operate 24/7 without interruption. Whether it’s outsourced data entry, customer service, or graphic design, your offshore team can cover your post-business hours and provide round-the-clock support while your onshore team sleeps.
Then, on the following working day, all deliverables will be processed by your in-house employees. This minimizes delays and improves operational efficiency. BPO companies have employees working different shifts, so you can definitely find offshore team members who can align their schedules with US time zones.
Evaluating the cost of outsourcing is key to any successful business venture. Below are factors that influence outsourcing costs.
Outsourced employees receive benefits from their BPO employers. In the Philippines, for example, these benefits include night differential pay, social security, Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF) or Pag-IBIG, PhilHealth, and the like.
Since BPOs are private employees, night differential pay is 10% of the individual’s salary per hour of work starting from 10:00 pm to 6:00 am. The contribution rate for social security is 15%, 2% for Pag-IBIG, and 5% for PhilHealth. Though dependent on the employee’s salary, the total cost of benefits can start at least $120 USD a month.
An employee’s expertise and seniority level play a role in influencing outsourcing costs. For example, an entry-level Filipino graphic designer costs around $430 USD a month, whereas a senior graphic designer costs $924 USD. Junior employees have less professional knowledge and experience than their senior peers, so the difference in rates is understandable.
The number of entry-level or senior outsourced employees also affects outsourcing costs. A realistic budget and a clear vision of your project help you and the outsourcing partner plan your workforce headcount and balance expertise with cost.
Complex projects require specialized talent and are therefore costlier than tasks that don’t involve specialized expertise. Larger and urgent projects also command higher price points, as BPOs need to reallocate their workforce or hire more staff to complete your project. Be transparent about expected turnaround times so the BPO company can provide an accurate price quote.
There are different types of outsourcing pricing models. The fixed price (FP) model is a common pricing structure among BPOs. As the name implies, you pay an agreed fixed price for the outsourcing provider’s services. The hourly pricing structure is another popular model, which charges you according to the number of hours rendered by your outsourced staff.
With the savings-based pricing model, the overall cost of outsourcing is based on how much you can save from a BPO company’s services. Finally, the outsourcing cost under the full-time equivalent (FTE) model is determined by several factors, including employee expertise, headcount, project complexity, and output quality.
These models add a complex layer to budgeting and determining total outsourcing costs. Do your research so you can identify which model fits your project.
Outsourcing companies are businesses, too. Service fees cover overhead costs, including infrastructure, technology, equipment, and office lease or rent. Unlike in-house hiring, the service provider covers the training cost of employees.
The cost of hiring in the US remains high and will continue to soar in the following years. For businesses, outsourcing is a blessing. It expands your hiring pool, keeps hiring costs down, and maintains efficiency. Like any business venture, outsourcing requires financial investment. Being strategic with your outsourcing endeavors is key to getting the return on investment (ROI) your company deserves.
If you’re looking for a reputable BPO company to partner with, consider KDCI Outsourcing. Since 2011, we have worked with brands from different parts of the globe, providing them with tailored, high-performance offshoring solutions that promise innovation and growth.
Request a price quote, send a proposal, or inquire with our outsourcing expert. The sooner you contact us, the faster we can build your Filipino offshore team.
If two words describe the modern business landscape, it’s competitive and fast-paced. With businesses embracing trends and executing strategies to stay relevant, it can be tough to keep up, especially since costs, efficiency, and quality of work can make or break your goals. Outsourcing, of course, can ease the load off your shoulders.
While we have the traditional nearshore, onshore, and offshore outsourcing models, there’s another model to keep an eye on — hybrid outsourcing. Hybrid outsourcing is not just a buzzword, it’s a new outsourcing norm taking companies by storm. This article explores the ins and outs of hybrid outsourcing teams, including how companies leverage the hybrid model for their needs and goals.
Companies have continuously relied on traditional outsourcing methods. While onshore outsourcing promises tighter quality control and deeper local knowledge, companies invest more resources in overhead and hiring. This makes onshoring a costly investment in the long run.
The edge of nearshore outsourcing is proximity, allowing companies to work with BPOs in countries closer to their local time zone. However, economic or political issues in your partner country can disrupt business continuity and affect your daily operations. Offshoring may give you the cost savings you need, but language, cultural, and time zone differences can hinder forming an effective partnership with an outsourcing company.
So, how can companies balance out the pros and cons of these outsourcing models? The answer lies in hybrid outsourcing teams. In this context, hybrid teams don’t necessarily refer to hybrid employees working remotely and in the office, but to an outsourcing team that combines onshore and offshore employees.
Hybrid outsourcing is a product of the dynamic, fast-paced changes in the business world. As customer needs evolve and industries become competitive, businesses step out from the comforts of traditional outsourcing models and need the right blend of cost-effectiveness, risk management, qualified talent, and operational efficiency — all of which are offered by a hybrid approach to outsourcing.
More than the competitive nature of industries, local talent shortages are also a driver of forming hybrid outsourcing teams. Employees leave their jobs for higher salaries or a healthier work-life balance. Additionally, high labor costs — while beneficial for employees — can hurt a company’s profits.
In the United States, attracting and retaining talent is a losing battle as businesses grapple with prevailing social issues such as poor childcare access and an aging population. These companies also compete with the rise of digital commerce and entrepreneurship, which promise a higher salary ceiling than employment.
With hybrid outsourcing teams, companies need not scrimp on talent, as they can retain their in-house employees and hire offshore employees to supplement existing skill sets and manpower. Offshore resources are also cheaper, so business owners can still utilize the specialized talent that outsourced teams bring without significant financial investment.
Not only do hybrid outsourcing teams prime your business for success and evolving market trends, they also help foster diversity and innovation.
Hybrid outsourcing is the sweet spot of onshore and offshore outsourcing, synergizing the inherent strengths of both models to optimize efficiency and cost without sacrificing the quality of work. If your company is planning or transitioning to a hybrid team, take a look at the following advantages of this model.
Not all tasks have to be outsourced. Onshore teams often handle complex and critical job functions. Let’s say your business wants to launch a new product or service. This involves creating buyer personas, identifying the target audience, and knowing potential competitors.
As a business owner, you’ll want to delegate these functions to your in-house staff since they already possess an in-depth knowledge of the local market and provide deeper insights into your target demographic’s psyche. This helps position your business for competition and success.
Likewise, non-critical or time-sensitive job functions such as content creation and social media management can be delegated to offshore staff to free up your onshore team’s workload. When work is evenly distributed, onshore and offshore teams can leverage their strengths to produce high-quality outputs and improve efficiency.
Hybrid teams are inherently collaborative. With the help of messaging and video-conferencing software, it’s now easier than ever to schedule weekly meetings and feedback sessions. Through these sessions, business owners can monitor performance, meet project requirements, and ensure the timely submission of deliverables.
Virtual meetings are also a great avenue for embracing diverse yet innovative solutions from your offshore staff. This facilitates better camaraderie and mutual respect between your in-house staff and offshore remote employees.
Hybrid outsourcing paves the way for a global workforce. It does not limit hiring to a single city or country. This means exploring a wider talent pool of specialized and highly skilled individuals from different countries. This way, you can quickly close talent gaps and provide the skills your onshore team needs at the moment.
Additionally, hybrid outsourcing teams help reduce expenses due to cheaper labor costs in some countries — especially in developing countries such as India and the Philippines. By employing offshore staff, you get the best of both worlds of cost-effectiveness and specialized, in-demand talent.
Opting for a hybrid workforce means diversifying your teams. In a perfect world, every day is business as usual. Unfortunately, the world is unpredictable. Whether it’s natural disasters, political instability, or a local health crisis, business owners need to be armed with contingency plans.
The best contingency plan is, of course, building hybrid teams across different locations. A hybrid workforce is your backup plan for when things go awry in your area, allowing your hybrid employees to pick up the pace and continue business operations as normal.
Time zone differences may appear as a hurdle, but they are a huge advantage in your business. That’s why a hybrid model of outsourcing works so well here. Let’s say you’re a US business building an offshore outsourcing team in the Philippines. The time zone differences between the two countries are around 12 hours.
Hence, when it’s night in the US, it’s morning in the Philippines (and vice versa). Because of the significant time differences, you can outsource customer service or other non-critical tasks to the best Philippine BPO companies for post-US hours support.
While your in-house employees are asleep, your offshore team handles the day’s tasks in their local time zone and submits their deliverables on the dot, ready to be processed and evaluated by your in-house team.
Believe it or not, but some businesses in the US already have hybrid outsourcing teams — and our round-up is proof of that. Check out how these companies integrate hybrid outsourcing into their operations.
1. Slack Technologies
Slack Technologies is the developer behind Slack, a workplace communication software. This company owes its success to hybrid outsourcing. Slack Technologies has an in-house team composed of talented staff members as well as nearshore and offshore teams in Canada and India.
The collaboration between the American company’s hybrid outsourcing teams was seen during the development of Slack’s Enterprise Grid. The in-house team handled complex job functions, which included security compliance, whereas the outsourced teams dealt with less complex tasks such as addressing bugs and product testing.
The synergy between Slack’s hybrid teams drove more revenue to the company, catching the likes of Oracle, IBM, and other enterprises. Thanks to their efficiency, Slack Technologies streamlined operations while optimizing costs and ensuring faster project completion, which led to a 30% reduction in development time.
Slack’s success with hybrid outsourcing shows how utilizing the strengths and specialization of in-house and offshore teams contributes to increased efficiency and seamless collaboration between diverse teams.
2. WhatsApp
WhatsApp is a messaging app and company founded by Brian Acton and Jan Koum in 2009. Before WhatsApp became a well-loved name today, the success of its development was all thanks to hybrid outsourcing. Back then, the company only had five part-timers and 30 full-time in-house employees.
WhatsApp outsourced the application’s development to a Russian developer, Igor Solomennikov, helping the then-start-up save on labor costs. At the same time, offshore outsourcing allowed the US-based company to focus on what they do best: business and user base growth. This way, the founders and their in-house staff don’t have to hire costly onshore staff or learn mobile app development from scratch.
As Solomennikov developed WhatsApp’s features, Acton and Koum served as testers and quality control staff, making sure the app was high-quality and easy to use. Because of the company’s hybrid outsourcing model, the app became a huge success, with a global user base of over 2.9 billion as of this writing.
3. Microsoft
Microsoft is a key player in the IT industry. As one of the biggest IT companies, it has relied on outsourcing for manpower and resources from Eastern Europe, India, and the Philippines. Commonly outsourced job functions include customer care, internal support, software development, and IT services.
The American company has an in-house team of engineers responsible for software architecture and innovation. These require specialized knowledge, so Microsoft has decided to outsource customer service, software development, and testing to offshore teams. This creates a harmonious balance of strengths between hybrid teams, eliminating the need for resource allocation.
Because of the company’s hybrid outsourcing model, operational and cost efficiency are guaranteed. Software and product updates are rolled out faster, too. Best of all, users of Microsoft’s products also enjoy round-the-clock support, making troubleshooting accessible to those outside US time zones.
4. Cisco
Cisco Systems, or Cisco, is an American tech company known for its security solutions, routers, and network systems. Despite the economic turmoil of the 2008 recession, Cisco relied on outsourcing to get by during this period, demonstrating its resourcefulness and resiliency. Beyond surviving economic instability, the company has elevated its hybrid outsourcing efforts for scalability and effective partnership.
Cisco’s outsourced software development services involve partnering with outsourcing firms in Eastern Europe, a region with a robust IT industry. The company does have in-house IT staff and software engineers, but building hybrid outsourcing teams enables Cisco to access talent with readily available skills in network automation or the Internet of Things (IoT). This encourages scalability and reduces the need to redistribute in-house resources.
Interestingly, Cisco even went as far as to utilize the Entity Support Model (ESM) for global integration of processes. With this model, the company’s finance and accounting functions are split between the Accounting Services and the Global Operations team, with the former handling local compliance and support and the latter handling operational delivery.
Cisco worked with Ernst & Young, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, and even Accenture for tax filings, external audits, back office support, and many more. These partner companies work with each other, too. For example, Accenture can consolidate data for filing by Ernst & Young employees. Cisco’s role, though, revolves around calculating adjustments as well as reviewing and approving tax filings and audit adjustments.
Cisco’s case is a clear testament to the hybrid approach to outsourcing. With the company leveraging the innate strengths of its global partners, it can pool its resources on key job functions without delay. Its ESM model integrates complex functions into one seamless global network, driving operational efficiency and cost savings while minimizing risks.
Hybrid outsourcing is like working in a group, where each member brings their strengths and skills to the table to complete a project. Or in this case, boost efficiency, adapt to ever-changing business needs, and reduce overhead expenses. If you’re still stuck in traditional outsourcing methods, think again. Project needs are becoming increasingly complex, and competition is stiff. But with the right outsourcing provider, they can take your business operations to the next level.
KDCI Outsourcing is a trusted Philippine BPO company with a solid track record of providing offshore outsourcing solutions to SMEs. Since its founding, KDCI Outsourcing has worked with clients from a broad range of industries, solidifying its experience in tailoring outsourcing solutions to a business’s unique needs and complexities.
Building offshore hybrid outsourcing teams is easy with KDCI Outsourcing. Our recruitment team vets candidates based on their skills, qualifications, work experience, mindsets, and portfolios. As a reputable outsourcing partner, we understand the repercussions of a bad hire, so we make sure our shortlisted candidates are trained in your software and can work seamlessly with your internal team.
Ready to slash operational costs and leverage the skills of Filipino talent? Contact us now, and our outsourcing expert will clue you in on forming your ideal offshore external team.
The workplace as we know it has changed — and there’s no going back.
From hybrid setups to outsourced teams, 2025 is shaping up to be a year of transformation in how companies build, manage, and scale their teams. The traditional 9-to-5 in-office model is no longer the gold standard. Instead, businesses are now opting for flexible structures that balance productivity, collaboration, and cost-efficiency.
But what exactly do these changes look like in practice? And what does the data say about the future of team structures?
In this article, we explore the latest workforce trends for 2025, break down the shift toward hybrid, remote, in-house, and outsourced teams, and reveal how medium to large companies are scaling smarter than ever.
A lot has happened since the start of the pandemic. Remote work became the norm, hybrid models emerged as a long-term solution, and the global talent pool opened wide. Now, in 2025, the workforce is more agile, distributed, and data-driven than ever.
Hybrid work is no longer just a post-pandemic experiment. It’s a long-term strategy embraced by companies that want to offer flexibility while maintaining a strong team culture. Employees split their time between home and the office, with collaboration tools and digital workflows making it seamless.
While flexibility is the trend, certain industries — such as healthcare, manufacturing, and logistics — still require fully in-house teams due to regulatory or operational needs. These businesses are focusing on optimizing workplace tech, improving employee wellness, and increasing retention rates.
Many tech, creative, and consulting firms have gone all-in on remote work. The appeal? Access to top talent regardless of location, reduced overhead costs, and happier employees. These companies are investing heavily in asynchronous communication, digital collaboration, and cybersecurity.
The age of “one-size-fits-all” hiring is over. In 2025, workforce flexibility is a key driver of business growth and resilience. Companies want to scale quickly, plug talent gaps, and stay lean — without sacrificing performance.
Outsourcing is no longer just about cutting costs. It's now a smart strategy used by medium to large businesses to access specialized talent, scale operations fast, and improve ROI.
According to a Gartner report, more companies are leveraging outsourcing to remain agile and competitive — especially in content creation, customer support, IT, and digital marketing.
Freelancers and gig workers are becoming a core part of the workforce. They allow businesses to expand teams temporarily, test new projects, or access niche skills without long-term commitments.
More companies are assembling temporary teams based on project needs. This model is popular in industries like creative services, software development, and e-commerce — where expertise and execution speed are more valuable than headcount.
Understanding how companies are structuring their teams in 2025 reveals key workforce trends across industries. The infographic below highlights how five sectors — Tech, Marketing, Healthcare, Finance, and Retail — are blending hybrid, remote, in-house, and outsourced models.
Businesses are building blended teams that offer flexibility and scale. Outsourcing is more common than ever — especially for medium to large companies looking to grow efficiently in 2025.
With the global talent crunch and rising operational costs, outsourcing is becoming the go-to solution for scaling efficiently.
Rather than hire full-time employees for every role, companies are turning to outsourced teams to fill skill gaps quickly — whether it’s graphic design, SEO, or customer service.
By outsourcing to offshore partners, businesses get access to top-tier talent without the overhead of hiring, training, and maintaining a large in-house team. This allows for faster time-to-market and significant cost savings.
As noted in McKinsey & Company insights, agile businesses are those that combine in-house excellence with external partnerships.
Outsourcing allows teams to scale up or down as needed — without long-term financial commitments. For companies preparing for rapid growth or seasonal spikes, this flexibility is crucial.
2025 is not just about where we work — it’s about how we work.
As teams become more project-based, companies are focusing more on specific skills and less on traditional roles. The future belongs to multi-skilled professionals who can adapt quickly.
Expect to see businesses continuously assembling, disbanding, and reassembling teams — depending on goals, clients, and market trends.
The most successful remote and hybrid teams in 2025 are those with strong internal communication, clear values, and a shared sense of purpose.
As team structures evolve, businesses that adapt early will thrive. Whether you're building a hybrid team or looking to outsource creative and marketing talent, working with the right partner makes all the difference.
At KDCI, we help businesses like yours scale smartly by providing access to skilled content creators, designers, and digital marketing professionals — all tailored to your needs and brand voice.
🔗 Ready to future-proof your workforce? Get in touch with KDCI Outsourcing and let’s build your high-performing team today.
In a world where everyone is online and scrolling, a business without a solid social media presence is like a store without a sign — it exists, but no one knows about it. That’s why hiring a social media manager is no longer a luxury — it’s a must.
According to Statista, there are over 5 billion active social media users worldwide. That’s nearly 60% of the global population. With these numbers only rising, it’s no surprise that businesses of all sizes are rushing to build their digital presence. But let’s be honest — social media isn’t just about pretty posts and trendy hashtags. It’s about strategy, consistency, and engagement — and that’s where a skilled social media manager comes in.
In this article, we’ll break down the hows and whys of hiring a social media manager to elevate your brand and connect with your audience more meaningfully.
Sure, anyone can post on social media — but not everyone can do it strategically. A professional social media manager wears multiple hats: strategist, content creator, community builder, data analyst, and crisis manager (yes, for when that one comment goes viral for the wrong reason).
They can help your business:
As highlighted by Business.com, your reputation is your reality. A social media manager doesn’t just create posts — they shape public perception and keep your brand in a positive light.
Start with clarity. What do you want to achieve?
Clear goals help define your job description and set expectations for the role. If you're starting from scratch, your social media manager may also act as a strategist and build your online presence from the ground up.
Not all social media managers are created equal. Based on this Sprout Social guide, successful social media managers should have:
If your brand is heavily visual (like in fashion, food, or lifestyle), look for someone with a strong design background. If your brand is more B2B, focus on someone with a knack for thought leadership and LinkedIn strategy.
Hiring in-house gives you direct access to your social media manager — perfect for businesses that need a full-time content wizard. However, if you’re not ready to commit to a full-time role or want to test the waters, outsourcing to a creative agency or freelance professional is a smart move.
Pro tip: Look into companies that offer personalized outsourcing plans and have proven experience in your industry. Agencies like KDCI Outsourcing can help you build a team tailored to your brand’s tone, visual style, and growth goals — whether it’s building awareness or creating viral campaigns.
Let’s talk numbers. Social media managers’ rates vary depending on experience, deliverables, and whether you hire in-house or freelance. Ask yourself:
Keep in mind that someone who manages five platforms, creates content calendars, writes copy, engages with your audience, and runs Facebook Ads will require a higher budget than someone who only schedules posts.
A great social media manager will have a portfolio that includes:
Don’t just go for aesthetics. Ask about the why behind their strategy — why they used a certain call-to-action, how they handled negative feedback, or what their KPIs were for a particular campaign.
Once you’ve chosen your candidate, set clear expectations:
Setting expectations from day one will eliminate guesswork and streamline the workflow, ensuring everyone’s on the same page.
Hiring a social media manager is an investment — not just in marketing, but in your brand’s growth and reputation. In today’s digital landscape, where consumers discover new brands, read reviews, and make purchase decisions online, a well-executed social media presence can make or break your business.
As millions of users join social platforms daily and brand loyalty is often built in the comments section, there’s never been a better time to bring in a professional who knows how to navigate the digital landscape.
Don’t let your brand get lost in the feed. Hire a social media manager who can tell your story, engage your audience, and drive results. Get in touch with KDCI Outsourcing to hire skilled content creators and social media managers who can take your brand to the next level.
.png)
Scalability is when companies can handle the rigors of increased workload while maintaining optimal performance and minimizing costs. Scaling helps businesses stay relevant amid growing competition.
However, it is not an on-a-whim initiative; scaling requires significant investment, careful planning, brand messaging consistency, and assessment tools for monitoring success. When executed by a skilled business leader, scalability can be an avenue for sustainable business growth. This article takes a deep dive into how US companies scale without increasing costs.
Scalability is about sustainable growth and innovation. This section explores how US companies scale with remote teams, outsourcing, and AI and automation.
1. Remote Teams
While the COVID-19 pandemic marked the era of working from home, employers in the United States and employees are now opening their doors to in-office and hybrid work models. In an American Staffing Association (ASA)-commissioned survey titled “Workforce Monitor,” the report found that working in-person or hybrid was preferred by over half (68%) of American workers.
Likewise, most employers have plans (75%) or are already implementing (71%) a hybrid set-up in their companies. Despite the shift to hybrid and return-to-office (RTO) work models, the remote work model stands strong, with remote-first companies and employers who build 100% remote teams taking center stage in the post-pandemic era.
The remote-first model is a practice where employees work remotely, but are given the flexibility to work on-site, a co-working space, or a satellite office. While face-to-face interactions and meetings are a staple of this model, they usually only occur a few times a year. Despite the similarities between remote-first companies and 100% remote, there’s one big difference between the two: the latter model involves little to no face-to-face interactions.
Both remote work models widen the scope of hiring new team members, allowing companies to source candidates from a different city, state, or country to fill job openings and close talent shortages.
Remote teams also promote cost savings. In fact — for every employee that works half-time remotely — companies in the United States can incur savings of around $11,000 USD a year, as per the estimate of GlobalWorkplaceAnalytics.com. Because overhead costs are significantly reduced, companies can pool more resources on business expansion and operational continuity.
2. Outsourcing Partners
Outsourcing is also how US companies scale without ballooning costs. To start, outsourcing is a business practice that involves entering into a contract with a service provider to perform specific job functions. There are three outsourcing models:
US companies leverage outsourcing solutions to reduce costs and improve efficiency while increasing profits. Apart from these, though, there’s another reason why the United States is outsourcing job functions — albeit more locally rooted: talent shortage.
According to the “2024 Global Talent Shortage” report by Manpower Group, the United States has a labor shortage rate of 70% (versus the global average of 75%), clearly showing the struggles of American business owners in hiring top talent and filling job openings. The country’s talent scarcity stems from employees quitting their jobs in search of greener pastures, particularly job opportunities with better work-life balance.
Furthermore, the appeal of entrepreneurship spurs the increase of business applications by former employees, and the extra income earned through digital commerce breaks the glass ceiling of salaries. With more profitable opportunities online and America’s increasingly aging population, attracting young, qualified talent becomes a pressing concern for business owners.
Outsourcing can address talent shortages and fill vacancies. American companies can outsource to countries with a younger workforce with the same skills, experience, and acumen as local candidates without increasing overhead.
Overall, outsourcing is a cornerstone of US business strategies. With no less than one department being outsourced by 66% of American business owners, the United States has become a key stakeholder in the BPO industry, creating 300,000 outsourced jobs a year and generating a staggering $81,445.9 million USD in revenue.
3. AI and Automation
Automation is defined as the use of technology to perform mundane tasks with little manual input from humans. Automation technologies also follow pre-set rules. AI, on the other hand, is a technology designed to mirror a human’s cognitive and intellectual functions. Hence, AI can make decisions and generate human-like content on behalf of the user.
As AI and automation play a more prominent role in today’s landscape, US companies are now taking advantage of these technologies. In the 2024 “The CFO Survey” by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, and the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University, an overwhelming majority (85%) of large businesses reported the deployment of automation technology in the last year.
Companies of various sizes are drawn to the game-changing perks of AI and automation. In the same survey, businesses of all sizes reported their rationale for implementing such technologies within the last year:
US companies can scale by enhancing their workforce, not necessarily replacing all employees with technology. Human employees can efficiently accomplish more high-value work, leaving AI and automation tools to handle low-value tasks or operations that require minimal input.
Such technologies also improve customer service by handling customer care queries and providing recommendations without hiring additional manpower. While there’s no denying their impact on employees, AI and automation are an asset to US businesses.
Let’s look at the success stories of these companies that take advantage of remote teams, outsourcing partners, and automation to expand their reach while ensuring cost savings and productivity.
Quora is a platform where users can ask or answer questions. Founded by CEO Adam D’Angelo, it is a remote company with a skilled workforce of employees from different countries. Its transition from an in-office to a remote work model was all thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic and D’Angelo’s leadership skills.
The transition involved a lot of research on D’Angelo’s end. His efforts paid off, as he found that Quora employees grapple with poor mental health exacerbated by exhausting commutes and hefty Bay Area housing prices as well as housing scarcity. Due to restrictions on immigration, Quora could not leverage the knowledge and skills of overseas employees, severely limiting its hiring scope to the local scene.
Since becoming a remote-first company, employees can collaborate with their peers at a specific time, fostering seamless communication between teams. Quora’s Mountain View office has also become a co-working space where team members can work and get their much-needed social interaction.
Thanks to Quora’s remote-first initiative, the American company has expanded its hiring reach to 15 countries — increasing its access to a wider pool of talent. Cost-wise, the initiative helped reduce spending on in-office expenditures, including rent. Compliance with local laws and regulations also meant establishing a local subsidiary entity — in this case, Quora India.
Despite the challenges of getting adequate social interaction (even through virtual means) and working with employees from different countries, Quora’s success story is a testament to the power of remote teams.
Google is a multinational tech company founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Known for its eponymous search engine and a suite of tech and productivity tools, Google is also one of those large companies that leverage outsourcing.
Its first foray into outsourcing was in 2011 — a year when the tech company partnered with call centers from all over the globe to outsource job openings for AdWords’ customer care. Throughout its outsourcing history, Google has not only outsourced customer support but also software development, infrastructure management, and IT services.
Due to Google’s commitment to outsourcing, cost-effectiveness, and even AI, many of its in-house workforce have been laid off. Despite the economic repercussions of this move, the tech company’s outsourcing ventures enable it to expand and maintain a global workforce for seamless operations while maintaining flexibility and ensuring optimal cost savings.
Facebook is a social networking platform with billions of active users. Like Google, this California-based company is also a leading outsourcer of jobs, especially content moderation — which is a process of reviewing users’ digital content.
Facebook enlisted the help of Accenture and other foreign companies like Sama to moderate content, scaling its global content moderation initiatives according to demand and saving on labor costs with its contractual employees. The best part? It uses AI to help human moderators review user-generated content.
While Facebook’s AI has successfully taken down inappropriate content, there are instances when human moderators analyze user-generated content the AI has passed to the moderation team for manual review. When this happens, the moderators decide whether the content will be removed from the platform.
Though the technology is trained to analyze whether a particular user-generated content contains inappropriate text or imagery, AI still needs a human touch to help ensure user safety. The more Facebook’s AI learns from manually reviewed content, the more sophisticated it becomes. The platform’s success with AI automation shows the inherent synergy between humans and AI, whereas its global workforce drives operational efficiency and cost savings.
Unity is a game engine created by Unity Technologies, a San Francisco-based company. Initially, Unity faced an influx of customer query tickets from users via Zendesk — a customer service solutions program. Scaling its workforce became even more imminent, but there’s a risk of investing more resources in additional manpower to manage large ticket volumes.
Former Unity Technologies’ services support senior manager, David Schroeder, took matters into his own hands by taking advantage of Zendesk’s AI and automation solutions. Through Zendesk’s AI agent, Unity saw an improvement in its operational efficiency, speeding up customer support and making ticket handling more manageable.
The firm also took advantage of self-service customer support, one of the most powerful trends in customer service. Doing so meant updating and writing new FAQ content based on recurring customer needs and insights generated by Zendesk. This way, users can access AI-provided FAQ articles without unnecessary wait times.
Thanks to Unity’s self-service support and AI agent, the company was able to slash customer care ticket numbers by nearly 8,000— translating to a seven-hour reduction in customer resolution and an impressive cost savings of $1.3 million USD. As a result of Unity’s success with AI and automation, the team will continue to finetune the company’s customer support system.
This success story proves companies don’t need new employees to manage increased ticket volume. When businesses explore and take advantage of new tech, they can enjoy the newfound operational efficiency that AI and automation tools bring to the workflow.
Scaling smart involves taking calculated risks and priming your business for future success and sustainable growth. If you’re looking to scale via outsourcing, look no further than KDCI Outsourcing.
As one of the top BPO companies in the Philippines, we provide cost-effective outsourcing solutions to medium-sized and large companies in and outside the United States. Our suite of services includes IT and software development, customer support, finance and accounting, digital marketing, and many more. With KDCI Outsourcing’s personalized and strategic outsourcing solutions, we can meet your business scaling needs and ensure your business’s success.
Let’s help you scale smart with our team of offshore Filipino staff. For inquiries, price quotes, and proposals, contact us now!
As an owner of a medium or large business, you’ve probably heard — perhaps even grow tired of hearing — Bill Gates’ quote: “Content is King.” Although this quote is from Gates’ 1996 essay, content reigns supreme until this day.
Whether it’s a blog post or a social media video, we engage with all sorts of content every day. Since we use social media for an average of 143 minutes, creating high-impact content becomes an even more vital part of any marketer or business owner’s content strategy.
Content creators are every brand’s heroes; they are your content writers, copywriters, graphic designers, influencers, photographers, and videographers. These professionals know the art of attracting and engaging your target audience with content that’s not only relatable and informative, but also improves brand awareness and increases your brand’s online visibility on social media platforms.
This article includes a short list of the best places to hire content creators, as well as a tutorial on hiring a content creator for your brand.
Every brand deserves a thriving online presence. Whether your goal is to drive engagement with viral content or establish authority in your niche, working with the right company makes a whole lot of difference in your brand’s growth and visibility.
Below, we round up the best companies — including the top creative agencies and online platforms — to hire content creators.
KDCI Outsourcing is a Philippine-based BPO company specializing in offshore staffing solutions for different industries. Its cost-effective outsourced content creation services cover copywriting, graphic design, search engine optimization (SEO), photography, social media management, and the like. With the company’s personalized outsourcing plan, KDCI Outsourcing can hire content creators who specialize or have years of experience producing content in your niche.
These content creators are rigorously screened, as they undergo multiple interviews, portfolio checking, and if applicable, a writing test. A project manager will handle the quality assurance processes to ensure blogs, videos, and other content are creative, high-quality, and aligned with your brand voice and goals.
Because KDCI Outsourcing handles all the content creation processes, your in-house team can focus on what they do best, boosting productivity and efficiency. With the promise of industry-standard original content and 70% more cost savings, KDCI Outsourcing is one of the best BPO companies to hire content creators for any business need.
Founded in 2012, SEO Premier is a digital marketing agency with offices in Australia, Bahrain, the Philippines, and the United Kingdom. The company excels in various services, including advertising, analytics, SEO, and content creation. Its content creation forte lies in written content.
SEO Premier boasts a professional copywriting team that produces on-brand, well-researched copy that ranks high in search rankings and converts readers into customers and leads, reflecting the team’s industry knowledge, top-notch writing skills, and application of current SEO trends and practices. With SEO Premier’s SEO reports, you can find out if your brand is generating traffic and performing well.
Overall, SEO Premier is a great choice for businesses that prefer to work with outsourced SEO and copywriting experts to get concrete results from their investment.
With offices based all over Asia, AJ Marketing is a marketing agency with over a decade of experience in delivering world-class video production, social media management, offline events, influencer marketing, celebrity campaign, and media buying services to big-name brands — including Adobe, Microsoft, and Philips.
The company boasts a vast network of celebrities and influencers who can act as your brand ambassador, grow your audience, and elevate and drive engagement to your brand. From booking and content planning to licensing and content advertising, AJ Marketing’s talented creators will handle the whole marketing campaign, so you can see the fruits of their labor in the flesh and enjoy sky-high audience engagement.
AJ Marketing is recommended for brands that want to leverage celebrity and influencer marketing to draw in local audiences with viral trends and establish a solid reputation in their respective niches.
URALA International is a marketing agency with a global presence in the Asia-Pacific and the Middle East. It offers advertising, creative, marketing, PR, and tech services, and boasts a track record of working with Spotify, L’Oreal Philippines, and other brands. The marketing agency’s creative work centers on producing visually enticing photos, videos, and CGI social media videos to provide visualizers and promote a brand’s products while captivating audiences.
With its knowledge of influencer marketing and content marketing, URALA International’s content creation team delivers engagement on various social media platforms, allowing brands to gain a sizable following on social media platforms.
Strong Media Corp. is a creative agency in the Philippines. It prides itself in transforming concepts and ideas into visually enticing videos and animations that not only tell stories and trigger an emotional response, but also help brands become successful and leave a long-lasting impact on audiences.
Strong Media Corp. offers cutting-edge video editing, animation and motion graphics, script and storyboarding, casting, color grading, and drone video services. As an end-to-end production company, Strong Media Corp. handles all steps of video content production, from sourcing talents, storyboarding, and writing scripts, to animating, editing, and color grading.
While the production fees vary according to complexity and your needs, Strong Media Corp.’s vast experience in creative writing, animation, and video production can set up your brand for a more ambitious foothold in your niche.
Snappr is a photography booking website that lets you work with the best photographers in your area and in any niche, such as event photography, product photography, and many more. Its photographers have partnered with popular companies, including Airbnb, Google, and Sony.
Snappr assesses the needs and purpose of your photoshoot, taking into account your preferred date, time, and location, so the platform can match you with the best photographer — who will come prepared with their equipment at the venue. The website also accepts bookings at two hours’ notice, allowing for last-minute photoshoots for new content.
You can expect to see your edited photos in 48 hours on the Snappr app, all of which can be shared and downloaded in a jiffy. With Snappr’s fast booking and turnaround time, you’ll have great photos ready for your marketing campaign and promotion.
Quill is an agency that provides professional internal podcast, video podcast, podcast marketing, and full-service podcast production services to engage brands and corporate teams through entertaining audio content. Its client base includes Microsoft, McKinsey & Company, PWC, and other well-known companies.
Quill’s podcasting team will take care of the audio content creation process from concept to post-production. They will formulate an appropriate podcast strategy, plan and structure episodes, write scripts, record and edit audio, and distribute recorded podcasts on audio channels.
As an agency that values results, Quill’s audio content creation team employs data analytics to provide insights into your content’s performance. By integrating SEO transcription, your audio content will rank high on search results, making your podcasts more discoverable on audio platforms and search engines.
Quill is recommended if your content strategy involves empowering audiences through high-quality audio content.
Content creator is an umbrella term for professionals who create content for brands. Content creation teams are typically composed of writers, artists, and video editors, but behind their creative minds are your SEO specialists, content managers, and social media managers who handle the strategic aspect of content creation.
Below is a general step-by-step guide on how to hire content creators for your brand.
Whether it’s to promote a new product or increase engagement rates, having clear goals in mind helps production companies and marketing agencies better understand your needs and prevent miscommunication and conflicts of interest.
You should also identify what kind of content you want for your brand, so you can hire content creators that produce your desired content type. When defining your requirements and qualifications for a content creator, keep in mind the following:
Do your research on the average cost of graphic designers, content writers, and other content creators so you can manage expectations and set a more realistic budget. Rates can also vary depending on the company or agency, project complexity, and the content creator’s seniority level.
From outsourcing companies to production agencies, you are swimming with options. A company’s portfolio is a giveaway of its expertise, experience, and quality of service. While quality is a factor, look for projects that align with your niche, content needs, and target audience, so you know if an agency is a good fit for your brand.
If a company’s portfolio includes data and insights, such as follower count and engagement rates, you can gauge the success and impact of its campaign. In addition, if you’re dipping into influencer marketing, aim for companies with a network of influencers.
Requesting a price quote helps determine if a company or production house’s services are within your budget. To prevent misunderstandings when closing a deal, be upfront with your expectations, turnaround times, and deliverables.
Based on your content needs and requirements, companies will source and screen potential creators for you. Recruiters will evaluate resumes and portfolios and conduct initial interviews. If applicable, you can even do the final interview for shortlisted applicants. Tailor interview questions according to the role. Here are examples:
For graphic designers and content writers, you can make them complete a timed design or writing test with an accompanying brief. These tests assess a candidate’s ability to create quality content and work within a deadline while staying on brand.
If you’re hiring influencers yourself, keep in mind these tips:
Overall, content is the fire that keeps brands burning brightly. Without compelling and engaging content, your brand will be left in the dust, and very few people will be interested in your products or services. That’s why professional content creators are here to save your brand!
At KDCI Outsourcing, we help struggling brands build a full content production team that can create quality content at cost-effective prices. We only hire content creators that meet your qualifications and standards.
Our personalized outsourcing plan factors in your unique needs, pain points, and business ethos, ensuring long-term business success as well as increased brand awareness and social media presence.
Contact us now, and let’s help you hire content creators for your branding needs!
The United States boasts a strong digital marketing industry. In 2024, Statista reported that the country spent a staggering $316.9 billion USD on digital advertising, versus China with $200.39 billion USD, and Norway with $2.67 billion USD. Between industries, retail and healthcare (17%) and pharma (11%) are the sectors that leverage digital advertising the most.
With 91% of the US population owning a smartphone, mobile advertising has been one of the go-to digital marketing channels among marketers, therefore taking up a hefty 66% share of spending on digital advertising. As a country with 246 million social media users — the third highest globally — US marketers have an eye for social media platforms for their digital marketing efforts, accounting for around 15% of their media budget.
While digital marketing in the United States has and will continue to cement its role, changes in data privacy regulations and demand for personalization will shape the industry now and in the future.
With the help of BPO companies in developing countries, outsourcing digital marketing can revolutionize your business’s digital marketing campaign and boost its brand presence overseas.
Digital marketing in the United States is not a one-man army. As an outsourcer, one big mistake you can make is thinking that a single person can wear the many hats of every digital marketing role. Here are the digital marketing roles you can outsource to an overseas marketing agency or an outsourcing company.
A cornerstone of digital marketing, SEO involves driving organic traffic to your website from search engines and social media platforms, including Google and YouTube. While SEO is associated with content creation — especially content writing — it also involves conducting tech, on-page, and off-page optimization to ensure an optimal user experience and site health as well as improve rankings through backlinks.
SEO specialists are skilled in keyword research and analysis, writing, link building, and content optimization. They utilize various SEO tools to optimize ranks and drive visibility to your brand.
Content writing involves the production of articles and blogs to engage a brand’s target audience. These written outputs not only educate readers and address customers’ needs, they can also generate leads, boost brand awareness and credibility, and drive website traffic. Essentially, the more valuable your content, the more you’ll engage potential leads.
Content writers live up to the E-E-A-T guidelines, meaning “Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness.” They come up with topics that soothe the pain points of customers and produce reliable, high-value content that solidifies the brand’s expertise and experience in the industry.
Their impeccable research and informative writing skills inject a unique perspective on each published article, providing readers with deep insights that leave them wanting more.
Creativity is a staple of every digital marketing strategy. Great graphic design represents who you are as a brand. Because pictures tell a thousand words, graphic design acts as a communication channel, translating your brand’s ethos and messages into high-impact visual content that converts and tells a story.
Graphic designers have a masterful grasp of typography, visual hierarchy, color theory, and design principles. Whether your design team is creating infographics, logos, or social media posts, their artistic touch transforms ideas and information into visually engaging content that sets your brand apart from competitors.
Social media management is more than managing a brand’s account on a social media platform. It also involves crafting a realistic content strategy, analyzing metrics, interacting with users, and enhancing social media marketing campaigns. All these help promote brand awareness and establish a more prominent online presence.
Social media managers know the inner workings of social media platforms, allowing them to devise an optimal marketing strategy and plan an appropriate content type that works best across platforms. They are also customer service agents, politely communicating with users via comments or private messages to answer basic inquiries or resolve issues. Essentially, social media managers add a human touch to your brand.
As the name implies, PPC advertising works by bidding on keywords and paying a fee to a publisher for every user who clicks on your advertisement. PPC is helpful for businesses that want a faster way of reaching their target market and generating desired results in a jiffy without significant cost investments.
This type of advertising also works hand in hand with SEO, combining both immediate and organic traffic to achieve goals and metrics without the hefty cost of traditional marketing techniques.
Like SEO specialists, PPC specialists excel in keyword research and analysis. PPC specialists are also calculated risk-takers; they’re not afraid to add a new spin to ad copies to catch users’ attention and convert them into paying customers. These digital marketing professionals are life-long learners, keeping themselves up to date with SEO trends and technologies to ensure a successful digital marketing campaign.
Outsourcing has been ingrained into US history, especially during the Industrial Revolution. This was a period when US manufacturers outsourced production segments like manufacturing and raw material sourcing and processing to other countries, reducing costs without compromising product quality.
Today, the US is one of the top outsourcing countries along with Australia and the United Kingdom. As a testament to its long-standing reputation in the outsourcing industry, Horizon Grand View Research found that the country’s BPO market generated a revenue of a whopping $81,445.9 million USD in 2024, up from 2023’s $75,693.6 million USD.
Having said that, here are five reasons why US companies outsource their digital marketing services.
Choosing between hiring an in-house and outsourced digital marketing specialist is a never-ending debate. In-house digital specialists are more likely to know your brand inside and out, allowing them to develop and execute a marketing strategy that closely aligns with your brand’s values and target demographic. This helps you gain a competitive advantage over other brands.
However, a local digital marketing specialist is a costly investment. According to Zip Recruiter, the average salary of this role is $65,418 USD a year (versus $10,244.98 USD for a Filipino digital marketing specialist).
If you plan to build an in-house digital marketing team, it can set you back more than thousands of dollars every year. Digital marketing teams are typically composed of the following roles:
Let’s break down the cost of the remaining roles in the United States and the Philippines.
An SEO specialist costs $67,388 USD a year (versus $9,366.50 USD for a Filipino SEO specialist); a social media manager earns $64,845 USD per year (versus $8,181.77 USD); a PPC specialist nets $47,241 USD (versus $11,459.53 USD) annually; a content writer earns $84,151 USD per year (versus $6,981.49 USD); finally, a graphic designer costs $55,951 USD per annum (versus $8,197.31 USD).
These are just base salaries. With employee benefits and other expenses thrown in the mix, these can balloon the average cost of each team member. Utilities, rent, office equipment, and software subscriptions also take a financial toll on your budget and contribute to higher overhead expenses. But with an outsourced digital marketing team, you still get the expertise you need for your brand’s success — albeit at 70% of the cost of a local team.
Building a digital marketing team locally limits your talent pool to a state or city. And what better way to hire expert talent and maintain optimal profitability than outsourcing to developing countries? Developing countries like the Philippines have cheaper labor costs, translating to increased cost savings for your company.
Offshore digital marketers from BPO companies, content marketing agencies, and digital marketing companies boast ample marketing experience and high English proficiency. They are also equipped with in-demand skills, such as SEO, data analysis, lead generation, and content marketing.
While the United States has 3.1 million job opportunities as of 2023, employers struggle with hiring people for these openings due to early retirement, interest in entrepreneurship, and an aging population. Because of these factors, outsourcing has become a viable avenue for businesses to fill job openings. Thus, it’s no surprise that 300,000 jobs are outsourced by the country each year.
In-house teams are harder to scale. To keep up with demand, you need to hire people. Of course, hiring comes with significant time and financial investment, from training new employees to providing additional office spaces.
It’s a different story when partnering with a digital marketing company and building an outsourced digital marketing team. Outsourced teams are more flexible, so you can scale according to demand without the financial burden of employing new team members and maintaining a functioning team.
Whether it’s Semrush or Ahrefs, digital marketing tools and programs cost money. While there are free alternatives or programs with free trials, their advanced features are paywalled, limiting their functionality to just the bare bones. Since digital marketing is a fast-paced field with ever-evolving needs and complexities, free tools won’t cut it.
When you work with BPO companies and digital marketing agencies, you can expect their digital marketing teams to have all the necessary tools — including AI-powered software — to bring any digital marketing campaign to life.
Because these companies shoulder the cost of software subscriptions and licenses, your technology and software investments will be drastically reduced. This gives you a higher return on investment (ROI) as well as faster and more data-driven insights.
AI is a prevalent trend in digital marketing. According to a 2023 Statista survey, a little over half (52%) of US marketing professionals reported an increase in efficiency after using AI in their marketing operations. Besides optimizing efficiency, this technology also aids in brainstorming, analyzing data and user behavior, and improving research.
However, there’s a slight pushback in fully integrating AI into marketing operations. WebFX found that ethics and privacy (49.5%), biased and inaccurate AI content (43%), and the cost of AI-powered tools (35%) are the most pressing concerns about using this technology. Skepticism against AI is valid — but with half of marketers (50%) leveraging AI — there’s all the more reason to implement it in your workflow.
Since outsourced digital marketers are abreast with marketing trends and are trained in AI technologies, they can introduce AI-powered tools into your marketing campaigns, innovating your digital marketing efforts while optimizing costs.
The success of digital marketing in the United States will accelerate the surge of demand for qualified digital marketing professionals. With talent shortages and unfilled job positions, finding the right person for a particular digital marketing job can take immense time and resources. But when you close a deal with a reputable outsourcing company or the best digital marketing agency, you can say goodbye to unfilled job openings.
KDCI Outsourcing is a Philippine-based BPO company with a track record of helping US clients outsource digital marketing to the Philippines. To provide effective offshore digital marketing, SEM (search engine marketing), and SEO services, our outsourcing experts analyze your company’s marketing needs and goals and offer a tailored outsourcing plan for you, which includes the job roles and headcount of your offshore digital marketing team.
We have digital marketing roles for SEO specialists, content writers, affiliate marketing managers, social media managers, and many more. Our expert recruitment team will vet applicants based on your requirements, carefully screening their resumes and interviewing them to ensure they can work well with your in-house team.
KDCI Outsourcing trains all qualified candidates on your software, so they can work on tasks without delay. As an outsourced digital marketing agency, we make sure our outsourced staff are familiar with the latest industry trends.
Ready to cut overhead costs and reap the benefits of our high-performing Filipino professionals? Contact us now, and let’s work together to up your digital and online marketing game!
Data entry is a prominent administrative task in many industries. That’s why there are data entry clerks who specialize in a particular industry. An e-commerce data entry specialist excels in encoding product data and organizing products. On the other hand, a medical data entry clerk inputs patient and medical records into an electronic health records (EHR) system.
Nowadays, data entry clerks are more than general data encoders that boost operational efficiency; they can also be industry specialists in their own right, providing data-driven industry insights to ensure business growth. Before you outsource data entry to the Philippines, let’s first learn the steps in hiring a data entry clerk. As a bonus, we’ll share a short round-up of the best companies for outsourcing data entry.
Data entry clerk hiring can be challenging at first — especially if you’re the only one doing all the hiring. But really, it just boils down to analyzing your business needs and knowing what you’re looking for in a data entry specialist. Here’s how you can hire a data encoder.
Take a deep dive into your company’s daily operations. What kind of data does your business work with regularly? This question helps you identify if you need a general or specialized data entry operator.
Likewise, you should be able to answer the “why” behind hiring a data entry clerk. Most of the time, businesses hire a data entry operator to optimize efficiency, improve customer satisfaction, maintain data integrity, or cut costs.
Whether you’re hiring a data entry clerk to reduce workload or ensure compliance, having a clear rationale helps set the expectations of your future job seeker and identify if the work is suitable for a part-time or full-time role.
From Microsoft Excel to Amazon Web Services, these are the tools of the trade in data entry. By knowing which programs are used by your in-house team, you can narrow your candidate pool and find a data operator who’s highly proficient with those programs. This saves you time from training your freshly hired remote data entry clerk.
We all have an ideal candidate. Ask yourself: What traits, skills, and qualifications must my data entry clerk have? Apart from software proficiency, your data encoder should have the following:
Data entry jobs don’t require a high educational level, though a college degree is advantageous if the task involves specialized industry knowledge. You can also require potential candidates to have a data entry certification or relevant work experience in your industry.
You now know what you’re looking for. But here comes the tricky part: Writing a data entry clerk job description. Remember, you’re competing with other clients, so a well-written job posting can make the difference between being passed over or attracting a candidate. Keep in mind the following tips:
Including a link to an assessment form in the job description and stating you’re only accepting applications made through the form is also a good way to screen candidates — to see if they’re following directions.
In that form, you can include questions ranging from balancing multiple assignments to dealing with vague instructions. From their answers, you can gauge their character and written communication skills. You can include a link to a typing test to assess their typing speed.
Take note that the words per minute (WPM) differ between industries and tasks. A 30 to 40 WPM is already good for simpler data encoding tasks. If your business operates in the finance, medical, or customer industry, then a 40 to 60 WPM should be the minimum.
Just like how candidates prepare for an interview, clients are also expected to do their part of the share. Online agencies and outsourcing companies include client interviews as part of their hiring process, so make sure you have a list of questions for shortlisted candidates. Here are three examples:
Once a candidate passes the interview, you can onboard and acclimate them to your business’s operations. Provide additional resources, monitor their performance, and ensure timely feedback, so they can improve their performance.
An outsourcing, virtual assistant, or data entry company in the Philippines is the best place to hire and work with a remote data entry clerk. Check out the best companies that offer data entry assistance below.
Based in Pasig City, KDCI Outsourcing is one of the best Philippine BPO companies with a global client base of well-known brands and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Its diverse portfolio of outsourcing services, from customer care to administrative support, enables it to provide much-needed manpower and streamlined operations at affordable rates.
KDCI Outsourcing’s data processing services are worthy of praise, as the company only hires the best data entry specialists who exhibit the speed, precision, and integrity to accomplish even the most repetitive and data-intensive tasks. The company also employs data entry clerks for niche roles, such as accounting encoders, e-commerce encoders, data conversion specialists, and many more.
Such diversity enables KDCI Outsourcing to train and onboard the right data entry clerk for any need. For example, a client who needs help sorting out financial data and analyzing trends benefits from an accounting encoder’s expertise and industry knowledge. Alternatively, a market research company that collects customer feedback can benefit from a survey encoder’s meticulousness and analytical skills.
By having the right people for the job, you can enjoy all the benefits that come with KDCI Outsourcing’s outsourced data entry solutions: An error-free database, a team of high performers, increased operational efficiency, and reduced expenses.
Headquartered in Quezon City, Outsourced is a BPO company with over a decade of experience in building personalized offshore staffing solutions for clients in various industries, including education, information technology, engineering and architecture, admin and data processing, and more.
As a company that maintains a high quality of service, Outsourced only hires the top 1% of the best data entry clerks. These data entry specialists not only meet your requirements and exhibit proficiency with database systems and customer relationship management (CRM) tools, they are also fast typists and detail-oriented. This allows your data entry team to complete any data encoding task with speed, care, and precision.
Because the outsourcing firm has an ISO (International Organization for Standardization) 27001 certification, rest assured your data entry specialist and the Outsourced team will maintain confidentiality and protect your customers’ data at all costs.
With its talented workforce, world-class services, and ISO certifications, Outsourced makes for an excellent outsourcing partner for businesses of all sizes.
Stealth Agents is a company with a highly experienced team of full-time virtual assistants. The platform’s positive client reviews are a testament to its high hiring standards and world-class virtual assistance services. It handles the bulk of the sourcing and hiring process. Hence, it only matches you with the most qualified virtual assistant that best suits your goals, needs, and qualifications.
Stealth Agents has virtual assistants for every possible task, including inventory management, search engine optimization (SEO), copywriting, and data entry. The company’s virtual assistants for data entry are responsible for keeping databases organized and error-free. With their unparalleled speed and organization skills, they can accomplish data entry tasks with tight deadlines without sacrificing their eye for detail.
Beyond the usual data entry jobs, Stealth Agents’ data entry VAs can create custom reports to give you actionable, data-driven insights on market trends, so you can make the best decision for your business.
However, it’s important to remember that Stealth Agents is not aimed at clients looking for part-time virtual assistants, as the platform believes that growth is more sustainable with a full-time administrative assistant who’s fully dedicated to your business.
Unity Communications prides itself in its 94% client retention rate, offering top-tier outsourcing solutions that help clients — particularly those from the United States — propel their small and Fortune 500 businesses to growth and success. With offices in Mexico, the Philippines, and the United States, this award-winning BPO company allows it to build teams based on the following outsourcing models: offshore, onshore, and nearshore.
While known for its stellar outsourced customer support services, Unity Communications outsources other services, such as tech support, virtual medical assistance, and data entry. Speaking of the latter, the BPO company’s data encoding services cover online research, listing and content management, online data input, and data entry for images, real estate, and payroll.
The firm’s data entry specialists are educated high-performers who can streamline your data encoding and processing operations, giving you more time for research and development, strategic decision-making, and other core business functions. Their commitment to data integrity and confidentiality ensures that all your business’s sensitive data are in safe hands.
Continuous professional development is also a norm in Unity Communications, so data entry specialists can keep up with trends and gain new skills to improve their performance and provide exceptional services to clients. Overall, Unity Communications is a great choice if you want a high-performing data entry specialist team that doesn't take too much toll on your budget.
OnlineJobs.PH is a popular job and talent search platform with a long history of outsourcing work to the Philippines. It is also one of the best places to hire a Philippine-based virtual assistant. Filipino professionals on the platform boast skills and expertise that are most sought after by clients, including virtual assistance, writing, web development, e-commerce, graphic design, and data entry.
There are two ways of hiring a data entry clerk in OnlineJobs.PH: look up resumes or create a job posting. For the first method, you type a skill — in this case, data entry — on the search bar, and the platform will yield a list of virtual assistants who have this skill on their profile. You can review a virtual assistant’s profile and filter results according to your preferred employment type, availability, hourly rates, ID Proof score, and other metrics.
For the second method, you create a job opening and wait for candidates to send their applications. Either way, you will handle all steps of the hiring process, from sifting through applicants’ profiles to interviewing and onboarding qualified candidates. The best part about OnineJobs.PH is its commitment to client security.
Though only available for Premium users, its Background Data Check feature analyzes an applicant’s patterns through their employment history as well as their edit and job application logs. Thanks to this feature, you can ease your worries of hiring a scammer.
While you can create a free OnlineJobs.PH account, upgrading to Pro or Premium is recommended for the added features and benefits, including the ability to read reviews and contact candidates.
With so many companies hiring data entry clerks, finding potentially qualified candidates for the data entry role is like finding a needle in a haystack. If you don’t want to spend time sourcing candidates, look no further than working with a reputable BPO company like KDCI Outsourcing.
At KDCI Outsourcing, we take care of the hiring process from start to finish, interviewing and vetting data encoders based on your requirements. This way, we can help you build a reliable Filipino data entry team composed of professionals with good typing speeds, a strong commitment to data accuracy and integrity, and proven experience and proficiency with your software.
Ready to boost your business’s efficiency at cost-effective rates? Contact us now for inquiries!
What started out as a few agents, has grown into an invaluable partnership with KDCI. With more than 40 team members, we are lucky enough to count as part of our Cedar Family. Thank you so much KDCI for making our Company better!
We have found KDCI to be a consistently reliable partner, always willing to ‘go the extra mile’ to ensure our valued customers receive the best possible service.
KDCI plays a very important role in our catalog and content operations. They are responsive, kind, and always willing to help us as much as possible. We have been working together for more than 4 years, and we hope our partnership will be even more fruitful in the future.
Having collaborated with KDCI.co for our creative needs, I can confidently attest to their unparalleled expertise and dedication. Their team consistently delivered innovative solutions that not only met, but often exceeded our expectations. Their professionalism and attention to detail are commendable.
KDCI were able to grow with us with any future requirements. We have a lot to do when it comes to our business, and everytime we come back, they're right there with us and able to deliver.
KDCI's team has been instrumental in helping us not only modernize our platforms but also increase the experiences for the customer, and to deliver on the tsunami of content that came their way.
We had a lot of difficulty finding qualified talent in the United States. Honestly, I don't think we had thought about outsourcing at all as a potential option, but we were very open to it once we heard about it. We love our KDCI team. They're just like a regular part of our team, it's just that they're thousands of miles away.
It's been five years since we started working with KDCI, and it just keeps getting better and better. We've grown together and achieved a lot of shared success. Overall, they're incredibly professional yet fun to work with. We are incredibly happy to have found them.
We're so glad we partnered with KDCI to develop a unique platform that delivers personalized customer experiences without compromising functionality or security. It was an amazing experience, I won't hesitate to start another project with them again.
