Small businesses and large corporations leverage outsourcing for a number of reasons. For example, most business executives (81%) rely on third-party partners for their cybersecurity needs, whereas over half of global firms (59%) choose to reduce costs through outsourcing. While India, Malaysia, and Poland are some of the top outsourcing destinations, the Philippines is still the cream of the crop.
As the business processing outsourcing (BPO) capital of the world, the Philippines boasts not just hundreds of the best BPO companies, but also a wide talent pool of English-speaking professionals who can provide high-caliber services and adapt to Western culture.
However, companies must remember that evaluating potential outsourcing partners in the Philippines is like evaluating an applicant for a particular role. You assess their background, qualifications, cultural fit, track record, and experience to ensure that your outsourcing partner is the right one for your needs and goals.
Outsourcing to the Philippines may be a gamble, but it doesn’t have to be a daunting experience. If you don’t know where and how to begin your search, we’ve got you covered with our comprehensive guide on how to evaluate potential outsourcing partners in the Philippines.
What Should You Look for When You Evaluate Potential Outsourcing Partners Philippines?
Before you scour the internet or your network for a potential outsourcing provider, it’s first important to know the qualities you should look for in an external provider. This way, you can narrow down your choices and find the best outsourcing company for your business needs.
1. Services
BPOs in the Philippines offer a wide range of services in various industries, such as data engineering, game development, graphic design, and many more. Knowing all the services a potential Philippine outsourcing company offers is key to ensuring your specific outsourcing needs will be met throughout the partnership.
2. Experience and Expertise
A BPO’s experience and track record in delivering your required services is a critical aspect of your future partnership. Without a solid track record, how can your future outsourcing provider in the Philippines drive growth to your business?
Check for certifications, accolades, or testimonials that showcase their competence in providing high-quality outsourcing services. Most importantly, find out how long the service provider has been in the outsourcing industry. This gives you an idea of the company’s ability to identify your needs, provide specialized expertise and solutions, and scale your business.
3. Skilled Workforce
Your potential outsourcing company’s workforce is a determiner of whether their employees are equipped with the skills and experience needed for the tasks. It’s also vital if the company’s employees are abreast with current industry trends, or if there are training programs for upskilling its workforce.
9 Steps to Evaluate Potential Outsourcing Partners Philippines
Whether you’re outsourcing accounting or customer service, working with the right outsourcing provider comes a long way. Some clients even become long-time partners of BPOs, with the local staff consistently providing high-quality services. Others, however, choose to terminate their partnership with a BPO due to breaches in contract or any circumstance.
Although there’s no perfect BPO partner, carefully evaluating your potential outsourcing partner in the Philippines makes the difference between a successful outsourcing partnership and wasted time.
Step #1: Identify Goals and Needs
Outsourcing in the Philippines is not a spur-of-the-moment decision. Much like any business venture, it requires deliberate planning and decision-making. Deciding to outsource services boils down to identifying inefficiencies in your business:
- Skill or knowledge gap between your employees
- Poor customer experience and satisfaction
- High overhead costs
- Sudden influx of work
- Lack of sufficient time for critical business operations
Such insights help you gain a clearer picture of your company’s status and workflow, thus making it easier to set goals and draft a contract when you evaluate potential outsourcing partners in the Philippines.
Step #2: Begin Your Search
You can check LinkedIn or do a Google search of Philippine-based BPOs. If you’re resorting to the latter, here’s how you can make the search process easier:
- On the search bar, type “how to outsource” followed by the service and country you plan to outsource to. For example, “how to outsource data entry to the Philippines” and “how to outsource web design to the Philippines.”
- The search results will yield outsourcing guides from Philippine BPOs. From there, you can check out all the articles and create a shortlist of offshore outsourcing companies.
Don’t underestimate the power of your own network, too. Sometimes, your friends and colleagues can point you to outsourcing service providers in the Philippines.
Step #3: Check the Price
Business owners who frequently outsource services will notice a common marketing ploy among BPOs: Significant cost savings for quality work. While the overarching goal of outsourcing is to lower overhead costs, it doesn’t mean you should accept the cheapest offer. Ask for detailed price quotes and go for outsourcing packages that bring the best bang for your buck.
Step #4: Evaluate A Company’s Expertise and Work Ethic
A company website tells a thousand stories. By thoroughly exploring your potential outsourcing partner’s website, you’ll have an idea of its services, values, and workplace culture. Case studies and design portfolios showcase the quality and the impact of a BPO’s services to its client as well as the expertise and competency of the offshore outsourcing team.
Client testimonials and success stories — though they only highlight the positives of the partnership — are also a good way to assess its level of professionalism. If the testimonials on the company website don’t convince you enough, reach out to the clients themselves for a more objective and nuanced perspective.
Step #5: Assess Your Potential Outsourcing Partner’s Data Privacy Policies
With the prevalence of cyberattacks in this digital age, keeping your company’s data safe is always a must. When finding the right outsourcing partner in the Philippines, make sure the company is compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and upholds the Data Privacy Act of 2012.
For your peace of mind, ask about your potential outsourcing company’s disaster recovery plans for cyber attacks as well as how the company encrypts, stores, and deletes sensitive data. This is to ensure that all information will remain secure and confidential throughout your partnership.
Step #6: Check for Timezone Compatibility
Timezone compatibility is an important factor when you evaluate outsourcing partners in the Philippines. But with BPOs operating 24/7 and Filipino workers being flexible, your offshore outsourcing staff can adapt to your timezone and provide seamless, real-time services just like your in-house employees.
While big time zone differences can be intimidating at first, such gaps can be addressed with regular communication between you and your outsourcing partner. So before closing a deal, find out how often your future BPO partner maintains an open line of communication with its clients.
Step #7: Gauge the Workforce Quality of Your Outsourcing Partner’s Employees
Clients like you deserve a competent Filipino offshore team that meets your standards and expectations. When you evaluate potential outsourcing partners in the Philippines, you must have an idea of how the company conducts its hiring process and assesses a candidate’s portfolio, so you can be sure your Filipino staff possesses both the hard and soft skills to do the job.
Step #8: Find Out If the Company Has Enough Manpower
Having the right number of staff helps ease your workload while providing ample assignments for each team member. When assessing potential outsourcing providers in the Philippines, ask the company if they have — or can onboard — enough staff members to meet urgent deadlines without compromising quality and avoid heavy workloads or droughts in task assignments.
With an adequate number of Filipino team members working for you, do expect achieved goals and a greater soar in productivity and efficiency.
Step #9: Conduct A Trial
There’s only so much research and discovery calls can do. For some clients, nothing beats requesting a trial period or a pilot project when evaluating outsourcing service providers in the Philippines.
A pilot project gives you ample time to see if your Filipino team’s outputs and professionalism are up to standards. If the trial did not work out as expected, it’s best to terminate the partnership and move on to your next prospect.
Start Your Outsourcing Journey with KDCI Today!
Outsourcing services is no walk in the park; it’s a major business move that requires a balance of risk and investment. Because evaluating potential outsourcing partners in the Philippines involves background checks and discovery calls, it should be treated like hiring the right person for the job.
While it’s easy to get swayed by cheap outsourcing packages, it shouldn’t be the sole basis for working with an outsourcing company. There are other factors to consider as well, including cultural fit, workforce expertise and knowledge, data privacy policies, track record, and many more. Once you know what to look for in the right BPO partner, it becomes easier to learn how to outsource work to the Philippines.
If you’re on the hunt for a BPO with a strong portfolio and a large client base, choose KDCI. Established in 2011, the company offers a whole suite of services — from customer service and sales to software development. As an extension of your business, we deliver round-the-clock work with passion and competence.
Ready to streamline your day-to-day operations? Contact us today and get ready to embark on a productive outsourcing journey with us!
