Work environments have radically changed in the past few years. The global workforce has had to cope with and adjust to inflation, the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and political and economic power changes. As a result, outsourcing services have quickly expanded in the business ecosystem.
Although remote work is not new, many businesses have observed a significant shift in work since the pandemic. Many companies now outsource professionals to optimize costs, acquire an international talent pool, and cover tedious business functions. These changes have pushed globalized teams to be more adaptive, innovative, and reliable in handling different business processes.
4 Trends in Outsourcing International Remote Teams
Companies have different outsourcing needs, depending on the business functions they need help with. Here are some emerging trends in outsourcing international remote teams today.
- AI technology and RPA
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) helps companies automate internal and external tasks. The demand for RPA surged when companies discovered they could save money by automating complete monotonous activities and leaving only crucial jobs to their employees.
Besides cost savings, RPA technologies help boost business efficiency and productivity. Outsourcing service providers are expected to continue offering RPA services because of their many benefits.
- Remote work
The pandemic has significantly changed how and where people work. For instance, one of the most significant shifts is the rise of remote work. Many organizations switched from traditional office-based work to remote settings for safety reasons. Even with the descent of COVID-19, most businesses continue to implement a remote setup today.
Remote work provides companies and workers with various benefits, such as flexibility, diversity, and efficiency. Since remote workers are limited to computer screens, multiple technologies help increase their productivity, adaptability, and collaboration.
- Cloud-based services
Cloud-based technologies help businesses streamline different processes because of their adaptability and scalability. Cloud computing makes information sharing possible since it is always accessible and online.
The need for cloud-based services and technology in the outsourcing sector has grown, and this trend is expected to continue. According to Gartner, worldwide end-user spending on public cloud services reached $410.9 billion in 2021. This figure is expected to rise 21.7% to $482 billion at the end of 2022.
Given that the business world continues to gain from technology usage, predictions indicate that this trend will continue in the coming years.
- Tough cybersecurity
Today’s most valuable resource is data, making data security both a trend and a requirement. One of the biggest worries for businesses today is cybersecurity. Outsourcing data security functions can be risky since companies entrust their data to a third party.
As such, selecting a trustworthy third-party company that prioritizes data and outsourced process security is crucial. Most outsourcing organizations already adhere to many levels of protection to avoid security breaches, such as multi-factor authentication and stringent GDPR compliance.
In times of cyberattacks, improving cybersecurity will help businesses gain customers’ trust and boost market confidence.
20 Tools for International Team Management and Coordination
Below are some tools to help you coordinate and manage outsourced international teams. These applications and programs aid managers and leaders oversee their teams effectively and efficiently.
- Synchronous Communication
Collaboration is only possible when there is a good flow of communication among team members. Fortunately, many video conferencing tools can help with that. No matter where workers are, they can still come together, share ideas, and work as a group in real time.
- Zoom
- Skype
- WhereBy
- Asynchronous Communication
Besides real-time interactions, it is also important to have platforms that allow asynchronous communication. This way, remote workers can share information, pitch ideas, and work on projects without being on call all the time. Chat applications are useful channels to stay engaged at any time with team members.
- Google Hangouts
- Slack
- Chanty
- Storage
Cloud-based solutions offer convenient ways to share and manage documents. Anyone can store, access, and change files in cloud storage in real-time, which helps prevent mix-ups and save time.
For example, an offshoring company in the Philippines for UK businesses needs to share important documents with their parent company abroad. Instead of traditionally sharing files through emails, the EOR can share the documents conveniently through the cloud.
- Google Drive
- Microsoft OneDrive
- Dropbox
- Project Management
A project management system is crucial to any organization, whether they have physical or remote operations. It helps employees create and assign tasks, track progress, review outputs, and monitor productivity. Project management tools also help team leaders and supervisors run their departments, ensuring members work and observe productivity.
- Trello
- Todoist
- Scoro
- Time Management
To ensure efficiency and productivity, managers must monitor how employees spend their time at work. It can be challenging to keep track of every person’s working hours. For this reason, time management tools are important at work. They help trace the time spent on projects, manage timesheets, and produce data for billable hours. These are crucial in payroll and record keeping.
- Hubstaff
- Harvest
- Reward and Recognition
Recognizing and rewarding remote workers can be a challenging process. The lack of in-person interactions and varying time zones can get in the way of the excitement and joy of being acknowledged and appreciated. As such, workers may get less engaged and motivated. Luckily, cloud-based tools offer solutions to these problems.
- Blueboard
- Vantage Circle
- Cooleaf
- Security
Running remote operations is just as important as safeguarding the physical office. Working with remote international teams consists of devices and data being spread globally. Hence, the risk of breaches, cyberattacks, and other threats is possible.
However, companies can prevent these issues with the right tools and training. Many advanced technologies offer greater and tighter security for companies that outsource people for different business functions.
- NordVPN
- LastPass
- ThinScale
Adjust to the New Normal of Work
Managing an international team can be demanding, but many business tools can lighten the burden and make tasks easier. However, these tools would only be useful if business leaders were also efficient.
Business organizational leaders should share their vision with their teams to fulfill their goals. Keeping members updated also unifies the group and shows transparency. As much as having control might be ideal, it is also crucial to make room for flexibility. Micromanaging and a rigid structure are two of the worst challenges for outsourcing.
Business leaders should also regularly check on their remote team through conference calls. They should show appreciation, highlight wins, and reward successes.
There are many other ideas on how to work with your outsourced team, but those mentioned above are good points to start with. They will motivate workers, solidify teams, boost productivity, and help overcome common challenges in a remote work setting.
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