Small to Medium businesses now have access to offshore outsourcing that was previously only available to large multinational companies.
The size of your company is now irrelevant in regards to accessing offshore virtual staff and global talent.
You are able to use offshore outsourcing by using dedicated virtual staff or freelance virtual staff.
Employing offshore freelance jobs is one way to outsource parts of your business.
Normally you are able to bid for staff and they are paid per hour the job takes.
You are able to see their resume and employ the best person for the job.
Very often this is a cheaper method of outsourcing but can also be riskier.
Employing dedicate offshore virtual staff ensures you are working with individual staff members as an extension of your business rather then an outsider.
Lets have a closer look at some of the advantages and disadvantages in using freelance versus dedicated staff.
Training Time: Both will require some form of training.
Dedicated virtual Staff: Require training for the first couple of weeks and then they should be able to perform tasks with instructions.
They will then learn the way you like things to be done.
Freelance virtual staff: Will require training every single time unless you are able to get the same person regularly.
This may not be possible if they have other offshore jobs going on.
Recruitment Dedicated virtual staff: You will be able to use the skills and talents of experienced HR recruitment professionals.
Freelance Staff: You would need to employ and assess both the skills set and personality of the individual every time you have work needing to be done.
This will take more time.
Costs: Will be around the same.
Perhaps slightly cheaper using dedicated staff if you have the workload for part time or full time offshore staff.
But if you employ them full time monthly the hourly rate will be cheaper then a one week contract.
Think about it, If you hire a local employee on a casual basis this will cost more then a full time employee on a per hour basis.
Workload Dedicated virtual staff: You would need regular workload for your staff.
Most BPO companies use monthly contracts with part and full time roles available.
Freelance virtual staff: You are able to access these offshore staff for small jobs of one day or 1 week.
This is the greatest advantage of employing freelance offshore staff.
Teamwork Dedicated virtual staff: By embracing the offshore staff as a member of your team they will be more inclined to work harder and be more committed to you and your business.
We all know committed staff are like gold and when you have them you never want to lose them.
Freelance virtual staff: They are in business for themselves.
They may have pride in their work but you will have to find these people through trial and error to ensure they are of a high standard.
Guarantees Dedicated virtual staff: BPO companies should be providing you with some sort of staff guarantee.
The level of service they provide will be reflected in the guarantee they offer.
Freelance Staff: There will be no guarantees.
You maybe able to write a 'poor record' on their performance card, but this is all you can really do.
IP Protection Dedicated virtual staff: BPO companies should have contracts in place to protect your intellectual property.
They will then take legal action if required.
Also the staff are only working for you which means they will not be sharing your IP with anyone else even if it is done inadvertently.
Freelance virtual staff: You will need to organise your own IP protection and you will have to take legal action yourself if required.
This could get messy.
These are just some of the many advantages and disadvantages of employing virtual staff.
So which is best? It depends on your individual circumstances!