Normalizing outsourcing activities
With remote work being the norm these days, businesses need to continue to invest in an office space that is both functional and collaborative. Outsourcing is the future of work, and the physical office plays a big role in that future.
ith various challenges brought by the pandemic, office spaces have also been greatly impacted by changes in new-normal work modes. Two years of living with a pandemic proved that remote work, outsourcing and offshoring is the future of work. With soaring salaries, staff shortages, and the Great Resignation wreaking havoc on the global economies, business owners are turning to offshore staffing solutions in record numbers.
Derek Gallimore, author of the book Inside Outsourcing: How Remote Work, Offshoring & Global Employment is Changing the World, suggests that the future of employment is headed towards outsourcing. More than a temporary solution to persisting staff gaps and The Great Resignation in Western countries, outsourcing allows companies to access an almost limitless talent pool of around 88 million registered professionals across the world. While this seismic shift in employment is profitable for foreign firms, it also offers great opportunities for leading outsourcing destinations like the Philippines.
Gallimore says the Philippines is in a very good position to be the “global hotspot” for outsourcing. With a great majority of its population being English-speaking professionals and whose median age is within 23 years, the Philippines’ outsourcing industry is “ripe.”
After being in the outsourcing business for eight years, Gallimore shares his perspective on how one’s working conditions impact a business like BPO “(They) are now experts in managing facilities and providing environments that positively impact employees’ welfare, retention, and motivation.”
Gallimore has always been an advocate for outsourcing as “the most powerful business tool.” He believes that the Philippines could be heading towards the apex of providing this service to the rest of the world. So, to show the world what the Philippines has to offer, Gallimore opened his firm Outsource Accelerator’s office to serve as an “outsourcing showroom.”
Located at the top of a high-rise building in the Ortigas Central Business District, Outsource Accelerator’s office dares to debunk misconceptions alleging outsourcing firms of “poor working conditions” and “sweatshop-like facilities.”
“Your team’s need for proper employment and facilities is often an overlooked and undervalued aspect of running a business. Yet, it is a basic constitutional part of building a workforce. It is possible to get
by without these things, but I would argue that if you are focused on building a reliable, repeatable, scalable and productive team — then ensuring that they have proper employment and facilities is a baseline requirement,” he notes in his book.
Investing for the future
With remote work being the norm these days, businesses need to continue to invest in an office space that is both functional and collaborative. According to Gallimore, outsourcing is the future of work, and the physical office plays a big role in that future.
At the end of the day, he shares, the goal should be to create an environment where employees feel comfortable each day. When the Philippines-based staff feels confident being themselves at work, they will be better equipped to provide quality service, communicate efficiently, and solve problems creatively — all while improving productivity.
Inside Outsourcing is now in bookstores nationwide, or through Amazon.