Startups and other small businesses often have a hard time acquiring the necessary resources needed for growth and expansion. Whether it be for lack of funding or lack of managers, hiring more employees in-house is usually not a reasonable option. Outsourcing overseas can mitigate the funding and management issues but then companies will be losing complete control over the outsourced process. So now the question becomes how do businesses maintain control over their overseas outsourced work? The answer is by using a co-sourcing business model.

Co-sourcing gives businesses the ability to take advantages of having overseas employees without having to completely give up internal control over business processes. This is done by having assigned employees from an overseas provider perform certain roles rather than outsourcing the entire business process to the provider. The company will provide the day-to-day guidance to their staff while the overseas provider takes care of all the HR related needs of the employees. The company gets to manage the duties of their overseas employees without having to worry about any administrative requirements.

Co-sourcing Advantages

• Lower Costs. Reducing expenditures is great for any company and acquiring overseas employees through co-sourcing does just that. Eliminating all of the overhead costs that come with in-house employees will definitely raise the bottom line. No more paid holidays, sick days or other benefits, just a flat monthly rate that can be up to 10 times cheaper than hiring a local employee.
• Flexibility. Co-sourcing can be a quick way to obtain overseas employees to assist in-house staff when their workload increases. Whether it is to support an upcoming big project or business expansion the co-sourcing team provides the additional needed manpower. Being able to hire overseas employees on a per project basis or even a couple of days a week gives businesses great flexibility.
• Scalability. One of the biggest advantages of co-sourcing is the ability to scale up or scale down operations smoothly. Being able to support a larger customer base when necessary and save money during the low season allows companies to remain profitable. Overseas employees can be hired on a month-to-month basis with co-sourcing which makes scaling up or down business operations seamless.
• Maximize Staff Productivity. In-house staff should be focused on core business processes and how to improve productivity. Acquiring overseas employees with co-sourcing to handle the mundane time consuming tasks allows maximizes the productivity and creativity of in-house employees.

Companies are often left with having to make the choice of either using outsourcing or co-sourcing models to acquire their overseas employees. Co-sourcing is the more cost effective way to getting secretarial and back office tasks completed while boosting efficiency and profitability of the business. Compared to outsourcing this model creates a more motivated workforce since there is constant interaction between the company and their overseas employees.

Co-sourcing gives small businesses and startups employees when they need them without having to worry about the costs associated with a new hire. Combining the reduced costs and options to choose very short term contracts co-sourcing is the best way to acquire overseas employees.