Outsourcing is the business practice of getting a third party to perform the services or operations of a company. Outsourcing can be local outsourcing, offshore outsourcing, or nearshore outsourcing. Local outsourcing is when the company hires a team from within the same country to perform the tasks while offshore outsourcing is when the company gets a team from a far-off location like somewhere in Asia to do its tasks. Nearshore outsourcing is when the company gets a team from a nearby location or the same time zone.
Nearshore services have been gaining popularity these days. It is becoming an increasingly popular alternative to offshore outsourcing when outsourcing is done to a team located far away in a different continent or time zone.
Traditionally whentasks were outsourced offshore,it resulted in many advantages to the company but there were problems too. There were problems like lack of coordination because of the geographical distance and cultural differences.Nearshore outsourcing offers to do away with these problems. A near shore company in Canada gives the advantages of lower operational costs while remaining closer to the business headquarters in the USA geographically.
Nearshore services in Canada have several benefits to offer to a company.These benefits can be listed as follows:
- Nearshoring cuts the cost of the project: Nearshoring allows the company to achieve cost-effectiveness. The company can perform the task at less cost. The company can save time and get the best talent to perform the tasks. The teams will be in closer proximity to the headquarters enabling more frequent visits.The traveling cost to a nearby location will be lesser in comparison and will facilitate greater control. All this will promote greater quality of services while reducing costs at the same time.
- Benefits of the same language and culture: The nearshore companies are located in nearby countries or within the same time zone. As a result, there will be similarities in the language and culture across the teams. These similarities lead to greater synchronization and enable the teams to bond well. In the case of offshore outsourcing, the teams are located in faraway continents resulting in differences in cultures and languages. But in nearshore outsourcing,such problems don’t arise.
- Geographical proximity with fewer or no time zones: In the case of offshore outsourcing, the teams are located in faraway continents resulting in the geographical distance and different time zones. So, traveling between the headquarters to the location becomes difficult and it is not easy to achieve control. But in the case of nearshoring, there is geographical proximity.This makes frequent visits to the location easier and greater control over the project quality and deadlines. This also promotes greater collaboration between the teams and easier communication. For example, recruitment agencies in Canada offering their services to US companies will be able to take advantage of its proximity to the USA and achieve an easier work balance.
- Access to a large talent pool of experts: Companies are on the lookout for talents to perform their tasks and achieve company goals. Sometimes they cannot find the required talents within the same company or even within the same country. Nearshoring enables the company to have access to a talent pool of experts. For Example, IT professionals are hard to find and recruit.Companies have to compete with other employers to have them in their teams. But nearshoring gives them access to such professionals in no time.This results in fewer communication mismatches and greater collaborations between the teams.
- Better and frequent communication: In the case of nearshoring,the teams operate within the same time zones or similar time zones resulting in better and improved communication between the teams. In many cases, the languages are also the same so the teams can achieve greater bonding and synchronization.This bonding and synchronization enable the team to achieve the company goals efficiently.
- Improving company efficiency: The company can achieve efficiency in its operation as its core team will be able to focus on strategic tasks while its routine and voluminous tasks are outsourced to a team of experts.This enables the company to complete its projects on time, stay ahead of the competition, have speedy operations,and increased productivity. Nearshoring enables the company to achieve its objectives at a lesser cost and improve its profitability. The company can bring out better products and services to the market and improve customer satisfaction.
- Focus on core business activities: Nearshoring enables the company to focus on its core tasks and stop worrying about its routine and repetitive tasks. It frees up the company’s time so that can focus on what matters most.
- Access to new technologies: Nearshoring enables companies to have access to new and improved technologies and innovative practices. The company can take advantage of the latest tools to achieve its business objectives. Nearshoring enables the companies to work with specialists and have access to the latest technical developments.
- Acquire flexible resources: Nearshoring is a boon for those companies that want to grow smartly as it enables them to get the resources when they need them. This lends flexibility to its operations.
- Protected intellectual property: When working with a nearshore agency we can rest assured that our property in terms of software,designs, etc. are protected under US laws.
- No hidden costs: There is transparency while working with a nearshore agency so we can rest assured that there are no hidden costs.A lot of financial problems can be avoided by nearshoring.
Nearshoring companies give the company the ability to concentrate on core competencies and achieve efficiency of operations. They usually come with a cost but these costs are less when compared with the benefits that can be achieved. They help the company to outdo the competition and improve overall competitiveness. More and more leading companies are opting for nearshore outsourcing these days.A decision to outsource operations to a nearshore agency requires careful consideration of business goals and objectives.