In this episode, we'll be sharing valuable insights on how to establish a successful partnership with a remote agency. We'll highlight the importance of setting clear goals, maintaining open communication, and leveraging virtual workspaces. Trust and collaboration are key ingredients for a strong outsourcing relationship.
Hey there! It’s Adam from Outsource HQ. Today, we’re going to help you get out there and set things up with your remote agency.
If you have recently decided to outsource, then the advantages we’ve previously mentioned in the last episode might’ve made an impact on you. Whether globally or locally, outsourcing really has competitive advantages for both large and small companies.
When you outsource, you access a larger talent pool and expertise that may not be found in your locale. That’s great, right? Especially if you're looking for fresh concepts and a new approach to your business.
Outsourcing also allows you to scale your workforce up or down quickly. You won't have to worry about employing more workers or terminating their employment contract once the task is completed. Outsourced staff is flexible.
And of course, outsourcing is cost-effective. Most international experts charge a lot less than local specialists. You can spend considerably less money and still acquire equal talent and skills.
All these sound good, don’t they?
Well… the work doesn't stop there. After finding your remote agency, you need to stabilize the ground and establish a relationship with them. Relationships make collaborations work!
First, every relationship needs trust. When you've done your research and the necessary trial runs, contacted references, and checked their reputation, and they passed all your standards, it's time to let them work and trust their expertise.
Sometimes, you can still encounter challenges like seeing your outsourced talent falling short on your expectations, expertise-wise. That’s when your trust is tested, and there are things you can do to overcome this situation.
First, set performance goals. That way, your outsourced staff knows what you expect. They can strategize to reach your goals. Rather than vaguely telling them, ‘do your best’, be specific.
Once you have set performance goals, monitor their work through regular assessments. Make evaluations to determine how your partnership is progressing because that’s essential to keeping things going smoothly.
In the same way, this gives your outsourced staff a platform to express their feedback and thoughts too. They are in charge of your operations, so they will also have something to say. Any suggestions they make will serve as a tool for you to streamline procedures, instruction, and even what you provide to your team and customers.
Now, let’s say you’ve assessed them and they don't meet your expectations. That’s where you make adjustments. You have to understand that there are limitations in a remote setup, that’s why you have to make sure you communicate your goals and expectations clearly.
And that’s the next essential thing: clear and open communication.
Be open and honest from the start, especially if you have any concerns or worries. Instead of hiding that information in the hopes that outsourcing will address the problem, you should collaborate with your outsourcing partner to tackle the main challenges and goals..
Clear and open communication does not only effectively deliver your goals to your outsourcing partner, it also helps bridge the gap between work styles and cultural differences. Remote setup brings you to work with diverse people, with different nuances and time zones. This may seem a big problem, but not when you learn to compromise and meet halfway.
To communicate better, use an effective communication channel. Discuss it with your remote agency and assess which among several available channels will work best for both of you. Working with a remote agency gives you this additional advantage: they already use a tested and established communication algorithm, which you can use right away too.
But reputable companies always ask you which channels you like to use for communication. Tell them your preferences so you can talk about it.
In your chosen communication channel, establish some rules, like what time communication will transpire, considering time zone differences. Also, ensure that the language used in the channel is understandable and familiar to everyone.
And remember, set realistic expectations. Open communications help here too because your specialists have insights from past experiences about certain tasks, strategies, and timelines.
High standards are good, but only when in tandem with a good understanding of both your industry and the strengths and processes of your chosen strategies.
Take a pulse from your specialists about how effective and how long specific methods take. By doing so, you can create reasonable expectations and deliverables.
Remember that when you give them a clear plan of what you want to achieve, you equip them with the right information they need to help you grow your business. It’s a give-and-take situation: when you put in the effort to set and communicate realistic goals, you can expect your outsourced team to fulfill them.
And to monitor your progress to goalposts, use a virtual shared workspace. Platforms like Trello, Clickup, Google Docs, Slack can all be used to organize your projects and goals. Lists, timelines, and channels can group tasks and teams together. This way, every person know where they and their assignments belong, and you also know which team or cards to check for progress.
It centralizes all project communication. This will improve responsibility and productivity while enabling real-time collaboration and communication between all team members.
Strong outsourcing partnership is built on trust, clear and open communication, and a collaborative environment. If your partnership approach is well-aligned and your communication is as clear as it can be, your remote agency will easily and correctly grasp your goals and values, allowing for a productive and effective collaboration.
That’s it for today’s episode! Thank you for listening. Stay tuned because for the next episode, we’ll talk about keeping yourself safe through background checking. See you then!