As you develop your business strategy for 2024, pay close attention to the location of your operations. Does your entire workforce need to be onshore, or can certain functions and roles be offloaded to a capable provider beyond your borders? What is nearshoring, and can it help you transform your business model?
Let’s explore the benefits of nearshore outsourcing in improving operational efficiency, scalability, and resilience. Then, we’ll walk you through how to find your ideal nearshoring provider.
Getting Started With the Basics: What Is Nearshoring?
Nearshoring is when businesses outsource customer service, back-office solutions, or other specialized functions to BPO providers from nearby countries. So, for example, North American companies may hire outsourced talent from Latin American nations like Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, or Brazil.
Compared to offshore outsourcing, nearshoring offers one distinct advantage: geographical proximity. In the past, U.S. businesses often partnered with faraway locations like India and China. Still, today’s unstable and unpredictable international trade environment has highlighted the importance of keeping operations closer to home.
How To Harness Nearshoring for Your Success
To make the most of your outsourcing arrangements, it’s vital to do your due diligence when choosing your BPO partner. So, here are a few helpful tips to keep in mind when starting your nearshoring journey:
- Identify your strategic requirements and search for companies that best meet your needs and goals.
- Prioritize building a solid partnership and establishing clear lines of communication.
- Draft a comprehensive service level agreement (SLA) to ensure quality standards.
- Discuss your data security and protection requirements to prevent cybersecurity breaches.
- Map out your outsourcing budget to minimize costs while maximizing revenue.
What Are the Top BPO Destinations for Nearshoring?
When searching for your ideal BPO provider, you must make an effort to research the different nearshoring locations to determine which destination will work best for your particular strategy. Today, more and more U.S. companies are realizing the potential of South America as an outsourcing powerhouse.
With the region’s lower labor costs, U.S. companies gain significant cost savings while tapping into a much larger talent pool. At the same time, businesses can more easily find and hire professionals with specialized skills and niche expertise, particularly in the technology sector.
Among the many South and Central American nations, the destinations that stand out as ideal nearshoring hubs are Colombia, Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, Costa Rica, and Peru.
What Is Nearshoring and Why Colombia Should Be Your Go-To Nearshoring Location
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There’s a reason why Colombia has quickly become one of the top outsourcing destinations in the world. For one, the nation has one of the fastest-growing economies in the South American region, maintaining high activity levels even during the global pandemic.
Known as the “Silicon Valley of Latin America,” Colombia boasts one of the largest tech workforces in the region, with over 100,000 IT workers, including software engineers. The country’s IT sector comprises over 10% of its economy, making it one of the world’s leading hubs for nearshore software development services.
Top 7 Advantages of Nearshoring to Colombia: How It Can Shape Your 2024 Success Strategy
Now that you understand the basics of nearshoring, let’s dive into how partnering with a Colombian BPO company can transform your business strategy for 2024. Here are just a few of the ways you can leverage nearshore solutions to your advantage:
Address Widespread Talent Shortages
Western businesses have struggled to fill open positions since “The Great Resignation” in early 2021. Even though the labor market started stabilizing two years later, 74% of U.S.-based employers still faced significant hiring challenges. Business analysts predict that over 85 million jobs will remain unfilled by 2030 due to the widespread labor shortages.
The good news is that Western companies have a cost-effective alternative to traditional hiring practices: nearshoring to Colombia. Partnering with a Latin American BPO can allow them to reduce costs, expand their search, fuel their talent pipeline, and minimize the effects of the Western labor crunch.
Elevate Your Customer Service Strategies
Customer experience (CX) will remain at the forefront of many companies’ revenue-driving strategies in 2024 and beyond. According to a 2023 Zendesk report, 81% of business leaders see customer support as among their top priorities over the next few years.
One innovative way to enhance your CX strategy for the coming new year is to partner with a nearshore call center. Colombia and the United States share cultural similarities because of the two countries’ close historical and economic ties. As such, Colombian call center agents are already familiar with the nuances of American culture, making it easier to cater to the needs and preferences of U.S. consumers.
At the same time, having a similar time zone allows American businesses to communicate with their Colombian BPO partner in real-time. So, you can always be sure that you and your nearshoring team are on the same page and that they are available to answer customer inquiries and concerns during convenient hours.
Accelerate Software Development Projects
In today’s increasingly digitalized business environment, investing in software development has become necessary for companies to remain competitive. Due to this, the demand for software developers has skyrocketed in the last few years, expected to rise 25% by 2031 – a much faster average growth than all other occupations.
The problem is that demand is vastly outpacing supply. U.S. companies of all sizes and industries struggle to find and hire qualified developers to facilitate their digital transformation initiatives. Thankfully, you can outsource software development to nearshore professionals in Colombia.
Enhance Tech Systems Through IT Outsourcing
Beyond having a massive talent pool of software developers and engineers, Colombia has invested heavily in its tech infrastructure and internet connectivity. American businesses hoping to advance their digitization efforts can access top-of-the-line technologies and systems by hiring a nearshore provider in the country.
The closely aligned time zones allow U.S. companies to easily set virtual meetings and in-person visits with their nearshore IT team, facilitating easier project management and collaboration.
Improve Flexibility Amid Supply Chain Disruptions
The supply chain crisis is another problem plaguing today’s businesses, particularly those in the manufacturing and distribution sectors. Although industry experts foresee improved conditions for the global supply chain in 2024, companies must continue improving flexibility and adaptability to keep up with the unpredictable international trade environment.
In the past, U.S. businesses relied on faraway countries like China to handle manufacturing. However, companies are bringing their operations closer to home in light of global trade tensions and geopolitical issues. When weighing the pros and cons of nearshoring vs. offshoring, consider the distance and time it will take to transport products from your factories to your store shelves.
Nearshoring has emerged as a practical response to global supply chain disruptions, and more companies are choosing to leverage it to their advantage. A recent report found that the share of businesses using nearshore solutions to strengthen their supply chains has tripled in a single year, from 17% in 2021 to 42% in 2022.
Outsource Sales Support for Business Growth
Investing in your sales department should be another top priority when developing your business strategy for the coming new year. After all, company growth starts with having a steady stream of new and existing customers.
Here’s the problem: One study found that most sales representatives (69%) struggle to find enough leads to meet their sales quotas. This is because they have to juggle many tedious tasks, such as generating leads, making marketing materials, and handling paperwork.
The best way to position your in-house team for success this year is by hiring nearshore sales support specialists. This way, your sales reps can focus on communicating with clients and closing deals while capable professionals help them find high-quality leads and handle all non-core administrative functions.
Support and Strengthen the Aviation Industry
Besides technology and manufacturing, aviation is another sector that benefits significantly from nearshoring. With global COVID restrictions easing in 2023, many tourists are making up for lost time and planning their next international vacation. However, aviation companies are struggling to keep pace with growing customer demand.
Aviation and other travel-related companies can more easily scale their operations by outsourcing customer support and back-office services to a nearshore call center. The near-parallel time zones between the U.S. and Colombia help to achieve close coordination between companies and ensure timely updates and notifications for airline passengers.
Partner With Us for Nearshore Software Development and Other Outsourcing Solutions
Whether you need help improving your customer service operations or advancing software and product development projects, you can rely on SuperStaff to help you get the job done. We can connect you with a large pool of nearshore professionals in Colombia, helping you elevate your business strategy as the new year starts.
If you’re still asking yourself, “what is nearshoring and can it truly help me?”, don’t hesitate to contact us for more in-depth information. We assess your company’s specific needs and create customized outsourcing solutions to meet them.
