Once upon a time, "outsourcing" and "offshoring" were dirty words associated with exploitative, cheap labor in a far-flung country. Over the last two decades, however, outsourcing has shed its taboo reputation as the world adapts to remote culture and businesses seize the opportunity to tap into a diverse global talent pool.
Offshoring — also referred to as "outsourcing" — involves hiring a worker or company to perform services or create goods traditionally performed in-house. Nearshoring is a similar idea, where a company hires from a neighboring country — for example, a US company hiring a developer from Latin America.
Five rules for ethical global outsourcing
In addition to potential perks, offshoring is associated with valid concerns about the potential for exploitation, cultural misalignment, and the impact on US job markets.
It's key to follow ethical standards when offshoring to maximize benefits for your company, your international teammates, and the communities where they work. Here are Howdy.com's five non-negotiables for sourcing global employees responsibly and sustainably:
1. Work with an ethical hiring partner
A reliable staffing agency can help you delegate the headaches of finding, screening, and vetting candidates who live overseas. However, not all hiring partners are created equal.
For companies, a critical part of ethical hiring involves researching the practices and reputations of your prospective overseas hiring partners. When vetting outsourcing providers, focus on the following areas:
- Workers’ rights and conditions
- Transparent wage-setting
- Ethical labor standards
- Reasonable hours
- Environmental sustainability
2. Comply with local laws and regulations
Different countries have unique labor laws, and staying compliant can be challenging and tedious. A solid international staffing agency will know its country's labor laws and regulations back and forth so it can handle compliance for you. Having a local legal team in your corner will help you avoid headaches, prevent commercial risks, and help ensure you're treating your employees fairly.
3. Prioritize cultural awareness
As you expand your team internationally, you'll encounter diverse employees with unique cultures, customs, and values. Create an inclusive work environment by familiarizing yourself with the cultural nuances and customs of your international team members' home countries. Respect diverse work ethics, communication styles, regulations, and holidays, and provide cultural and inclusivity training for your team. Cultural awareness can help maintain a cohesive work environment, avoid misunderstandings, and promote productivity and collaboration.
4. Factor in time-zone differences
Working across time zones can breed frustration, misalignment, and disconnection among team members. Be mindful of your global employees when scheduling meetings, sending messages, and setting work hours. Encourage your international teammates to set and communicate their work hours and boundaries.
Pro tip: You can avoid time zone challenges by hiring in a region in a region aligned with yours. Many Latin American countries have time zones that overlap with the US Eastern Time (EST) zone, with most only one hour apart.
5. Hire long-term
It's common practice to hire temporary contractors for short-term projects when outsourcing tech talent. However, at Howdy.com, we're staunch advocates of building sustainable teams. Long-term employment offers new hires security and the chance to build relationships with their teammates. At the same time, retaining employees helps your brand by reducing recruitment, onboarding, and training costs while avoiding the potential productivity dip associated with newbie team members.