Offshoring the right way

In any relationship, doing the little things well consistently is much more important than performing big, grand gestures every now and then. And it’s no different with offshoring. The quality of your offshore working relationship will largely be dictated by what happens on a week-to-week basis, not the size of the hamper that you send them at Christmas.

Having gone through this process with hundreds of businesses, there’s a recipe for success and in this video, we share the ingredients of structure, support, routines & rituals that you need in your pantry. Here’s to prioritising the little things, because they’re actually the big things.

Some aspects of building a team in the Philippines are the same as they are locally but there are some distinct differences too, one of these being the importance for Filipinos to have access to a Health Management Organisation (HMO Plan) through their employment with you.

The medical system in the Philippines is effective but also very expensive which means that offering private health cover to your team is a necessary way to protect, attract and retain the right people. Check out this video for questions that we ask of insurance providers at 5 ELK to tick all the right boxes.

Work in progress (WIP) meetings / workflow meetings / team meetings… these feature in most businesses, yet far too many people find them a waste of time. A ‘tick and flick’ activity with no real tangible value and I understand why. I’ve been in these meetings before and they can be a real suck on precious time and energy.

Our clients with the most successful offshoring relationships have nailed their WIP meetings and in this post, we share our best tips for getting the most from your virtual meetings to make sure you and your remote team member are always on the same page.

Ever feel like building a strong team is a bit like playing Jenga? Without a solid base, you’re headed for a tumble. That’s why getting off to the right start with your team members is crucial!

At 5 ELK, we call this “nesting” – and it’s not just about making your new teammates feel welcome. It’s about laying down those all-important foundations that set them up for success.

Check out our video on crafting the perfect nesting process for your business.

If you are like most people, I am sure that a chunk of the tasks that fill your day could be done by someone else. No doubt you are doing some things because “it’s quicker to do it myself than to explain it to someone else (and risk it going wrong!)” But your focus needs to be on high-value tasks like strategy which can’t happen if you are sweating the small stuff.

It’s time to break free from your DIY mindset that is stealing your brain space, holding your team back from growing and potentially putting you at risk of burnout. After all, your time is a finite & valuable resource so creating some bandwidth by outsourcing could be a GAME CHANGER not just for your business… but for YOU.

When your new offshore teammate’s work is not hitting the mark, it’s tempting to just give up and start again.

But sometimes walking away is not the best option and hanging in there is a gamble that can really pay off for you and your team. So when should you hang in there, and when should you cut your losses?

In this video, I share some advice from none other than Kenny Rogers on how to approach this fork in the road moment.

If you have an offshore teammate, I want to throw down the gauntlet to you. It’s time to go beyond the emails and video calls and make time for a real-life visit.

Every one of our clients who has done it has said it is a complete game changer for the quality of their remote relationships. So if you want to unlock more of your offshore team’s potential, I believe this is an absolute must.

I share more of my thoughts on this in this video.

The ways that you can connect your offshore and local teams are only limited by your commitment and imagination.

In this video snippet from a recent conversation, James Marshall from Stratus Financial Group shares how they treat their offshore team differently than most businesses do, and are reaping the benefits.

Creating strong relationships with your team makes people want to come to work each day, it helps them bring their best to your business, and if your business plans to grow, you need to create an environment where both of these things consistently happen.

But when a team member is based in another office or even overseas and you can’t have a chinwag over a coffee or lunch, building this depth of connection is more of a challenge.  

In this article, I share some practical quick wins that we recommend our clients use with their remote team members to create stronger relationships and make them feel valued and connected, even on the other side of the world.

When working with teammates overseas, you can’t rely on casual coffee meet-ups and water cooler chat to build relationships. Getting to know each other requires a bit more ingenuity and will take a bit more time.

We’ve found that the most important thing is to be honest and upfront with your expectations and then make sure you follow through. In this article, we explain how you can make sure you are “walking the walk”, not just “talking the talk” with your teammates.