Do your competitors have a competitive advantage?

It is unsurprising that the UK economy shrunk by 0.2% between July and September thanks to the sharp cost of living crisis, soaring inflation, and rising interest rates. The Bank of England anticipate this the first of several quarters where the economy will shrink, meaning this may mark the start of a lengthy recession.

Whilst there are of course global pressures causing this, such as the pandemic and the European energy squeeze, the UK economy remains 0.4% smaller than before the pandemic even though this is not the case for other similar economies. Countries such as the US, Italy and France have recovered to their pre-pandemic levels.

This begs the question as to why the UK has been hit more than the rest?  

We can of course point the dip in September to the extra bank holiday and mini budget chaos, but the real challenge we face now in the UK is significant labour supply shortages, along with the energy crisis.

I’m sure you aren’t surprised by that statement. The biggest challenge for most businesses right now is finding talented staff.

But are all your competitors in the same boat as you? Or have some of them secretly found themselves a competitive advantage?

Because many companies have found a solution which has given them a competitive advantage: Offshoring.

An increasing number of businesses have organised their operations to take advantage of the huge pool of talent available offshore. This can help your business grow beyond your competitors.

What is offshoring?

Offshoring is often confused with outsourcing. Outsourcing is where you contract with a third-party company (in any location) to deliver a particular service. That company will use its own staff who are not part of your team.

Offshoring on the other hand is where you hire employees overseas (usually via an offshoring agency such as Durban Offshoring) to work with your local team.

Your offshore team members become part of your team and learn about your company culture and values. They will be on first name terms with colleagues, on your internal email system and will be as fundamental to your operations as any local member of staff.

In fact, the only difference is that travel costs will make it impractical for them to make it to the Christmas party!

Offshoring has been steadily growing for almost twenty years but since the pandemic (which taught us we can perform most jobs remotely) more and more companies have realised how well it can work for them.

How can offshoring help you get ahead of your competitors?

It’s in these times of uncertainty that as a business owner, you can choose one of two routes: Focus and push for growth or bury your hand in the sand and wait for the storm to pass.

Your competitors will also need to make this decision.

By offshoring, you are saving on labour costs whilst having the capacity to push for growth.

With offshored employees, you can solve capacity issues, free up your time as a business owner to focus on strategic plans for growth, service your customers better (and therefore improving retention rate) and free up the time of your employees so they can focus on getting new business.

Even if you don’t need any more employees right now, as we mentioned in our blog last month, there is an advantage in being slightly overstaffed, that your competitors definitely won’t have thought of.

Whilst it might seem slightly inefficient, every business has busy and quieter periods. In those quieter periods, you can focus on the “important but not urgent” things that need doing in your business that will increase numbers of customers, make things more efficient or just free up a bit of your time.

In your busy periods, you can still maintain the high level of service your customers expect and reduce the chance of losing unhappy customers.

Is offshoring the answer to your business problems?

The last few years have been a scary time to be a business owner, and it looks like that is set to continue with an impending recession looming over us.

Offshoring can help you not only get ahead of your competitors, but it is a proven strategy to aid you in recovering and growing your business during times of economic uncertainties.

At Durban Offshoring, we make offshoring simple. We can help you advertise, shortlist, and recruit a new member of your team. Find out more by booking a free discovery session.