The CoVid-19 pandemic has dealt businesses across the world a mighty blow. But the one industry that has come to the fore at this critical need of the hour is outsourcing.
According to a worrying statistic, due to the current lockdown, around 24% of companies across the globe could face partial or complete closure, including low-end startups, FMCGs, small and medium production units, etc. However, some experts believe that outsourcing will bring down that number significantly.
Outsourcing, not so long ago, was limited only to the big boys of the corporate world who moved a stage or the entire process of their production or assembly offshore to benefit from low labor costs, direct access to the raw material they required or favorable economic conditions. However, recent advancements in technology have extended that privilege to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and also expanded the scope of outsourcing to various work cycle processes such as marketing, development, accounting, IT, etc.
Apart from the benefits mentioned above, outsourcing could prove to be the difference between making or breaking of a company during a pandemic like the current one. With most businesses shut down back in China, India has emerged as the new outsourcing hub since the onset of the new year.
How is India managing the entire outbreak?
Contrary to multiple predictions, India has handled the outbreak extremely diligently so far. Even the World Health Organization has applauded India’s proactive approach to the pandemic saying that its response will be critical for the world’s chances of recovering from this crisis.
As a consequence, all states and Union Territories of India are under complete lockdown that entails zero free movement, no public gatherings and zero access to non-essential services.
The country’s finance minister announced a comprehensive 24.5B USD relief package that will aid the worst affected sections of society during the lockdown.
India Inc. has also come to the fore of public service in this hour of need.
The employees have also reciprocated the generosity of their employers by adopting stringent work from home measures. They are are stretching their work timings and are equally concerned about work as they are about health and quarantine.
How India’s outsourcing units are setting the tone during the epidemic
India has always been a favorite amongst ventures looking to outsource offshore, owing to its massive talent pool of 1.3B strong population. The sheer volume of graduates that pass out every year is staggering and growing consistently. It produces more than half a million engineering graduates every year.
India has also led the way with its swift and stringent response to the Covid-19 pandemic. As mentioned earlier, the peninsula is currently observing government imposed lockdown across all its states and Union Territories.
However, that has not stopped Indians from efficiently carrying out their duties. All outsourcing corporations, including Virtual Employee, have put in place effective work from home measures for their employees right at the onset of the pandemic in the country. This ensured that their employees did not come in contact with any infected personnel during their transit via public transport or their breaks.
Most employees were trained about Skype, Zoom, and other collaboration tools to ensure that communication amongst teams is not hampered by isolation that the employees are observing.
What makes VE stand out from its competition
The one factor that separates VE from all its other outsourcing counterparts is its unique business model. For the most part, outsourcing vendors behave like independent units owing to their physical locations and time zone differences with clients or home countries/bases, not that the practice has stopped. It can be manageable for big corporations that can neglect a hiccup here and there from time to time. Still, this practice can have a detrimental effect on the growth of a startup or an SME because of their functionalities and demands; this is, at times, their USP as well.
This is where VE’s unique business model comes in handy. At VE, you, the client, interact directly with the end resource right from the recruitment process itself. So in a manner of speaking, you are the project manager of their project at all times instead of being a distant outsider. Also, your hired resource for all practical purposes is precisely similar to one that you would have hired in-house, the only distinction is that they would be working for you through a screen, hence the name, Virtual Employee.
Advantages of VE dedicated staff business model:
The biggest advantage of this business model is the extent to which you can optimize and shape the project to your liking. Acting as a project manager, you can:
- Exercise complete control over the project, stopping it going off course and hence preventing unnecessary additional costs.
- Avail greater flexibility to change the priorities of the projects from time to time.
- Eliminate the need for any extra supervision on the ground per se, curbing additional incurring expenses.
- Amp up or slow down the efforts as per your needs.
VE knows how and when to step it up
This is not the first time that VE has rescued its clients from dire circumstances.
Back in early 2015, Aqua Media Direct, based out of Pasadena, California, lost three of its staffers in a tragic car accident. Two of the deceased were the company’s webmaster and software engineer. Now their remaining staff was non-technical did not understand any of the web languages like My SQL, PHP, Apache, Ajax, Java, HTML, and HTML5, nor did they have a clue about API which are critical when you boast a clientele comprising of Fortune 500 companies. In such a cut-throat market, hiring resources back in California would have taken a good six months to a year, and it was a luxury that they could not afford. Facing such adverse circumstances, Aqua Media CEO Tom Doyle and erstwhile media GM and EVP Alan Thiessen contacted Virtual Employee, a decision they are glad to have made even to this day. Expert engineers at VE swiftly stepped in and completed their projects with ease until the time the company was once again stable enough to sustain on its own.
Another occasion where VE proved to be the difference-maker is when Michael Elliot, who owns Fuzzy Lizard Solutions LLC, unfortunately, contracted Multiple Sclerosis. This derailed all efforts he had put into his business. Owing to his health condition and the toll it was taking on his business, Micahel contacted VE in very dire circumstances. Like always, resources at VE stepped in to not only save his business but also scale it up and put it back where it belonged.
So as you can see, VE has been the ‘hero’ for many clients when they were facing some of the worst crises of their lives or careers. This is the hallmark of the company.
How VE could prove to be the ‘make or break’ for your business in these times
Additionally, in these times, where businesses are shutting down, and profits are almost impossible to come by, cutting on all expenses is imperative for your business. Outsourcing your work to VE can save upto 70% effectively, meaning that you can hire three resources at the cost of one.
Conclusion: Virtual Employee is a pioneer and a market leader when it comes to a dedicated staff model. It prides itself on being ‘ your cloud company’ and is one of the very few companies in the world that can back that claim. So if your business is affected in any manner by the CoVid-19 pandemic, make sure you get in touch with VE as this is one decision that could make or break your company’s destiny for years to come.
