I’ve been hiring OFS (or “VAs”) since 2005, and despite the prevalence of information, some outsourcing myths persist.
Here are the top 3 worst ones and why you need to stop believing in them.
1. You need to be super prepared and ready before you start outsourcing.
No, you don’t.
If you feel like you have to be super prepared and organized before hiring someone, that’s your fear talking. That’s procrastination.
If you know that you need to hire someone, just hire someone.
If you keep things simple, like giving your VA just one task (a task that you’re currently doing and know how to teach), you’re less likely to make a mistake.
So often it just takes getting started to realize what you did and didn’t need.
When you add complexity to a simple process, you’re more likely to make a mistake.
2. Hiring a super-experienced person is always better
Even if an applicant looks impressive on paper, if you’re not vibing with them or if you find them hard to talk to, it’s not going to work out.
If you can sense that this super-qualified person isn’t motivated or eager to work for you, there’s no point in hiring them.
Most of the time I prefer someone who is young and hungry over someone who is experienced and set in their ways. Often experienced people get into a rut. Sometimes they’ve been in a job which didn’t require much effort. Neither of those work for me.
Skills can always be learned. Changing someone’s personality or attitude is much, much harder.
3. Outsourcing is all about saving money
Yes, saving money is awesome.
But…
Outsourcing isn’t just about saving money; it gives you immediate access to talent and skills.
It’s easier to find people in the Philippines than it is locally most of the time.
Is it typically more cost-effective to hire overseas workers? Yes.
But that doesn’t mean you’re compromising on quality just because you’re saving on labor costs.
These 3 reasons are why Onlinejobs.ph exists.
I started it because
– I didn’t want to have to provide exact detailed instructions to some company, only to find out later that my instructions were off or were unnecessary.
– I didn’t want to be limited by the people some agency would give me from their local search. (when you use an agency, yes, it changes from your local search to their local search…they’re only hiring what’s local to them.)
– And I didn’t like head hunter or agency or upwork markups. It was all unnecessary cost.
What other outsourcing myths do you know that also need to die? Send me a reply.
John