8 roles to offshore for businesses that are still stuck in a zip code

Let’s get one thing straight.

In a perfect world, we would find everyone we need in our neighborhood. If we ever wanted a website designed or a fresh marketing perspective, we’d know exactly the person to go to. They would be intuitive, smart, and a five-minute-walk away. The task would be completed within a tight deadline and a proper budget.

In case this is already sounding like a fairytale, it is. This ‘perfection’ never existed, and never will. Even when we had no internet and LinkedIn, people were scouring their localities for better workers at better rates. And with the kind of technology we have today, the best solution is to build global teams (we’re accepting no arguments here). But the solution doesn’t implement itself.

We do.

Building Global Teams in 3-2-1…

How much can we offshore?

And the first step to an optimized global workforce is gathering solid information. This information isn’t always in your face. For instance, we know backend dev can always be done in another timezone, but that’s not all. HR, customer service, admin, and marketing are also areas that don’t always need first-hand supervision. A pizzeria cannot offshore its dough preparation, but a pizzeria chain can easily get their accounts managed elsewhere.

What else?

Call Centre Agents

Let’s begin with a classic: Call Centre Agents justifiably occupy the top spot. Geography has nothing to do with speaking to customers and trying to understand/fix their issues. Non-voice CSR roles are also easily handled from any location. Responding to customer inquiries via chat, email, or any internal messaging service requires excellent language and communication skills. Anyone anywhere with these skills can successfully do this job, but talent-cost balance is a key element of building global teams.

Call centers are an excellent example of how smoothly remote teams can be built and managed. Zocdoc offshored their entire customer service unit (not just calling agents) to LatAm because they needed 24/7 operations for people in need of emergency medical service.

Data Entry Operators

You need working knowledge of a computer and the specific industry you’re working with, that’s all.

Apart from reduced costs and overhead, data entry can be done in any timezone. It brings us closer to 24/7 efficiency. Software like Typeform, Zoho, and Nintex enhance data security (besides automating many processes) and make it easier for remote data entry teams to operate seamlessly. We’ve seen more Virtual Assistant, Proofreading, and Transcripting roles offshored of late. These numbers are only set to increase.

Graphic Design

Creative roles were late to the party. And there’s a reason behind this: art is subjective and highly regional. While cats are lucky in certain cultures, others might find them terrifying.

But graphic designers aren’t always creating high art, and globalization allows us access to all parts of the world.

Eastern and Western design schools teach all fashions and forms indiscriminately (this has nothing to do with global teams, though).

We’d argue offshoring Graphic Design goes beyond savings. It gives us perspective and a better understanding of how our business would be seen in different cultures.

Content Writers

The keyboard is mightier than the sword–wherever it may be located.

First of all, the number of non-native English writers and editors in British newspapers is insane, to say nothing about the US. Colleges across Asia and Latin America offer A-grade writing courses, so what’s there to lose? AppSumo offshored content because they need all the help they can get during their super-busy periods. It worked.

Financial Analysts

Offshore financial analysts aren’t hired for their innovation. Building a global team of financial analysts is a cost decision, which doesn’t make it any less important.

Financial services are pricey in most parts of the world. For people who are starting (and for businesses that rely heavily on these services), small costs add up to a lot.

Klarna and Wise, for example, offshored some of their analyst roles in the beginning and see where they are now!

Digital Marketers

The one hurdle on your way to hiring amazing digital marketers offshore is understanding WTH digital marketing means.

Is digital marketing just Facebook ads and promotional flyers you cannot find the “unsubscribe” button to? Is it the sole reason Google created the “Promotional” tab? Yes and no.

Part of the reason you should absolutely have a global team of digital marketers is its complexity. The wider your talent pool, the better your chances of curating an efficient team. Google Ads is available to everyone but we need ad managers to place them strategically on Google, Bing, YouTube, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Skills needed: Analytical reasoning, willingness to learn new tech and knowledge of consumer behavior. You can use paid tools and develop your internal tools but it’s a solid, responsible job. It’s no point having a marketing team in a cubicle next to you if scheduled campaigns return no leads or views.

IT Support

We evaded this one for long enough.

The OGs of offshoring, IT roles have been offshored for 3 decades now. General Electric, American Express, AT&T, and British Petroleum started this trend in the eighties. They have impressive descendants.

Companies that have been built on the backs of successful global teams of engineers include Google, Skype, Citigroup, Unilever, and Slack. Additionally, small and medium businesses that cannot match the IT spending of Meta still need to be protected from cyber-attacks and/or downtime. Offshoring eliminates these risks.

Software Development

IT and software are used interchangeably in many industries, but they’re not the same thing. Dev teams are tasked with creating software catering to the needs of IT teams, but it often depends on specific contexts. While a beauty brand might only need “an IT guy”, a SaaS startup will run on developers and IT professionals.

There are platforms dedicated to finding good offshore developers but building a global team of developers depends on your resources. Software creation is a time-sensitive, expensive process. It makes sense to use every option at your disposal.

The essence of Offshoring

Use every option at your disposal.

The number of options is likely very limited for growing businesses. Building global teams is not settling. It’s about achieving the best cost-to-skill balance–and it is an achievement.

So that’s all it takes to build global teams?

Let’s not trick ourselves either. Cost savings are a sound and rational reason to offshore any role. The best offshoring stories do not always come from companies striking a bargain deal, but they exist. Deals help businesses in their infancy, and we all need to start somewhere.

Let’s return to the non-existent “perfection” we began with. The only place we find all professions in one neighborhood is a children’s story with a Mr Baker. Mr Carpenter, and Miss Seamstress.

But grownups building successful businesses recognize and appreciate that a large and accessible talent pool is a global neighborhood.