Not all offshore locations deliver the same results.
Here are the 4 factors I use to evaluate them:
1. Outsourcing experience
How long has this country been doing it?
The Philippines has 30+ years of outsourcing history.
You’re hiring from a third-generation outsourcing workforce.
That experience shows up in quality, management, and consistency.
Newer destinations may cost less. But the experience gap is real.
2. Infrastructure and geographic risk
How stable is the connectivity? How reliable is the uptime?
Weather matters too.
Some regions face storms that can take an entire operation offline for weeks.
This is why I recommend geographic diversity:
Have at least two outsourcers in different regions running the same work.
3. Labor laws
This one catches many executives off guard.
In the US, we’re used to at-will employment and performance-based exits.
Many countries don’t work that way.
I’ve seen this firsthand: a team performed well for the first 6 months, then dropped off.
But local labor laws made it nearly impossible to exit underperformers.
Make sure local laws don’t limit your ability to manage performance.
4. Language and accent
Can your customers easily understand your agents?
Many customers have been conditioned to associate offshore accents with poor service.
Thankfully, accent neutralization technology can now reduce or eliminate this issue.
But you must be honest about what your customers will tolerate.
A mismatch here will cost you more than the labor savings are worth.
I’m Mark Danielson, and I help healthcare leaders reduce support costs while improving patient satisfaction.
Follow me for practical insights on cutting contact center costs, improving service quality, and modernizing operations without the tradeoffs.
