If you are going to venture into outsourcing for the first time, or even if you have been outsourcing for a while now, there are certain challenges you may face when working with employees online.
If you have no idea what outsourcing is, to give you a brief overview, outsourcing is hiring people from a different city, state, or country.
Outsourcing can be scary especially if you’re used to doing business in person. So, to give you a heads up on what problems you may encounter, here’s a list of the most common challenges in outsourcing and how to face them.
IT TAKES TIME TO FIND A GOOD MATCH
This is especially true when you don’t have the clarity of who it is that you need. You must be clear on the tasks you need to delegate, what’s the personality type or character of the people you need, or if you need someone to work full time or part-time. You need to have clarity before you start hiring online so then it will be easier to find that match.
Inside our company in 2xYou, we even tell our clients that it takes 4 to 8 weeks to find someone. It takes that long because the process can be grueling, we’re filtering through, giving them skills tests, so it does take a while. Therefore, keep in mind as you get started, the first person you get probably isn’t the one. You will most likely go through a lot of unsuccessful hires before having the right one especially if you don’t have the clarity of who it is you really want.
UNREALISTIC EXPECTATIONS OF EACH OTHER
A lot of the time when you are working with someone online, there are going to be some misinterpretations or expectations that are not even rooted in what is the real thing. So, when it comes to working online, you want to make sure that you have an alignment of what are the goals and tasks that need to be done. What the priorities are so you can make sure that the right things are focused on. What I recommend is to have a routine of having a daily, weekly, and monthly review or catch-up call, so you are on the same page with your remote employees as to where things are.
NOT HAVING THE RIGHT TOOLS
What I mean by this, is that you might be using tools that aren’t really the right ones for you. Tools when it comes to working online, are essential to make sure that things can work, even if you and your employees are not in the same time zone.
What you can do about this is that you must have a way to check regularly if the tools you are currently using are the best ones or if there’s a need to shift to other tools just to make things more effective. It’s going to be hard for you and your online employee to get things done if the tools aren’t set up right. So, take the time to review your tools, look at what you’re currently using, and if you’re not using any, make sure when you’re researching on what tools to use, it matches what you actually need. Experiment, try to find the right one and assess from time to time if they are still the right tools for you.
MISMATCH ON GOAL SETTING
In business, we commonly say this: “We always overestimate what we can do in 3 months and underestimate what we can do in 3 years.” What this means is we always put so much pressure on getting a lot of things done, in a short amount of time especially if we can’t see the other people we’re working with are actually getting things done. We try to set these goals or forecast of things that need to be done right away or in a few months, but in reality, these will actually take longer.
When it comes to working with employees online, you need to set realistic expectations of what are the results that you want to achieve inside your business. There really is a need for that alignment between you and your online employee regarding the goals you want to hit.
OVERSPENDING
Since you are not handing out cash in person, and everything is being sent and managed online, it can be so easy and tempting to not check your own books and records to what it is you’re spending on. What you can do with this is to have your assistant keep track of what are the costs so far inside your business and review these expenses if they are needed in your company or not.
YOUR ONLINE EMPLOYEE WILL GET BURNT OUT
This is actually something we see a lot and the reason why most who outsource fail is because they are either bombarding their online employees with too many tasks or with no clarity on what to actually do and how to do it. Sometimes, there is also that character mismatch with the employees that causes burnout. That’s why it is important to take time to find and hire the right people to avoid employee burnout.
To successfully avoid employee burnout, you must do the following:
- Make sure that you are giving your online employees tasks that they can handle.
- Do a quick check-in, asking them how they are doing and if they need anything. Even asking these simple questions is more than enough for your online employees to feel that they are supported and that you have their back to keep going.
NOT COMMUNICATING ENOUGH
When it comes to working online, there is no such thing as over-communicating unless you set that boundary. But at the start, you really want to have that clear line of communication between you and your online employee so then you can learn each other’s rhythms, you’re learning how to communicate with each other effectively.
One of the things that we greatly encourage is that in the first two weeks is to have a daily sync call with your online employees, so you are training them and checking in on them at the same time. Afterward, we recommend a weekly meeting where you can set the intentions for the week, looking back on the last week so they can give a report on the things that weren’t done and what needs to be done.
ISSUES OF HEALTH OR NATURAL DISASTERS
This is something that we can’t really avoid when it happens. In fact, last December, a super typhoon hit the city where our office is at. So for about a month, a lot of our employees had no electricity, no internet, and didn’t even have data/cellphone signal to be able to update us of how they were doing. So you have to make sure that you are aware of the situation of your employees, and if there is a typhoon coming, you have to prepare for it, prepare backups and resources they would need, and supporting them as best as you can as they shift towards making sure that their families are okay, to working with you.
When it comes to health issues, even when working in person in an office, this is just unavoidable. So make sure that you have backups and you have ways to deal if your online employees take a leave for a day or more. Make sure that you give your employees support and encourage them to take a rest if needed to avoid them being burnt out.
THEY MIGHT LEAVE
Your online employee might leave sooner than you hoped for. This can be caused by a mismatch in your goals or work style. This might not be easy to take but that’s just the natural order of things if everything is not going as smoothly as planned. They will not love your business and they will be enticed to seek or get better opportunities elsewhere. This is something you really can’t stop. There’s not really a fix for this rather than making sure that you still give them support and encouragement as they are still working for you, and when the time comes, you make sure that you part as friends. If your online employee leaves on good terms with you, they can recommend other great people to work with you or give a recommendation for you as a good employer. You’ll never know in the future; your paths may cross again and maybe they can help you or your business in some other way.
MIGHT NOT BE FOR YOU
This can be the greatest challenge when outsourcing. I know people personally that working with someone online just doesn’t work for them. They would rather have their employees in an office with them so they can manage them effectively. This could also be you. So before you start outsourcing or hiring people online, make sure to assess your business and yourself first if it is something you can do and handle. Again, outsourcing is not for everyone, so you want to look at it realistically if this is something you can do and keep doing moving forward.
Outsourcing isn’t always easy. But after working with great people that will be loyal to your business, it’s worth every challenge. By keeping in mind how to face these challenges, you will be able to move forward with outsourcing successfully and reap its benefits.
If you have started outsourcing and already encountered challenges not mentioned above, share it in the comment section below, and let’s discuss it!
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