Talent & Workforce
A growing economy, a diverse workforce, and good English skills are just some of the reasons why you should outsource to South Africa.
What makes a good outsourcing destination? It’s a question many companies have been asking themselves recently. Once upon a time, that answer was pretty straightforward. Money. Companies outsourced to third countries for one reason: to cut the costs of certain business operations. However, a negative response from customers and growing challenges with fraud have seen many businesses rethink their options. Today, outsourcing remains a way to save costs, but other factors such as quality and customer service are also coming into play, which is why many people are looking towards South Africa. Here are just some of the reasons why South Africa is fast becoming the rising star in the world of business process outsourcing.
Affordability
Companies may be adjusting their perspectives on outsourcing somewhat, but the number one motive remains, as it ever was, to save money. Shifting operations overseas is a major step, and it’s only worth taking if the cost savings will be significant.
South Africa’s labour costs are generally a little more expensive than in places such as India, but they are still far below the levels expected in Western economies such as Europe or the US.
The exact level of wages can vary from one region to the next and from one industry to another, but in general, our experience suggests wages will be between 50 and 70% of the levels in the UK.
If you’re only focused on the bottom line, you may still be looking at the lowest cost option, but doing so will also cost you money in terms of lost business and lower levels of customer satisfaction.
South Africa’s burgeoning reputation as an outsourcing destination comes about because it offers a multi-dimensional proposition based on quality and value for money, which means the overall ROI will often be much higher.
Language skills
A key point of difference is the language skills. South Africa’s colonial past means it has strong connections with the UK. Most people speak English fluently, and the country has many similar cultural references to the UK across sport, media, and music, which makes it easier for customer service agents to engage with your business’s customers.
While overseas outsourcing has often struggled with poor communication, those barriers don’t exist. Customers will find it much easier to get the information they need, which means they will be more inclined to stay with your company for the long term.
Businesses have increasingly come to recognise the importance of personal contact with customers. Better language skills enable sales agents to build lasting relationships, which increases revenue and customer retention. For more profitable and rewarding customer relationships, therefore, South Africa has a distinct advantage compared to other common outsourcing locations.
Economic development
South Africa’s economy is on the up, with the country experiencing steady growth and employment levels rising. The country has invested heavily in its education system and is seeing the dividends with growing numbers of graduates and people with professional qualifications. South Africa, therefore, is churning out young, ambitious professionals across a range of disciplines.
However, the economy is still developing and struggles to provide well-paying jobs for all those people.
From an outsourcing perspective, this gives you access to a growing source of professionals in all disciplines. For example, if you’re struggling to find top software professionals in your area, you can hire freelancers in South Africa. It’s a chance to widen your talent pool and access in-demand talent at rates that might not have been available from domestic talent.
It’s also broadened the scope of what outsourcing can offer. Traditionally, the most common operations to be outsourced were in customer service, and while that broadly remains the case, the calculation has been changing in recent times.
Faster communications mean companies have been looking to work with professionals at all levels. Creative professionals such as designers, IT support, or developers can be sourced at a substantial discount on domestic prices.
Rather than simply outsourcing individual functions through a BPO company, you might choose to form more complex working arrangements with multiple professionals. These could include a mixture of contractors and full-time professionals, which can pose challenges when it comes to managing your team. However, it does offer a huge amount of depth and variety of skills.
Government support
Like other developing countries, therefore, South Africa is vulnerable to a brain drain as its top talent seeks out better work opportunities overseas. One way to prevent those jobs from going overseas is to bring some of them into South Africa, which is why the government has been so quick to support the BPO sector.
Over the past decade, this has proved to be a leading source of jobs and foreign investment, and the authorities have bolstered it with a host of government incentives designed to bring companies in.
Support varies depending on the number and type of jobs offered, with tiered offerings rising with the seniority of the jobs. Businesses can also access more support by investing in areas of low economic development or high unemployment levels. Other incentives can also offer benefits for businesses that have a particular commitment to equality and economic inclusion.
The generosity of the support on offer can have a major impact on the economic viability of your outsourcing solutions. For high-end employers, the overall costs might end up being even lower than in the traditional low-cost BPO powerhouses of India or the Philippines.
Technology
Digital transformation has been a game changer for the outsourcing sector and for South Africa in particular. The government has invested heavily in faster communications and digital technology initiatives, and it has paid off with super-fast broadband being widely available across all major cities.
Today, it’s easier than ever to collaborate with remote workers from all over the world. All you need is a video conferencing platform such as Zoom or Teams, and you can connect with any professional in any location. Businesses routinely hold video conferences with multidisciplinary teams comprising people from many different countries.
Faster communication enables real-time collaboration across borders. Documents can be shared over the cloud, enabling simultaneous editing between your domestic and international workforces. Work has gone international, and it’s levelling the playing field in terms of talent acquisition for small and medium-sized businesses. South Africa has had a major role in making that happen.
As a UK business, therefore, South Africa’s outsourcing sector represents a new frontier of opportunity. It’s a way to widen your talent pool, save money, streamline business operations, and maintain high quality in everything you do. It’s a win/win situation for you, your customers, your South African employees, and the South African economy.
For more information about why you should outsource to South Africa, feel free to download our handy guide today.
