The Anatomy of a Highly Effective Offshore Employee

Categories: Remote Hiring and Virtual Staffing
Employee having fun while working remotely

More and more businesses turn to offshoring solutions, accomplishing business goals more efficiently and at a reduced cost without sacrificing quality. With the right agency, they can get access to talented workers worldwide. 

Finding the right people for the job is a must for companies to remain competitive in their industry. Therefore, knowing the must-have qualities to look for in applicants is vital to your success, especially if you’re hiring an offshore employee. 

Keep on reading to know more about the ideal characteristics to focus on and why they’re important. 

What Makes a Highly Effective Offshore Employee?

Hard skills or technical skills aren’t the only qualities you need to look for in your offshore employees. You also need to ensure they are efficient not only in their skills but also in possessing traits and habits that make them a high-potential telecommuting hire

  • They are good communicators

Offshore employees work remotely, making communication arguably the biggest challenge. This type of work setup will require extra work, as your in-house and offshore teams exchange instructions and messages remotely instead of simply walking to one’s table and discussing the task at hand. 

A good communicator is an active listener, comprehends and promptly responds to concerns, shows empathy to other parties, is cooperative, and actively participates by expressing their ideas well to the team. Remember that most of their communication with your inshore team will be via digital channels, so they’ll need to adapt their in-person communication skills to virtual methods. 

  • They are independent and self-starters

Since offshore employees won’t have the benefit of being in the same physical space as their colleagues and bosses, businesses should hire people who exercise sound independent judgment and work on tasks with minimal supervision. 

One of the traits you’ll want your offshore workers to have is the initiative to self-organize the course of their workday without waiting for instructions from higher-ups. While signing up the right person is a good place to start, you should also help your newly hired offshore employees by developing a comprehensive and updated business playbook.

  • They are good collaborators

As cliché as it may sound, “teamwork makes the dream work” rings true for businesses. Someone with a teamwork mentality ensures you can accomplish your business projects and goals with utmost quality. You may have a talented group of people, but if one has a poor work ethic, that could be enough to produce substandard work or service and even bring down the morale of the other team members. 

That said, workers who aren’t afraid to reach out to you and your on-site team and share their ideas to refine the company’s operations and processes are valuable additions to your organization. 

  • They practice good self-regulation

Someone who practices good self-regulation doesn’t make rash decisions and has better control over their emotions and abilities.

For example, if an offshore employee happens to be in line with a rude customer or coworker, they can handle the call professionally and not take it personally with the full awareness that what they say or do will reflect on your company. They also know when it’s best to escalate such situations to their supervisor. 

If they make unintentional mistakes, they take responsibility for it and do their best to fix the problem, not avoid it. Generally, those who practice self-regulation are also good at organizing their work and limiting distractions in the workplace. 

  • They embrace your company’s values

Find remote workers who echo your company’s core values and vision, for people who are motivated by the same principles you live by can help your business grow and thrive.

For instance, if one of your core values is to put customers first, someone who’s willing to go above and beyond to ensure your company delivers the best experience to the customer shows that the worker has their priorities in tune with your own.

  • They are culturally sensitive

The best offshore workers have no problems working and interacting with people with different backgrounds and from different cultures. If you have international clients or customers, you’ll want to find remote workers who are experienced in dealing with people from all walks of life.

When they know and understand how your on-site team and customers are culturally different from them, they are more likely to be more understanding of these differences, thereby communicating with your team better and performing their tasks more considerately. 

  • They deliver great results

Generally, offshore workers are trained by their respective offshore companies. You can afford to be more relaxed knowing that you have professional remote workers who perform their tasks promptly and productively.

In addition, independent contractors are efficient, as they have been trained to be more resourceful and smart with their time management. They’re able to build these qualities over time based on their industry knowledge, so it’s best to partner with outsourcing companies or freelancers with similar previous experience. The last thing you want is a bad remote hire.

Over to You

Knowing the must-have attributes when hiring offshore workers can help weed out nightmare hires and ensure the growth of your business. After all, the point of recruiting offshore employees is to encourage you to focus on more significant tasks. So make sure to look for the essential qualities above when reviewing your candidates to find the best people for your business.

Once you’re ready to outsource your offshore operations, feel free to get help from Manila Recruitment, a trustworthy recruitment agency in the Philippines that can introduce you to professional workers from a vast pool of talent. Contact us today to learn more about our services!