Outsourcing: how brokers can get it wrong

There’s a secret to employing workers overseas. Failing to do address it could be disastrous.

The key to employing overseas workers is to understand the cultural difference between the homeland staff and those employed elsewhere, says Philip Kooijman, founder and chief executive of Salmat Microsourcing.

“We focus on the Philippines, and culturally they are very different to Australians in that they are a little shyer, and less assertive,” says Kooijman.

“This means it’s harder to get negative feedback on a particular job or task.”

How to get the most out of outsourcing, which can save a business a significant amount in staffing costs, is to be very hands-on and engaged with the Filipino staff, rather than just assuming the outsourcing will take care of itself.

“The Filipino staff do work differently,” says Kooijman.

“They like large open plan spaces, and they are very strong with family and the family unit. They are also very keen on celebrations and events, and so we make an effort to recognise those times.”

How to better understand the culture

Before deciding to implement outsourcing in the Philippines, it’s well worth doing a study tour or just having a visit to see what things are like on the ground, says Loanworks Technologies GM, sales, Wayne Macartney.

“But then you’ve got a learning curve. You’ve got government bureaucracy. You’ve got start-up costs. You’ve got to find your way in an environment you don’t know who is reputable and who isn’t,” says Macartney.

“You get that bit wrong and you could be churning through quite a bit of money with no guarantee of an outcome at the other end.”

It is important to have the right outsourcing partner who will match the right staff to the broker’s policies and procedures, he adds.

The benefits

If brokers can get an outsourcing operation in the Philippines right, they will have access to a very deep talent pool with excellent skill sets and work ethic in terms of the mortgage industry, says Macartney.

“You can lower your internal costs, and with margins tight and with not as many home loans to go around these days, these are important considerations,” he says.

Macartney says the best place to start is outsourcing the routine data entry points, which will allow Australian staff to focus on more value-added work.

Does your brokerage outsource? How has it worked out? Share your thoughts below.