Key questions to ask potential offshore staffing companies

If you are reading this, you are probably considering hiring an offshore staffing provider. We understand, deciding on a collaboration partner is not a straightforward choice. You need to partner with someone with experience finding, onboarding, and handling offshore staff. Someone who understands your needs and can help solve them. 

The first step in this process is to do some research. Inquire your colleagues about the agencies they have collaborated with. Navigate to Google and search for various choices and feedback. Create a list of potential offshore staffing service providers.

Once you have a list of possible partners, it’s time to learn more about them and get to know their way of work. 

As we said, you want to work with an agency that will not only help you find great offshore talent. And that helps ease your workload and respect your interests. 

In this article, we share a set of questions we suggest you ask each offshore staffing company on your list. The questions are there to help you learn more about:

• Their company and expertise, 
• Their recruitment and hiring process,
• Their cost and pricing structure,
• Their communication and support protocols, 
• And some additional considerations such as references from past clients, and more. 

Questions on Company Overview and Experience

The initial questions aim to help you grasp the company’s culture, values, and goals. They also let you learn about the company’s business and how they can help you succeed. And, they can help you identify potential red flags you want to avoid in your offshore staffing partner. 

1. How many years of experience does your company have?
2. What is your company’s primary focus and area of expertise?
3. What is your company’s geographic reach? What countries do you send candidates from?
4. How many clients do you serve? 
5. What industries do you typically serve?
6. What quality control processes do you have in place? 
7. How do you ensure that your candidates are qualified and meet my specific needs?

What to Ask on Recruitment and Hiring Processes

Once you’ve covered the first set of questions, it’s time to ask about their recruiting and hiring processes. You want to know all the details about how and where they find the offshore employees they will provide you with.

You also want to know how they assess their English skills. Additionally, you want to understand their knowledge of specific tools. Lastly, you want to know how they handle cultural differences.

1. What is your process for recruiting and screening offshore candidates? 
2. How do you assess their skills and experience?
3. What is your typical turnaround time for filling positions?
4. How do you deal with cultural differences and language barriers?
5. What is your process for onboarding and integrating new hires into my team?
6. What is your company’s retention policy? 
7. How do you prevent employee turnover?

Key Questions on Cost and Pricing Structure

If you are comfortable with all of their answers, you will want to move on to the next set of questions. These will help you understand if the services they are offering are what you are looking for. And, if they will help you save thousands of dollars in payroll and operational costs.

1. What is your company’s pricing structure? 
2. Do you charge by the hour, per project, or a combination of both?
3. What are your typical recruiting, onboarding, and training fees?
4. Are there any additional costs I should be aware of, such as travel or taxes?
5. What is your payment schedule? Weekly, monthly, quarterly?
6. Do you offer discounts or incentives for long-term contracts or high-volume hiring?

Explore their Communication and Support Protocols

A key player in the relationship between an offshore service provider and your organization is having a clear communication. Ask them about what you can expect from them, their way of work and be clear about your expectations in this matter. 

1. How will we communicate throughout the partnership?
2. Who will be my primary contact at your company?
3. How often will I receive updates on the status of my open positions?
4. What is your company’s policy for handling complaints and resolving issues?
5. Do you provide training or resources for working with offshore teams?

Final Questions

Lastly, you need to assess certain key aspects of their work and how it will impact your operation.

1. What is your company’s approach to social responsibility and ethical sourcing?
2. Can you provide references from past clients?
3. Are you willing to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) to protect my confidential information?

Final Thoughts

Not all offshore staffing companies have the right way of working, pricing structure, or hiring process that suits your needs. Take the time to carefully analyze and research each one of them.

At Superior CS Group, we think it’s really important to have a first meeting with our clients. This helps us understand their processes, teams, and experiences better. This meeting is the start of a good working relationship and helps us meet our clients’ needs and goals.

In addition to understanding our clients’ processes, we also place great importance on getting to know their teams. We believe that a strong working relationship is built on trust and effective communication. By familiarizing ourselves with our clients’ teams, we are able to establish a solid foundation for collaboration. This enables us to work seamlessly with their internal teams, ensuring a smooth and efficient integration of our services into their existing operations