Outsourcing has received a bad rap in the past years among Australian businesses, including SMEs, due to the fear of the unknown. The good news is that we have seen massive changes in perception in recent years from negative to positive.
While most of Australia’s large banking and telecommunication firms have jumped ship to follow the trend and have seen the light, the smaller organizations appear to be delaying to follow suit.
Some reports point to SMEs to be comprising 99% of the Australian business sector, stressing just how extensive the country’s economic stability rests on their continued growth. And some steps must be taken to sustain the SME’s growth.
SMEs need to learn from their Australian business peers who have already tried outsourcing and have successfully leveraged this offshoring solution the right and effective way. Even from their peers in the UK, Australian SMEs can learn a thing or two about outsourcing or sending job tasks offshore.
Size zero’ businesses is one of the fast-emerging business trend in the UK. Like a Diet Coke where calories and sugar contents are reduced, only it’s the non-core functions that ‘size zero’ SMEs are shedding. This is undertaken by embracing outsourcing, exchanging services and sharing expertise to focus on their strengths and reduce costs [1].
It’s also high time for Australian SMEs to start looking outside the countryside, such as Asia and consider the burgeoning BPO sector in the Philippines. The country can offer plenty of opportunities in terms of high-value talent, logistics, technology and low cost of doing business.
Business optimism in the Philippines is high, and higher than ever in recent years. An international survey about business optimism ranked the Philippines as the second most optimistic nation in terms of how Filipino businessmen sees the country’s economy for the next 12 months. Peru was ranked the most optimistic country in the world.
This was the result of a survey by Grant Thornton International Business Report (IBR) for the first quarter, adding up to the already many positive forecasts for the Philippines, including stronger growth for the next couple of years. The report also showed strong signs of willingness to invest by other countries in the country like the U.S. and Japan [2].
The Philippines has increasingly been noticed as an emerging and preferred outsourcing destination by many international companies to partner with BPO organizations in the country. BPOs is one of the country’s sunshine sectors.
It is smarter to work when you are able to concentrate on core business processes that are critical to your achievement of business targets and goals. Outsourcing allows SMEs to become leaner and smarter. It is only a matter of time until Australian SMEs will become more open to outsourcing because this strategy does not only help in reducing cost. Outsourcing done right gives access to talented workforce, gives decision makers to focus on what’s important, and even minimize risks in the long-term.
Source:
[1] PH businessmen among world’s most optimistic, survey says
[2] New breed of ‘size zero’ SMEs emerge
http://www.smeweb.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4136:new-breed-of-qsize-zeroq-smes-emerge&catid=56:news&Itemid=96
