Step by step

Offshore Advantage demystifies the process of setting up an office abroad. The following steps are a chronological list of the services we offer clients.

How to Offshore

The following are the usual steps required to set up offices abroad. Our consultants will walk you through these steps and more. Our pricing policies are based on these steps, so that clients can step in wherever they need help.

Identify Your Outsourcing Strategy and Needs:

The first step is deciding which tasks and processes you would like your offshore office to handle. Do you want to move all of your non-essential responsibilities, or just a few? Do you want the office to share some of the core business operations? Answering questions such as these focuses you on where to go and how big to make the office.

Offshore Location Strategy:

There are many factors to consider in picking a location. For example, do the tasks you want to offshore need to happen during your normal working hours? If so, then a country in a similar time zone might be important to you. What level of skill and education does the work you desire require? Do you need to be in the capitol or would a smaller city suffice? There are also employer and wage obligation restrictions to consider.

Crossing the Language Barrier:

Because you will hire fluent English-speakers, you won’t need to know the language to manage an international office. However, having a native speaker on hand to translate idiomatic phrases, understand nuances, and negotiate when necessary is key to setting up an office as efficiently and inexpensively as possible.

Navigating Local Laws and Regulations:

Every country has unique labor laws, foreign business regulations, and incorporation restrictions. The process of setting up a new office can be labyrinthine, but our country directors have all done this before. They will walk you through all the forms and set up the meetings needed to establish an international arm of your company.

Local Real Estate Markets and Offshore Office Creation:

Most developing countries don’t have comprehensive real estate listings in English. Our local country directors will help you navigate choosing a neighborhood, finding a reliable landlord, and negotiating the best deals.

Local Services and Offshore Office Set-Up:

Leasing office space is only the first step. Next, you’ll have to look into contractors for furnishing, heating, phone service, etc. Together we will go through a checklist of needed services and make sure you work with the best providers.

Exploring Offshore Talent Pool and Hiring Offshore Staff:

Finding qualified staff in a foreign country can be difficult without someone on hand. Our country directors know the best places to advertize and have extensive networks of well-trained staff in all fields and industries.

Training Offshore Staff:

Once you’ve hired your workforce, we’ll help you train your new employees so that they understand the culture and expectations of the company they are entering, and establish productive working relationships with the home office. This is key to making sure that the venture is a success and that both the home office and the offshore office work together in the same timeframe.

Learning Local Customs:

Your new employees aren’t the only ones who need to be trained. In order for the offshore office to work, the employees at home also have to learn how to communicate with their new colleagues abroad. We will help reverse translate local customs and behaviors to minimize misunderstandings and improve efficiency.

Troubleshooting:

There can be snags anywhere along the way, even after an office is up and running. We also take clients who have already set up offices but would like to change or improve some aspect of their offshoring experience.