Strategies for improving outsourced team performance

There are some clear and well-known disadvantages in working remotely – be it in outsourcing or in any globally located business with remote workers. At Enshored, we welcome client teams to visit our offices whenever possible, and every year many do come. These short times of direct contact bring significant improvements to the working relationship and often to our productivity and other positive outcomes. We have listed the following 4 main points we look to accomplish during these on-site visits:

1. Team Bonding

At Enshored, it is important that the client and the agents, or heroes as we affectionately call them, break down any cultural barriers that may exist due to natural differences, distance, and communication. We find that ice breaker games, seemingly sophomoric, go a long way to breakdown the natural barrier of distance and title to create and expose the humanity within their teams. Through vulnerability, we level the playing field and are ready and willing to work together to build a higher level of service.

2. Cultural Exposure

Taking interest in Filipino culture makes a huge impact on the team when clients are willing to meet the agents where they are. Heroes want to feel seen, be respected, and have an interest taken in themselves and their culture. They are more than the data they are entering. They are more than the order they are filling, and they want to know they are valued as such.

We find it important that the clients visiting make the biggest impact and have the greatest buy-in from their teams when they engage in the cultural experience. A trip to Jollibee might be the most basic yet impactful gestures.

Taking the team for lunch without being particularly picky or needing something more American allows the team to feel that what they have to offer is enough. Eating Balut, as I have been honored to do, shows a willingness to take a risk and jump into the Philippine culture as our teams are as eager to jump into yours.

3. Highly Interactive Training Sessions

Interaction allows the clients to have insight into how the heroes interpret the knowledge and how they can make an educated decision based on the information provided. This insight improves the quality of communication, understanding why the heroes are thinking and reacting the way that they do and delivering recursive training accordingly.

4. Side by Side Instruction

This is an invaluable final step to a client visit. What we have taken away from our most recent client visit is that it’s the nuances deep within the process that can take a team from good to great. Through side-by-side instruction, our clients can see their training go live.

Clients can see how the heroes think, apply working knowledge, and follow instruction through completion giving insight to clients and further necessary training. It allows them to witness what we have heard and give insight into each hero’s personal interpretation. It also allows a team to solidify its process through observational instruction.

Through team bonding, cultural exposure, interactive training session, and side-by-side instruction clients and their team of heroes can identify in their humanity, engage in risk-taking through vulnerability, improve communication, and solidify their process. At Enshored, we welcome this opportunity for growth and development of our expertise.