Offshoring: A New Perspective Is Necessary
The recommendation process can be automated, and you will be commended for working smarter, not harder.
Everyone agrees that companies need to use tech to make things better for customers and employees alike, but not everyone is on board with the idea of sending workers overseas to help out advisers so they can see more clients.
Training computers and robots to undertake human jobs is progressive and innovative, but outsourcing to nearby regions with highly skilled workers is hazardous and, at times, unpatriotic.
Since local companies are having trouble finding qualified workers, the subject of outsourcing has resurfaced, which is hardly surprising.
But talent is everywhere if you’re willing to seek outside of Australia. One need only look at the increasing number of Australian advise firms that rely on staff from nations such as the Philippines for administrative, paraplanning, and client service assistance.
It appears that this trend is just going to pick up speed.
In the first place, if you can acquire it, Australian talent isn’t cheap.
Local talent wars are raging, even though there isn’t a worldwide scarcity of skilled workers.
Robert Half, a staffing service, reports that 93% of Australian company executives believe they are paying a 19% premium on starting salaries to attract and retain top personnel. Some incumbent personnel are paid less despite their duration and experience, which is leading to pay inequity and creating tensions between new and current employees, in addition to pressure on margins.
Secondly, in culturally similar areas, there is a surplus of driven, English-speaking, college-educated professionals who are competent and experienced enough to fill important support positions.
In addition, remote work has grown increasingly accepted since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and flexible work arrangements have become the standard.
Offshoring is seen by many advisory organizations as the answer to their talent management problems, both immediate and future. It is helping them streamline operations, provide superior customer service, and speed up expansion.
When companies have recruited the wrong person for the job or seen outsourcing as a means to minimize costs, things have usually gone poorly.
Financial institutions, telcos, and other large companies took advantage of the opportunity to outsource their call center operations to countries like India around the turn of the century. This allowed them to reduce labor costs, increase profits, and boost shareholder returns, all thanks to technological advancements that increased telephone and digital connections.
Hundreds of layoffs, bad customer service, and damaged reputations were common outcomes.
A more recent ruling by the High Court established that Qantas’ choice to outsource the work of 1700 ground handlers and lay them off was unlawful and motivated by a wish to avert a strike, as stated in the Fair Work Act. Explanations matter.
Inadequate consideration for customers, existing staff, and offshore workers is the root cause of most outsourcing failures.
If an advisory firm is thinking about outsourcing, they should make sure it won’t hurt their clients or employees. Offshore workers should be considered an asset to the team, not an expense. Like their local employees, they should welcome, support, and advance their overseas colleagues.
Offshoring, when done ethically, can help companies that are having trouble attracting top people.
Efficient management of talents
When it comes to financial advising, the offshore argument in Australia is all about managing and acquiring talent, rather than being political or emotional. This is especially true in businesses that are largely unionised and have huge current workforces. Cutting jobs is not the goal, but rather allowing people to concentrate on what they do best.
Achieving sustainable growth is one of the most pressing issues confronting advise businesses in the modern day. The short answer is that they need to be able to serve more customers. That is impossible to accomplish without properly positioned individuals.
We need to have real conversations about the advice industry’s strategy for managing its long-term people needs now, because the unemployment rate in Australia is at record lows and the demand for assistance is expected to increase as more Australians enter retirement.