Companies That Outsourced to Fuel Growth - Time Doctor Blog

Examples of companies that outsource. Alibaba; WhatsApp; Basecamp; Google; Wise (formerly TransferWise); Skype; Slack. Read on because we will ... OutsourcingExamples:CompaniesThatOutsourcedtoFuelGrowthbyLaurenSoucyOctober2,2018So,yourbusinessisgrowingandyoucan’tquiteseemtokeepupwiththeinfluxofwork.Congratulations!That’sagreatsignyourbusinessisprospering.Chancesare,however,youarestressedoutaboutfindingtherightpeopletohiretokeepupwithtasksasyouscale.AmIright?ExamplesofcompaniesthatoutsourceAlibabaWhatsAppBasecampGoogleWise(formerlyTransferWise)SkypeSlackReadonbecausewewilldiveinhowthesecompanieshaveusedoutsourcingtogrowtheirbusiness.Whileyouhaveseveraloptionsforhiringemployees,youmaywanttoconsideroutsourcingsomeofyourwork,ratherthanhiringnew,full-time,in-houseemployees.Thebenefits?It’smoreaffordable.Ityieldsproductivity.Youkeepofficecostsdown.Youhaveaccesstoaglobalmarketoftalent.Happinesslevelsincrease.Youcanhirepeoplewhoarereadytostartworkwithoutmuchtraining.Thelistofbenefitsgoeson.Wewroteadetailedguideonithere:TheCompleteGuidetoOutsourcing.Ifyou’reworriedaboutlookingintothisprogressiveapproach,keepreading.Thisarticlewillpresentalistofoutsourcingexamplesfromothersuccessfulcompaniesthattookthisapproach.Inotherwords,you’llgettoreadseveralsuccessstoriesofhiringremoteworkersbeforeyoudecidetogothatroutetoo.Ifyou’relookingforaneasywaytoseewhichtasksyourfreelancersandoutsourcedworkersareworkingon, thencheckoutTimeDoctorfreefor14days. You’llseewhattasksthey’reworkingonrightnow,howlongeachtasktakestocomplete,andseewhichappsandwebsitesthey’revisitingrightnow.1.Alibaba.comYou’veheardofAlibaba.com.Infact,you’veprobablybrowsedtheirwebsiteandpurchasedsomecufflinks,awatch,oranyotherproductforwaycheaperthanyoucouldfinditonAmazon.Alibaba.comstartedasasmallInternetcompany,andhasgrownintooneoftheworld’slargestinternetglobalecommercesites.TheinterestingthingaboutAlibabaistheyoutsourcedmanyoftheirprojectstogrow.Whenwethinkofoutsourcing,it’scommontothinkofsendingmanufacturingtoChina,hiringvirtualassistantsfromIndia,orlinkingupwithacopywriterfromthePhilippines.Whilethesearegreatoptionsformanycompaniestryingtoscale,Chinahadtheoppositeproblem.TheskillstheyneededtodeveloptheirwebsiteweremoreaccessiblewhenhiringremoteworkersintheU.S.ThefounderofAlibabaoutsourceddevelopmenttowebdevelopersintheU.S.andhisbusinesstookoff,accordingtohisbook.KeyTakeaway:Thetakeawayhereistodoyourresearchwhenscaling.Wheredoesitmakethemostsensetolookfortheskillsyouneedtogrowyourbusiness?Canyoufindabetterqualifiedteambyoutsourcingprojects?Ifyou’relikeAlibaba,theanswerisyes.2.WhatsAppWhatsApptakestheoutsourcingstoryinanotherdirection…primarilytoRussia.In2012,WhatsAppwasasmallfirmwithonly30full-timeand5part-timeemployeesinMountainView.Canyouimagine?Sincethen,WhatsApphasgrowntobeoneofthemostpopularchatappsintheworld,andwassoldtoFacebook2yearslaterfor$19billion.ButWhatsAppdidn’texperiencethisgrowthbyrelyingsolelyontheir35personteam.Tokeepoperationcostsdown,theyoutsourceddevelopmenttodevelopersinRussia,andforafractionofthecostsitwouldhavetakentokeepbusinessathome.Asthebusinessgrew,however,someoftheRussiandeveloperswererelocatedtotheUS.KeyTakeaway:Thereistalentallovertheworld.Ifyou’relookingtoscale,butneedtokeepcostsdown,looktooutsourcingworktotalentglobally.LikeWhatsApp,afteryougrow,youcanthinkaboutrelocatingyourtopplayerstoyourhomeoffice.3.BasecampBasecampisaprojectmanagementtoolthathelpsmanagein-houseandremoteworkers.Youmayevenbeusingthissoftwarenow,consideringit’soneofthemostpopularprojectmanagementtoolsonthemarket.Basecamp,however,startedasasmall4manteamandbegantocatchspeed.Asthecompanystartedtogrow,JasonFriedexplainstheystartedexperiencingproblemswithclientwork,organization,andtheyweren’tportrayingtherightimagetotheirclientstostayonbaseandsuccessfullygrow.FriedadmitsBasecampwasdeliveringagoodproductforthemoney,buttheirinternalprocesseswereamess.Togetthisdone,theyneededtofreeuptimefortheirteamathometofocus.Enteroutsourcingtosavetheday.Tomovetheappdevelopmentforward,theteamstartedoutsourcingittoremotedevelopers.Thishelpedthemimprovetheirproduct,andtheteamwasabletogetmoreorganized,focusonbusinesspriorities,andmakenecessarychanges.NowBasecampemploysseveralremoteworkersaroundtheworldtokeeptheircompanyimageup,keepprocessesorganized,andmakesuretheirproductstandsoutinthecrowd.KeyTakeaway:Asyouscale,it’simportanttomakesureyourprocessesareorganizedandyourproductisgood.Outsourcingworktothemosttalentedglobalworkerscanhelpyourefineyourproductandprocessesaswellasprioritizewhennecessary…justlikeBasecampdid.4.GoogleIfthereisonecompanythatsetsagoodexampleofexcellentbusinesspracticesandscalingsuccessfully,it’sGoogle.You’dbehardpressedtofindabusinesspersonthatdoesn’tknowaboutand/oruseseveralofGoogleproducts.Googleworkshardtotakecareofalltheirin-houseemployeesinMountainView,California.But,theirin-houseemployeesarenottheonlypeoplethatenjoythebenefitsofGoogleemployment.Googlehasbeenoutsourcingworktoremoteemployeesforyearsandseeingexcellentbenefits.Theyoutsourceeverythingfromvirtualassistantwork,ITwork,development,andmore.Nottomention,theyoutsourceemailsupportforAdWords,andthereisnodiscriminationonwhotheyhire.Backin2011,theyhadover1,000repsfrom60differentcountries.Theserepswerehandlingover10,000callsaweek.Googleisnottheonlycompanythathasamixofemployeesathomeandremoteemployees.Infact,severalcompaniesblenddomesticandinternationalcustomerservice.Todeterminetherightbalanceforyourfirm,youmustconsideryourexpenses,yourpriorities,andyourbudget.KeyTakeaway:Eventhelargestcompanies,likeGoogle,outsourceworktoremoteemployees.Findingtherightbalancebetweenoutsourcingworkandkeepingworkin-housewilldependonyourneeds,wherethetalentlies,whatyourprioritiesare,andyourbudget.It’sdefinitelyworthlookingintooutsourcingasyouscale.5.Wise,formerlyTransferWiseWise,formerlyTransferWiseisawidelysuccessfulglobalmoneytransferservice.Infact,it’saserviceweusehereatTimeDoctor.WiththehelpofTimeDoctorandWise,it’seasytomonitor,manage,andpayyourremoteemployees.But,backtothestoryofhowWiseusesremoteemployeesforbusinessgrowth.Wisehasseveralindependentworkerswhohelpwithengineering.Wise(formerlyTransferWise)isknownforhiringUkrainianandEstoniadevelopers,butnotbecauseofcheapoffshoring,butbecauseoftheirtalent.Wisefocusesonhiringproductengineersthatstandoutofthecrowd.AccordingtoTransferWise,aproductengineermust:PassatakehometestHaveatechnicalinterviewwith2engineersParticipateinanoptionalfollow-uptechnicalinterviewHaveaproductinterviewwithaproductmanagerandanengineerCompleteafinalinterviewwithourVPofengineeringorco-founderEachoftheseinterviewandtest-takingphasesareusedtoevaluatetheskillofanindependentworker.Ifsomeonepasses,youknowtheyaretop-notchandwilldeliverresultsforWise,notjustbeaffordable.Wisehirestherightpeople,nomatterwheretheylive,andthenempowersthemtodothebestjob.KeyTakeaway:Hiringremoteemployeesdoesn’thavetobeaboutbudget;itcansimplybeaboutfindingtherightindividualstoproducethebestresults.Sometimesyouhavetogooutsideyourhometownareatofindthebestengineersforyourproduct.6.SkypeSkypeis,yetagain,anothercompanythatyouaremostlikelyfamiliarwith,andprobablyuseoften.Thisisoneofthefirstcompaniesthatintroducedtheideaofeasilycommunicatingwithsomeoneviaphone,chat,video,nomatterwheretheotherpersonislocatedintheworld.Asaleaderinthisindustry,Skypehasrevolutionizedthewaycompaniesdobusiness.Infact,thistoolhasmadecommunicatingwithremoteworkerseasierforfirmsacrosstheglobe.ThebestpartaboutitisthatSkypehasoutsourcedtheback-enddevelopmentoftheappto3Estoniandevelopers.Whiletheyinitiallyoutsourcedthedevelopment,justlikeWhatsAppdid,Skypebroughtthesedevelopersinaspartnerslater.SkypewaspurchasedbyMicrosoftin2011for$8.5billionandremainsoneofthemostimportantbusinesscommunicationtools.IfSkypehadn’tbeenwillingtooutsourceworktotherightdevelopersinEstonia,perhapsitmightnotbewhatitistoday.KeyTakeaway:Don’tlimityourselfwhenitcomestohiringtalent.Findingtherightteammayinvolveoutsourcingtothebest-of-the-bestanywhereintheworld.Takethetimetodoyourresearchandfindthebestpersonforthejobyouneeddone.7.SlackYoumayalreadybeusingSlacktocommunicatewithyourin-housestaffandvariousdifferentteams.Now,imaginehowmuchmoresuccessfulyou’dbeifyouuseSlacktomanageremoteemployeesaswell?Slackisanonlinecollaborationtoolthathelpsteamscommunicateinstantlytokeeppeopleonthesamepage.Slackwaslaunchedin2013by4talentedindividuals,butbeforeofficiallylaunchingtheproduct,theyreliedonbetatestingfromanoutsourceddesignfirm.Thisfirmtestedoutcopyanddesign.AsyouknowfromusingSlack,theirtoneanddesigniseasyandmoreinformal.And,$2.8billionmayshowthatthisisjustwhattheindustryneeded.ByoutsourcingBetatesting,Slackwasabletogetimportantfeedbackthathelpedthemcreate,notjustatool,butapersonality.Thishelpedtheteamlaunchaproductthathasoutdonethemarketseveraltimesover.KeyTakeaway:Ifyouwanttolaunchaglobalproduct,consideroutsourcingbetatesting.Thiscangiveyouinsightintochangesyourproductshouldmake,whatisworking,andwhatisnotworkingbeforeyoulaunchyourproduct.Ifyou’resuccessful,likeSlack,youcouldendupcreatingoneoftheworld’smostbelovedbusinesstools.WhyOutsourcingisBeneficialWe’velookedat7companiesthathaveusedoutsourcingtofuelbusinessgrowth.Thepurposeofthisarticleisnottotootthehornofalreadyestablishedcompanies,buttoshowyouhowthesecompaniesusedoutsourcingtogrowfromsmallteamstogloballeaders.Asyougrowyourfirm,outsourcingcanhelpyouinanumberofways.Let’squicklyreviewthekeytakeawaysfromeachbusiness:KeyTakeaway1:Thetakeawayhereistodoyourresearchwhenscaling.Wheredoesitmakethemostsensetolookfortheskillsyouneedtogrowyourbusiness?KeyTakeaway2:Thereistalentallovertheworld.Ifyou’relookingtoscale,butneedtokeepcostsdown,looktooutsourcingworktotalentglobally.KeyTakeaway3:Asyouscale,it’simportanttomakesureyourprocessesareorganizedandyourproductisgood.OutsourcingworktothemosttalentedglobalworkerscanhelpyourefineyourproductandprocessesaswellasprioritizewhennecessaryKeyTakeaway4:Findingtherightbalancebetweenoutsourcingworkandkeepingworkin-housewilldependonyourneeds,wherethetalentlies,whatyourprioritiesare,andyourbudget.It’sdefinitelyworthlookingintooutsourcingasyouscale.KeyTakeaway5:Hiringremoteemployeesdoesn’thavetobeaboutbudget;itcansimplybeaboutfindingtherightindividualstoproducethebestresults.KeyTakeaway6:Similartokeytakeaway5,don’tlimityourselfwhenitcomestohiringtalent.Findingtherightteammayinvolveoutsourcingtothebest-of-the-bestanywhereintheworld.Takethetimetodoyourresearchandfindthebestpersonforthejobyouneeddone.KeyTakeaway7:Ifyouwanttolaunchaglobalproduct,consideroutsourcingbetatesting.Thiscangiveyouinsightintochangesyourproductshouldmake,whatisworking,andwhatisnotworkingbeforeyoulaunchyourproduct.WrapUpIfyou’reinthegrowthphaseandwonderingwhatstepyouneedtotakenexttofuelgrowth,don’tbeafraidtolookintooutsourcing.Outsourcingcanhelpyoufindtherighttalent.Itcanhelpyousticktoyourbudget.Itcanfreeuptimeforyourtalentedteamworkersathomewhoarespendingtoomuchtimeonmundanetasks.Outsourcingcanbethesolutionyouneedtogrowyourbusinessproperlyandcontinuetocompeteinonaglobalscale.Remember,asyoubegintohireremoteemployees,it’salsoimportanttoinvestintoolsthatwillhelpyoumanagethem.Thisincludesaprojectmanagementsoftware(somethinglikeBasecamp,mentionedabove),agoodcommunicationplatform(likeSkypeand/orSlack,mentionedabove),andatimetrackingsoftwarelikeTimeDoctor.AtoollikeTimeDoctorwillimproveyourproductivityratesandhelpyoukeeptrackofallyouremployees,nomatterwheretheyarelocated.LaurenSoucyLaurenSoucyistheVPofMarketingforTimeDoctor,theworld’sleadingtimetrackingandproductivitysoftware.Shehas15+yearsofexperienceinmarketingatfast-pacedcompanies.HerfirstpassionisSEO,shecan’tstartherdaywithoutcoffee,andsheenjoysspendingtimeatthebeachwithhertwoboysandherhusband. GetmorestufflikethisInyourInboxSubscribetoourmailinglistandgetinterestingstuffonremoteworkingandproductivitytoyouremailinbox.Werespectyourprivacyandtakeprotectingitseriously.previouspost12oftheBestTimesheetSoftwareToolsof2022–RatedandReviewednextpostThe4TypesofOutsourcingExplainedandComparedRelatedPostsHowtoHireaRealEstateVirtualAssistantExplainingPresidentBiden’sOffshoringTaxPenaltyHowtoMeasureandReduceYourCallCenter’sShrinkageCallCenterOutsourcingServices:Costs,Pros,Cons,&MoreHowtoRunEffectiveCallCenterCampaigns(Types,Pros)TheTop5BenefitsofUsingCallCenterPredictiveAnalyticsResourcesBusinessBlogProductBlogTeamProductivityBenchmarkingToolScreenMonitoringSoftwareEmployeeMonitoringSoftwareTimeTrackingforAgenciesResourcesforRemoteCompaniesAboutDownloadTimeDoctorCaseStudiesFAQsTimeDoctorReviewsIntegrationsPrivacyPolicyTermsofServiceWhatCanYouDoWithTimeDoctor?https://youtu.be/9NBBk10axME