Getting Offshore Dev Teams Right with Fred Joye of Arcanys
Outsource Accelerator CEO Derek Gallimore is featured in Smarter Software Outsourcing Podcast, a show hosted by Arcanys CEO Fred Joye.
Arcanys
Derek Gallimore is featured on Smarter Software Outsourcing Podcast. Hosted by Frederic Joye of Arcanys, Smarter Software Outsourcing is a business’s gateway to what goes on inside and outside a software outsourcing firm.
In this episode, Derek and Frederic will take a look at how outsourcing and its perceptions changed over the past two years of the pandemic. They will discuss global employment on the rise and how both OA and Arcanys adapt to the increasing demands of their clients.
How COVID impacted the outsourcing industry
Derek admits that everything, including businesses, “had a dramatic change” since 2020. As clients pulled out and “canceled their contracts” during the onset of the pandemic, most businesses have slowly become aware of offshore staffing later on.
Derek saw outsourcing as “a microcosm of the economy” where every role in the economy is represented. He added that the “forced introduction” to remote work and global employment brought huge advantages to businesses.
This trend is even seen similarly in most developed countries, showing that there’s “homogeneity within the global economy.”
The increasing awareness about offshore staffing
Per Derek, OA has “[not] seen a big move” on the demand for developers during the pandemic since the company typically covers different roles across several industries. Though, one of the benefits it got is the “uptick in terms of awareness in outsourcing.”
For Derek, the concept of global employment has “moved gradually” from being a “crazy concept” 20 years ago. He iterated that global employment has an “education piece” where people need to know how it works and be comfortable with the concept.
COVID became “a good catalyst” for companies in learning about and prioritizing outsourcing in general.
Derek’s advice on outsourcing
Derek believes now is the “right time to learn more about [offshore staffing]” due to the ventures of remote work, the great resignation, and technological innovations.
Admittedly, Derek sees outsourcing as “completely different” yet identical to local employment. The latter requires companies to learn its complexity, from the labor laws to workforce management. This goes the same with outsourcing with the addition of cultural nuances and intermediaries.
Per Derek, outsourcing has a “learning curve” of up to 18 months to understand how everything works. However, businesses only have to get started as their first step.
Arcanys on sourcing good developers in the Philippines
Fred stated that COVID “has not made [their] job easier” with the huge competition for skills. Yet, he sees the Philippines’ niche market as a good opportunity since the competition is less than in India and other offshoring countries.
Per Fred, Arcanys’ candidates mainly come from their employees. The company issues incentives for referrals and takes good care of its employees to get recommended.
Another part of their employment measures is their standards. Arcanys created a team of senior architects in Europe that will “set the standards” on what types of employees they will hire. The company had to improve this measure “the hard way,” though it now pays off.
Lastly, Arcanys makes sure to keep its employees trained. Like in employee referrals, the company incentivizes the employees to undergo training and upskill further.
Keeping up with the salaries and demand in the Philippine market
According to Fred, rates for developers in the country “go up by 10-20% a year” depending on their skillsets. This move is impressive in the Philippine setting where a low cost of living exists.
Yet, in the bigger picture, this increase is “not at much” and is instead “manageable” for the clients in developed countries. Fred believes that the Philippines is “likely shielded” from the increasing salaries compare to other offshoring destinations.
At the same time, Fred does not see this increase as a “major risk” for BPOs like Arcanys. This is since rates won’t skyrocket as fast in the Philippines compared to more developed countries. Only, this pushed them to train more developers since some of their developers’ skills “don’t always match” with their supply.
Listen to Smarter Software Outsourcing on Spotify and other streaming services available. At the same time, reach out to Fred through his LinkedIn account and the Arcanys website.
Quotes
The big thing about global employment is [the] education piece. People need to be aware of how it works [and] be comfortable with the concept.
As you begin outsourcing, there is then a learning curve. Allow yourself space [to] understand how it works when you have a global team.
Independent
