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If you want to start outsourcing your business processes and don’t know how to choose the best partner, I’m here to help you with this short blog.

You may have googled about this and found dozens of articles that show you what are the qualities to look for before starting to outsource. You’ll find 5, 7, or even 10 factors to decide which company is a fit. I know it’s so complicated when you want to look for those qualities and remember them.

But in today’s blog, I want to take you through a super simple process. After reading this blog, you can evaluate, and decide who is the right company to work with if you want to grow your business and save time and money by outsourcing.

These qualities, that I’m going to show you, are the core qualities. That means if a company is good at them, they are good at other little details too. And it’s so simple, short, and memorable. I say memorable because it has a memorable name. I call it “The 3S Qualities”. Let me tell you what does 3S stand for.

The 3S Qualities stand for Security, Support, and Staff Quality. Basically these are the main reasons why most companies don’t like to outsource because almost 90% of offshore providers don’t have them all. In order for a company to qualify to help you with outsourcing, they must score 10/10 in each of these qualities.

So in the next 3 sections, we will dive deep into details. I will show you why they are at the core of your decision factors, and how you can make sure the companies you want to work with are good at them. Let’s begin.

1- Security: Your Data Deserve Confidentiality

If this is not the biggest pitfall of outsourcing virtual assistants, it’s definitely on the top 3. In today’s business world, data is at the center of all decisions.

Believe it or not, big companies like Google or Amazon have dedicated departments, systems, and staff to their data management. Why? Because billion-dollar decisions are being made by data. That could be anything from different platforms’ login details, to confidential data like intellectual property.

It’s definitely a turn-off for small to mid-size business owners. No matter how much it helps companies to save costs, increase profits, and save time. If there are no security guarantees, then it’s not a reliable strategy.

On the other side, top companies in the outsourcing industry are aware of it and solved this problem in the best way possible. NDA, and NCA contracts, known by official organizations, are what make most companies pass the security test. And honestly, it works really well.

Now if you don’t know what is NDA, or NCA agreement, it’s an agreement that both parties promise to not reveal any confidential data or intellectual property to competitors or any other external organization.

So pay attention to this because it’s very important. There are hundreds of offshore vendors across the globe. But very few of them guarantee that there will be no security issues. Always ask for obligation or discovery calls with the consultants and always ask for a solid, trustworthy, security guarantee.

This was the first S. Now let’s get out of the danger zone, and see what are the other qualities that you have to seek. Let’s dive into the second S. Support.

2- Support: Bad Support Makes It Painful

Imagine you’ve bought a product, and you have a problem with it. You call the support center to fix it. People on the other side, don’t understand what is your problem and they don’t have the desire to solve it. You’ll be tired of bad communication, and bad knowledge so you just let it go. You regret buying the product.

But it might not be a big deal. You didn’t pay that much for it, and maybe it’s not for an important need; Whatever it is, it doesn’t make a huge change. That’s not true in outsourcing.

When you are strategically partnering with another company to outsource your business processes, you need world-class support. What do I mean by that? Let me explain.

There are two types of support. One from the virtual assistant or the staff. Another one from the vendor, or by other words, your partner. Good support means both must be good. Now, what is good support?

Good support is driven by two factors. Communication and knowledge to solve a problem. Let’s break them down for better understanding.

Many professionals say bad communication is the most serious downside of offshore outsourcing. Anyways. Most vendors have very bad communication skills. Some have different cultures, language problems, and weak project management. And if your partner doesn’t have a good communication skill, you’ll hate outsourcing forever.

But the problem is not outsourcing, but it’s the company you work with. To solve this problem, make sure you hire a local company, or at least in a country that has similar cultures with you. You’ll thank me later because of this advice.

Now let’s talk about the other one. The problem-solving skill. Well, this one is so obvious. You got problems, and they are big, and you want them to be solved by your partner. So if your partner doesn’t have enough knowledge and power to solve those problems for you when you need them, there is no need to work with them. Makes sense?

To make sure a company is good in support, always have 2 things in mind. Hire a local company or a country with a similar culture and language. And always ask for a trial period.

Frankly, not a lot of companies offer a free trial. But if a company wants you to make a better decision, and shows that they are good at what they do, they’re not afraid to offer a free trial.