Jens Erik Gould Outlines the Agile Advantage: How Nearshore Outsourcing Fosters Closer Collaboration
Close collaboration is key to success in nearshore outsourcing. It ensures that everyone is on the same page, increases the quality of the final product, and cuts down on hiccups throughout the process. In fact, Founder and CEO of Amalga Group Jens Erik Gould often points out that collaboration is the glue that holds the entire process together.
Fortunately, nearshore outsourcing makes collaboration much easier than it would be for those companies that choose to go the offshoring route. Below, Jens Erik Gould discusses why making the agile choice is best for achieving effective communication and teamwork.
Similarity in Time Zones
While a nearshore office may not be in your exact time zone, chances are it won’t be far off. That means business leaders will have fewer worries about aligning communication or maintaining operations at odd hours.
Instead, employees and senior managers can better enjoy the real-time exchange of ideas, says Jens Erik Gould. This spontaneous communication can spark innovation and creativity and facilitate the timely movement of information throughout the company. In turn, businesses will see faster project turnaround and better customer service.
Increased Cultural Competence
The citizens of a given country are likely most familiar with the languages, cultures, and customs of the countries closest to their own. In this way, nearshore outsourcing can foster cultural awareness and competence more successfully than offshore outsourcing.
According to Jens Erik Gould, this cultural understanding has many potential benefits for businesses. These include better employee engagement, increased productivity among all members of the team, and increased feelings of respect and belonging.
Greater Travel Convenience
Doing business in a country near where you are headquartered gives business leaders unprecedented levels of travel convenience. In addition to lowering travel costs, a shorter trip also allows you to visit your nearshore operation more frequently and oversee operations in person.
As Jens Erik Gould says, this benefit ultimately leads to closer collaboration and better communication overall.
Shorter Supply Chains
The travel convenience your company will enjoy with nearshoring extends beyond business leaders. Product components will also require less travel time, thus shortening the supply chain. This means that business owners can keep their vendor networks smaller and more manageable.
In turn, it becomes easier to collaborate with a tighter circle of suppliers, as there is less to coordinate. A shorter chain of communication also lowers the likelihood that information will get lost.
Nearshore Outsourcing Is the Key to Better Communication
Outsourcing your operations offshore brings numerous benefits to your company. But according to Jens Erik Gould, it can also result in complications, especially if communication becomes challenging. Choosing nearshore outsourcing can help alleviate many of those issues.
Similar time zones and shorter travel times mean better real-time communication and in-person oversight, which can put your entire team at ease. Even when you’re using project management or video conferencing platforms, having a team in a nearby country makes everything easier.
If you haven’t considered how nearshore outsourcing can help your company streamline operations and collaboration, now is the time. This decision can save your team money, time, and frustration.
About Jens Erik Gould:
Jens Erik Gould is the Founder & CEO of Amalga Group, a Texas-based nearshore outsourcing company specializing in providing highly qualified talent in IT, software engineering, and contact centers. Previously, Gould spent over a decade reporting on topics such as business, politics, and energy in the United States and Latin America for esteemed media outlets like Bloomberg News, The New York Times, and TIME Magazine.