Christopher explains that growing their business with offshoring, while extremely worthwhile, was not without its challenges. “We grossly underestimated the heavy lifting involved in making it work” Many of the challenges we experienced in the early days of our offshore journey could have been mitigated with the right guidance.

9 Key learnings EnergyQuote JHA gleaned from their experience:

1. Strategy – Build a strategy based on company objectives considerate of the right team structures and the optimal staging of the roll out.
2. Planning – Allow for senior management capacity to set up the company and successfully onboard staff
3. Local Leadership – Appointment of the right team lead will make or break your offshore venture.
4. Pilot – Start small, keep it simple and scale fast when you succeed.
5. Staff development – Be clear on career tracks that allow for growth and integration of UK and offshore staff.
6. Team structure – Build team structures consisting of juniors, mid-levels and seniors ensuring higher retention, greater resilience and the optimal cost.
7. Internal communication – Maintain a clearly communicated vision and manage “silent resistors”.
8. Regulatory insight – Do not stint on local regulatory support and tax advice advise… especially around transfer pricing.
9. Local knowledge – Hiring the right capability, and understanding the cultural nuances in roles and career management.

Conclusion

EnergyQuote JHA made offshoring a success in their business by establishing clear objectives and a shared vision from the start. This was key to getting the most out of their offshore teams.

At the heart of Energy Quote’s success lay a keen understanding that offshore resources are people. “Offshoring only works if you have a thorough onboarding strategy, well thought through career tracks and the right team structures,” explains Charles.

When Accenture acquired EnergyQuote in 2015, its valuation was greatly enhanced by the scalability of the offshore model. Christopher and Charles – recognising the potential of offshoring for other businesses – formed Potentiam, which now has locations in Cape Town, Romania, Bangalore and Hyderabad.

To find out how Potentiam can help your business grow with offshoring contact us 

In case you missed the previous posts, here they are:

How a CEO delivered £21m of value and an exit to Accenture by building offshore teams – Part 1 of 6

Our 1st offshore team delivered a 30 percent productivity improvement in the first month - Part 2 of 6

Building a World-Class Technology Team: The Offshoring vs Outsourcing Dilemma - Part 3 of 6

How EnergyQuote built an offshore sales engine that transformed sales performance - Part 4 of 6

The real value of offshore was not initially visible : Cost saving was just the tip of the iceberg - Part 5 of 6