How to Hire Talent in South Africa

Future Teams make it easy to outsource to South Africa and hire great talent for your business. Our South African outsourcing solution starts by us recruiting for the roles you wish to outsource and setting up interviews with the top candidates. Your preferred candidates are hired directly by Future Team’s in-country entities. We take care of contracts, payroll, local taxes, employment legislation and all ongoing HR. 

Employment regulations can be very strict in South Africa. Using our services ensure your business remains complaint at all times. You will have a simple outsourcing agreement with our UK entity and will be billed monthly in GBP for staff wages.

All staff are taken on with a 3 month probation period, where by one week’s notice to cancel their contract can be given if they do not perform. After probation staff members must be given one months notice to end their contract. It is worth noting that a grievance procedure does not necearaily have to be followed. 

What roles can be outsourced to South Africa? 

Companies are choosing South Africa for a range of services and business activities. The most obvious comes in customer service and telecommunications with a growing number of companies switching outsourced teams from places such as India to South Africa. 

A matching time zone plus an easy affinity with the English language allows for smooth communication with callers and reduces call abandonment. Workers in South Africa are fluent in English with a clear neutral accent which avoids the communication barriers that so often cause problems elsewhere. 

However, the fascinating part of South Africa lies in the range and depth of talent  available.  Businesses can have access to a wide-ranging and varied pool of talent capable of providing support in an extensive range of disciplines. 

South Africa’s growing IT sector means companies can access highly skilled professionals to offer dedicated IT support and help with large-scale digital transformation initiatives. 

Digital technology is transforming businesses at a fundamental level around the world. However, the cost of digital transformation can be prohibitive for many small and medium businesses. To keep up with larger competitors, they need a way to transform their own operations at a fraction of the cost. 

South Africa’s cheaper labor market provides access to highly skilled talent at a considerable discount. Communication can flow easily between all sides. Engagement with a remote worker in Cape Town might in all practical terms, be no different than a remote worker in London. 

The widespread proficiency in English means there are plenty of professionals capable of providing content writing and digital marketing services. Whether you need web copy, social media management, or a complete digital marketing strategy, South Africa has plenty of highly skilled professionals who can offer high-quality services at a considerable discount compared to domestic providers. 

Other potential opportunities can lie in financial services or business automation. Using experienced financial professionals smaller businesses can access dedicated and highly skilled professionals who can transform their accountancy departments making them a much more active part of business strategy. They can provide more agility to-the-minute financial reporting that gives your business a more accurate view of your true financial position. With better insights, you can make better and more profitable business decisions that will drive your company forward and prime it for growth in the future. 

Business process automation, meanwhile, can take on the administrative burden of many different aspects of your business freeing you up to focus on more strategic activities that can foster improved growth. 

The rise of digital communications means there are all sorts of compelling services just waiting to be outsourced. South Africa’s rich and diverse talent pool means companies can go beyond the traditional outsourced services and become much more ambitious.

The cost of outsourcing in South Africa 

South Africa has traditionally sat between developed Western economies and the traditional low-cost outsourcing powerhouses such as India and the Philippines. Until recently, therefore, it only had a small portion of the outsourcing pie. However, a few things are changing which means some companies are beginning to reevaluate how they see the country. 

The first is a question of priorities. Services such as call centers were among the first to be outsourced as companies sought to drive down their overheads. The emphasis was almost exclusively on cost, with companies looking to minimize operational expenses. 

However, customers were quick to complain. Language and cultural differences meant it could be difficult to understand some operatives over the phone. It led to call abandonment and impacted the relationships between businesses and their customers.  

Many other services proved to offer false economies. To cut down on marketing costs some businesses sent certain marketing tasks such as search engine optimization and content writing overseas. While the price was much lower than a traditional UK-based copywriter, the quality was often poor.

Equally without a clear understanding of local regulations content could cause all sorts of legal compliance issues for companies. Search engines were also quick to identify poorly written content and factor this into their calculations. 

Businesses began to quickly realize that although the bottom line may look good initially, there were all sorts of legal, and reputational costs associated with a lower-quality output. 

Many began to look for alternatives. South Africa with its highly diverse and educated workforce, cultural similarities, convenient time difference, and language similarities represented a good option. It was still cheaper than locating in the UK, US, or Australia, but the quality of output was much better. 

In general cost terms, reports suggest, labor costs in South Africa are between 50 and 60% lower than in the UK, the relatively small premium they’d pay compared to other outsourcing locations represented excellent value for money. 

In short, therefore, South Africa provides a best of both worlds solution – high-quality services and products, at a fraction of the price you’d expect in the West.

Working with contractors 

If you’re working with independent contractors you need to make sure they are classified correctly. Contractors can be a good way to access a flexible workforce to provide you with skills as and when you need them. However, as work becomes more flexible and agile, the boundaries between freelancers and full-time employees. 

If you plan to work with someone for a prolonged period – either for occasional projects or for ongoing work – they can easily start to look like disguised employees. To avoid unintentionally falling into this category an Agent of Record (AOR) can help you manage the day-to-day details of the engagement. They can advise you on the best classifications and keep you up to date on any changes to the regulations. 

Staff entitlements in South Africa

When you sign your outsourcing agreement with us you will be agreeing to allow us to meet our obligations an an employer in South Africa. 

Full time employees are entitled to:

• Annual leave: Employees will be entitled to 15 annual leave days, plus South African Public holidays. (We can request that the take UK bank holidays off if this works better for you). 

• Maternity leave: Maternity leave starts four weeks before the due date and employees are entitled to four consecutive months of leave. All this leave is unpaid but employees can make claims to the unemployment insurance fund. Employees will not be able to start work again within six weeks of the birth without special clearance from a medical professional. 
• Parental leave: 10 consequetive days of unpaid leave. 
• Sick leave: Employees are entitled to 30 days of sick leave at full pay over three years. This only kicks into effect after the first six months of work. During that initial time, an employee gets a day’s sick leave for every 2 months worked. pay over three years. This only kicks into effect after the first six months of work. During that initial time, an employee gets a day’s sick leave for every 2 months worked.