The emergence of South Africa as an outsourcing destination has seen a transformation in the type of jobs being sent there.
The outsourcing market is on the move. Advances in technology and shifts in working patterns mean people are regularly collaborating across locations and borders. Today it’s not uncommon for companies to comprise multidisciplinary teams of people in several different companies working together as easily as if they were in the same room. Outsourcing is moving from a value-led proposition in which the main aim is to cut down on costs, to a chance to broaden the talent pool.
How the outsourcing market is changing
The last few years have seen a dramatic increase in the business process outsourcing market in South Africa. While traditional outsourcing destinations such as India still lead the way South Africa has seen its market share blossom.
According to the GSP Job Creation Report, it has grown more than 40% in the last ten years. Companies from all over the world are looking to South Africa whether looking to shift from another outsourcing location or to move domestic staff overseas.
South Africa is now the third most popular outsourcing destination in the UK and is the fastest-growing destination in the US.
What’s interesting, though, is the type of jobs that are being outsourced. Traditionally BPO has been associated with call centre-based roles, such as customer service. Now, though, companies are looking to outsource a much wider range of roles including those that would normally require a high level of dynamic collaboration with domestically based teams, including marketing.
Outsourcing marketing
Until recently, the thought of outsourcing anything but the most basic marketing roles might have been considered fanciful. Marketing professionals are highly qualified. They need to enjoy a level of close interaction with domestic teams and will normally require a reasonable level of knowledge about the markets they operate in.
Some attempts to outsource marketing roles such as copywriting or telesales met with mixed success. Poor levels of written and spoken English produced low cost, but low-quality results.
However, in South Africa, companies have found an alternative destination with everything they need.
Cost of labor
First and foremost, the original motivation behind outsourcing still holds. The cost of labor might not be as low as in India or the Philippines, but it is still much lower than in countries such as the US, the UK, or mainland Europe.
Indeed, according to some calculations, once you factor in government incentives South Africa can even rival any other country based on cost alone.
The South African government is keen to kickstart growth in the country and sees outsourcing as an ideal opportunity do to just that. The business process outsourcing industry has attracted thousands of jobs into the market with almost 20,000 being generated in 2023 alone.
Any company promising to employ beyond a certain number of domestic employees can benefit from lucrative government incentives, making South African employees incredibly price competitive.