August 1, 2020
Josh N. Garcia
The concept of ‘outsourcing’ can often be a sensitive subject – especially in times of a pandemic when millions of people are out of work. I get it. I also understand thousands of business are suffering right now and their only hope to survive is to find alternatives to stay afloat until this crisis passes. Many businesses will find ways to reduce costs, which may lead to outsourcing, layoffs or both. What many business owners don’t know is Mexico provides fertile ground for English-speaking professionals with a wide range of skill sets. Thousands of these professionals have lived or studied in the States at some point in their lives. I’ve comprised a list of the 7 most outsourced jobs to Mexico to help business owners understand there are ways to stay afloat, and in some cases, thrive during this pandemic.
Remote
Sales Agents
Remote Sales Agents
have been one of the most heavily recruited positions during the pandemic. With social distancing guidelines in place
and a mandatory quarantine in many states, remote agents have become a hot
commodity. Although telemarketing has
been a huge selling tool for decades, it’s still one of the most cost-efficient
ways for generating leads. Whether it be
for B2B or B2C sales, hiring skilled sales agents on the phone can be a major asset
for any company. Luckily, hiring in Mexico
can save businesses a lot of money.
Businesses can hire a remote sales agents for $6-$8 usd per hour, per
agent. According to Glassdoor.com, the
average call center agent in the USA earns about $14.85 usd. In this case, hiring in Mexico can save you
at least 50%.
Customer Service Agents
We’ve all had to call customer service for one reason or another. Whether to seek IT support or challenge an unauthorized credit card charge. Half the time, you get an agent who clearly doesn’t speak English as a first language. It’s frustrating. Not because you’re a racist, but because there is important information you’re trying to communicate, and the agent isn’t catching it all. Most often, you’re speaking to an agent in the Philippines or India, where the cost of an agent is extremely cheap, but the price is reflected in the result. Hiring an agent or call center in Mexico is distinctly different because many of the agents you’ll hire have lived in the United States or Canada and understand the colloquial verbiage and cultural nuances that come with living in North America. (Agents in Mexico will know who the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers are) In addition, many of the agents live in tourist destinations such as Puerto Vallarta or Cabo San Lucas where they are in constant contact with Americans and Canadians. Finally, customer service agents in Mexico will have a lesser accent than agents in other part of the World.
Virtual Assistants
The Philippines seems to be a hot spot to hire Virtual Assistants. At $3/usd an hour it’s hard to compete with that rate. Many professionals hiring VA’s abroad are happy with this system. However, some of the common complaints about hiring VA’s from abroad are the language barrier, lag time in responses and turnover. These issues can arise anytime you’re hiring remotely, however, some of these issues can be avoided by hiring close to home. First, as mentioned before, you can reduce the language barriers by hiring in Mexico. Especially if your VA lives in a tourist-centric city, where English is widely used. There is less lag time since Mexico revolves around the same time zones as the USA and Canada, so every VA in Mexico is within a 3-hr difference. Finally, if you have more contact with your VA by phone and text, there is less turnover. At Ventes Mexico, we provide the recruitment of VA’s for you to manage and be in direct contact. Someone working remotely will be less inclined to leave you when there is a personal relationship and when you’re in constant communication.
Social Media Manager
The average Social Media Manager in the USA makes $51,300 per year. The average Social Media Manager in Mexico makes about $15,000 usd per year. (that’s being generous) It’s pretty black and white. This doesn’t mean paying less provides lesser quality. It just means the cost of living in Mexico is much less. Plus, if you hire a Social Media Manager in Mexico you get the added bonus of a bilingual Manager, which, as a business owner allows you to reach a broader market. Social Media Management is a growing profession. In fact, several of the major universities in Mexico now offer degrees in digital marketing, including well-known institutions such as UNAM in Mexico City and ITESM in Monterrey.
Software Engineer
If you haven’t already heard, Guadalajara is considered the Silicon Valley of Mexico. Why is this, you ask? Two main reasons. Human capital and accessibility to the USA. On the human capital front, Guadalajara is home to 12 universities and about 6,000 graduates each year who specialize in high tech. Most importantly, salaries for a software engineer can be up to 75% less than the USA and Canada. Regarding accessibility, Guadalajara is within a 3-hour flight of some of the more popular US tech hubs such as San Francisco or Austin. Most of the big IT players such as Toshiba, Intel, HP and Intel have a long-standing presence in the Mexican Silicon Valley with start-ups surfacing at exponential rates. https://themazatlanpost.com/2019/07/11/tech-giants-attracted-to-mexicos-silicon-valley-in-guadalajara/
Web Design
This position finds itself in a pretty competitive space, however Mexico provides plenty of opportunity to find a great web designer for a fraction of the cost. There are two real advantages to hiring a web designer in Mexico. First, you have direct access to your designer with unlimited revisions and ongoing support. Second, you can have your website translated in Spanish, which most businesses prefer in the USA. I don’t employ a full-time designer, but I make periodic adjustments and SEO upgrades without having to log in to a site or make a payment on Paypal to start a conversation.
Recruiter
I couldn’t produce a ‘Top Jobs to Outsource’ list without mentioning recruiters. The truth is recruitment and staffing in the States can be costly. Often costing in the thousands of dollars. At Ventes Mexico LLC we typically charge the equivalent of one-month salary in USD. For example, a software engineer will make anywhere from $1,000-$2,000 usd per month. Our recruitment fees would match the salary of the position. Since we are recruiting within Mexico, our fees are comparable to the salaries in Mexico and ultimately less than the USA.
I hope you found this article useful. As an outsource recruiter based in Mexico, the positions listed above tend to be the most popular for US businesses. If you are a business owner looking for ways to cut costs or read this article and have more questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me directly at josh@ventesmexico.com Also, please feel free to leave comments or questions below. I would love to hear from you. Thanks for reading.
