Why South Africa

Why is South Africa now considered to be the ‘preferred destination’ for BPO & LPO?

Anyone reviewing the professional press and commentary on BPO and LPO in general cannot have failed to see the increasing number of column inches devoted to South Africa. As the demand-side for offshore services has matured, many UK organisations considering outsourcing overseas are now looking beyond the traditional powerhouse of India.

Why?

Culture: A clear, no-nonsense approach:

Unlike some offshore locations, South Africa prides itself on a clear, no nonsense, approach. This saves time, money and avoids the frustrating and costly ‘it would be quicker to do it myself’ syndrome. Not only does South Africa share a common language with the UK (which is critical when considering outsourcing complex, high-value activities such as legal processes) but it has a very similar culture: employees are confident and robust. They want to be challenged and will challenge back: ‘Have I got this clear?’, ‘so, to confirm’.

Context: A stable, supportive government:

The South African government has identified the importance of this sector as a part of its strategy to boost the country’s economy and create jobs. Many incentives exist and coupled with the significant developments in infrastructure and telecoms in recent years, South Africa has become a ‘must consider’ location – particularly for more intellectually demanding activities such as LPO.

Commercial: Up to 30-50% savings

It is well established that activities outsourced from the UK to South Africa can regularly be delivered at about a 30-50% saving to the cost of similar work carried out in the UK. Less well publicised is the impressive labour pool (circa 100,000 graduates entering the workforce annually), data and intellectual property security, low staff turnover and low wage inflation – advantages that very few other offshore locations can claim. Furthermore, being in such a similar time-zone to the UK means that most work carried-out offshore can be conducted in ‘parallel’ with UK working hours, minimising costly and debilitating late night/early morning conference calls.

Why offshore to South Africa? Why not?