The barrier for entry to the IT outsourcing market is low. There is not a big financial burden to start-up in software development. Furthermore, there are governments that offer other financial benefits for these types of companies. Hence, there is a lot of competition and the fight for being on the potential client’s horizon is tough.

But there are a few small things that make a big difference for companies in IT Outsourcing.

What IT outsourcing companies need

An IT outsourcing company’s objective is bidirectional and simultaneous. One direction is the new business, the other is new talent. On the one hand, they constantly need new businesses to secure their income and existence. On the other, they are constantly recruiting new talent, specialized in the newest technologies to keep its agility. These two directions are crucial, and they need an equal investment of resources.

1. Try a different way– keeping your edge in the business is not easy. Invest creativity in your communication to stay memorable for potential clients.

2. Hire a very good salesperson – since the projects are most of the time long-term, not even medium-sized companies need a lot of salespeople. You actually need one or two people who are charismatic, passionate and curious. Make sure they got proper training about company values and procedures and that you communicate your unique selling point to them clearly.

3.            Give your people something they won’t get from the competition – this doesn’t have to be something big. A bigger salary is not always working. People stay in places they fit in. Especially when it comes to Millennials, they stay where they feel they have a contribution. Where they feel empowered.

4.            Listen to your people – this doesn’t require expensive strategy or high investment, just a mechanism or platform where you people can express themselves openly. In AROBS, there is a bottom-up decision-making process as well. Where team members can come with valuable input about certain directions for the company. Whether this means a new campaign, or a new value incorporated in the business ethos.

5. Follow the changes in the word actively – when everybody is turning green you simply cannot afford to ignore this issue. First, because companies are perceived as people and as important contributors to society – everybody is watching. Then you cannot just use CSR campaigns for branding, it almost always backfires. Focus on a few issues that you as a company identify with and be consistent and transparent with them. Again, you don’t need a big change, only small but systemic change which doesn’t need a lot of investment.

6.            Create a community, not a workplace – this is something that Facebook has noticed as well since then it changed its algorithm to promote groups rather than business pages. This might feel like a small change, but the impact is great. It is also, not easy at all. You need to design new guidelines that focus on community building, that are around people.

7.            Be genuine – nothing works in the long run if there is a lack of trust and intrinsically a lack of communication between the management and the people. Be there when it’s hard, be open for the hard questions, prove that you heard them. Then, let that shown on your external communication as well. When you develop trust, it will be your strongest weapon whether it comes to the clients, whether to you people.

It is not easy to differentiate yourself in the IT outsourcing industry, but you need to. You don’t even have to take actions that require a lot of investment. Change some small things and watch their impact.

At AROBS, we focus on the people as much as we can. We have created numerous community-building actions for the team members and for the local community. We constantly invest resources in building an involvement space rather than a simple workplace. These have all ultimately helped in the development of business knowledge and high proficiency in industries like IoT, Enterprise Solutions, Automotive, Travel and Hospitality and Life Sciences. During current situation of COVID-10 pandemic, we are working strong on many global projects and keeping our teams united and productive using online courses, non-stop communication and a lot of genuine and good care for our colleagues.