BPO Benefits: Hire Global Talent to Power Up Your Business
May 20, 2025
Are you struggling to find reliable and skilled employees locally? Do you want to streamline operations? Business Process Outsourcing, or BPO, could be a solution for your small business!
When I first heard about this concept, I wasn’t familiar with it or the benefits of BPO. But actually, the American Franchise Academy has used this amazing resource for three years, with excellent outcomes and results.
Your organization can also tap into top international talent! To learn more about how this solution works, other key benefits you can enjoy (like cost savings), and where you can start to explore it, I invited Ryan Baker, Regional Sales Manager at Solvo Global, to our Franchise Supporters Podcast on YouTube. Discover the benefits of BPO and use this solution to your advantage!
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Who is Solvo Global?
As the leading remote talent solutions provider, Solvo provides access to experienced, nearshore professionals with a cost-effective approach to help your company thrive. They provide back-office support for US-based companies and work hand in hand with them to increase their profitability, enable their long-term growth, and allow them complete control over their overseas employees with the best technology.
It was founded in 2015 and currently works in 22 different countries worldwide.
What is Business Process Outsourcing, or BPO?
As Ryan explained, Business Process Outsourcing, or BPO, has been around for a long time in the United States and other countries that employ foreign workers. However, technological advances have opened the doors for franchises and small businesses to outsource and hire people from different countries.
“If you were to hire an employee in another country, you would have to follow all the labor laws and international recruiting processes to comply with the law, and not everyone is familiar with this. So, the industry of Business Process Outsourcing came about to help US companies hire people internationally, just as Solvo does”.
Basically, BPO lets US companies access top global talent easily, avoiding legal burdens. Providers like Solvo handle everything: hiring, HR, payroll, and taxes. That way, you can power your business with skilled workers in a simplified and compliant way.
Ryan shared that they have filled over 600 job descriptions for various companies, proving that different industries can utilize this global talent solution. In fact, Ryan explained that they have worked with brands within the franchise industry, specifically with home care agencies.
“Users go from small mom-and-pop shops with two employees that just need someone to answer the phone and do some administrative work and data entry, all the way to companies that need their HR functions and scheduling for their office, or procurement for their quick service restaurant, for example”, Ryan explained.
He also mentioned that in almost every single business, there are many backend positions and administrative non-core tasks that anyone behind a computer could do anywhere in the world, and that this solution complements those boots-on-ground positions that must be done in the US.
“Even if it does require boots-on-ground, you could hire someone in the US to do that and then have someone else take on the administrative part of that job to make that other employee more scalable”.
3 Big Benefits of BPO for Small Business Owners
Among the benefits of hiring a BPO employee or opting for outsourcing versus hiring someone in the United States, Ryan mentioned:
1. Cost efficiency and savings
This service can significantly reduce operational costs for small business owners, as hiring someone internationally could save around 50 to 60% in hiring fees. Why? Because the cost of living in other countries is lower.
“For example, I’m in Miami, Florida, where I pay $10 for a beer. In Colombia, one of the countries where we operate, that beer would cost me $1. That difference in the cost of living allows us to offer a different labor cost at a favorable rate”.
A little disclaimer, though: the employee also receives a fair salary. They might make more than they would if they worked in a local company. The cost is lower because it costs less in that particular country.
2. Access to a global talent workforce
When a company uses BPO services, they have a wider talent pool.
“If a business in Miami, Florida, has an open position, they can only hire someone from the Miami, Florida area. Even though it is a big area, imagine opening that up to the world! Your business could access 20, 30, or 40 million skilled candidates with specialized expertise in different countries that otherwise wouldn't have the opportunity to get hired by a US company.”
3. No employer burden
The hiring process involves a lot of elements, from interviewing and hiring to managing the payroll, HR, and insurance. However, when you use this service, the suppliers may handle all the hassle of complying with all the employer requirements.
“Solvo not only helps businesses find the people. We become the employer of record, so we take on the liability”, Ryan mentioned. “We can also support them if someone were to trip and fall, require unemployment benefits, or if someone were to leave, and the owner wants to ensure their equipment is running properly.”
To dig deeper into the compliance responsibilities that a BPO would take over, I asked Ryan what the employer-employee relationship would look like in this scenario.
He explained that the person is treated as your full-time team member, no different than if you were to hire someone local. The difference is that they would work remotely in the BPO offices instead of being present with you. That way, they can manage time and attendance. And if there's a KPI or key performance indicator that they must follow, they can track those metrics on a day-to-day basis and report how they are playing out.
They can also help small business owners keep a strategic focus, helping them with sick leaves, PTO, payroll, insurance, taxes, health benefits, and retirement plans.
“Anything that you could think of when it comes to hiring and managing an employee that you don't wanna deal with. We offer all of that in most of the countries that we operate within, depending on the labor laws of that specific country”.
Access to Global Talent With Confidence
Speaking of employer burden, I asked Ryan if a small business owner could do international hiring independently. He explained that while it is possible, they would first have to understand:
- The market rate is in that country, state, and city.
- Their local holidays and how they interact with the United States holidays. “In Colombia, the country where we started, there are actually 30 national holidays”, Ryan pointed out.
- The health insurance benefit that the employee is going to demand.
- The government taxes and how they change year over year, or month over month.
Complying with the employment laws and regulations outside the US may sound overwhelming. However, as Ryan shared, one of the benefits of BPO is that you won’t have to do it on your own.
“We can help with all of that because we have a team of experts who deal with this. So even if something gets messed up, it doesn't fall on our client, and they don’t have to worry about it. All of that's being taken care of, and we hold their hand through the process”, he said.
I certify what Ryan explained. In fact, that's one of the things I really liked about having a BPO service because I don't have to worry about all those regulations and rules. I just learn what parameters that particular employee has, and then they just work like a regular employee.
“We can even shift teams into different countries if something happens in the country, government-wise, or something unfortunate like a natural disaster. We do have backup plans in place.”
The BPO benefits also translate to the international employees, because they get to work with the CEOs or executives from successful, growing businesses in the US on a day-to-day basis, and it is an excellent opportunity for them to level the playing field in the job market and their long-term careers. These benefits also impact the local economy and the families of those employees.
This was one of the aspects that motivated me to look for employees outside of the United States, to make a difference and pay it forward, supporting people in other countries and making a difference in those people's lives and those around them.
The Risks of BPO Services
Having team members working from abroad may bring some risks. One is distance, which might cause communication issues since everything is done remotely. That’s why, as a leader and boss, you have to figure out how to build a relationship with those people, and if you're not prepared to do something like that, it can be hard.
Another potential risk would be if you want to terminate the BPO service, you would end up losing the employee because contractually, they are employees of the BPO company. If you wanted to take them with you, you can't.
“Sometimes we have clients switching over from another BPO to Solvo, but they loved a couple of team members from that other team. What ends up happening usually is that they keep those team members from the other company and hire a new team with us, so they don’t lose them”, Ryan explained.
The AFA Experience Using a BPO Service
I met Ryan at the New York Franchise Show about three years ago while walking the exhibition floor, and their slogan caught my attention. The message said: “Bringing you a world of talent”.
Hiring someone from outside the country had already been on my mind thanks to my background (I am from Guatemala), and international experience (I lived in 14 countries supporting global franchise brands around the world), so I felt comfortable with that idea.
I also recognized the incredible talent available abroad, and I knew I could access that at a more affordable rate than what we could find in the United States. Additionally, I wanted a fully bilingual support team, which was difficult to find in the country.
I also had the flexibility to hire from outside because not all the positions at the Academy needed to be filled in the US. Therefore, the strategy made sense to me. We talked about it, and I decided to give it a shot.
I didn't have a specific role that I was looking to hire for, though. So first, I made a list of all the things I did that were not my core business activities. Then, I identified everything only I could do as well as those things I could delegate because it wasn’t my expertise or something I loved to do.
From that analysis, I created a job description for a social media marketing manager who could help me build our brand through our social media platforms. I gave that job description to Solvo so they could help me find candidates who aligned with my company and my requirements.
Before sending me options, they helped with the recruitment process, reviewing their resumes and investigating the candidate’s background, experience, and professionalism, as well as their hard and soft skills, and their personality, to make sure the person was going to fit in with my team and culture.
Those who approved the filters had interviews with their HR team, where they shared the job opportunity and confirmed if they were right for the role. In my case, they presented five candidates, and then I did my own interview process until I chose Laura, our current Social Media Marketing Manager.
It was a great experience, and they made it really easy. I didn't have to worry about everything that happens around recruiting; I just showed up to the scheduled interviews to have those conversations with the candidates, and from there, decided who to choose.
Even though Laura lacked experience and knowledge in franchising, I dedicated time to train her not only about the franchise industry but also on the AFA processes, just as I would train any new US employee. Over time, we have also invested in her growth and professional development so she can excel in her job.
After three years, she has come a long way, almost becoming a communication franchising expert and sharing our message in the market with great confidence. She manages all of our social media platforms, edits all our videos, creates most of our graphic design, and manages the external campaigns for our events. Everything you see on our YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn channels, hear in our podcast, or read in our LinkedIn newsletter, all of that is Laura.
Back in Medellín, Colombia, where she lives, she enjoys the benefits of working for a company in her country. She has a supervisor and support from the Solvo team. Still, when it comes to the AFA, she is definitely an integral team member, and everyone sees her as part of our company, even though Solvo provides her services to us. I think this combination is awesome.
I hope this information gave you a broader perspective on staffing strategies you can implement in your organization. It might be something new, but it can also bring you huge value as a small business owner. Not only will you be able to grow your team at a favorable rate, but you will also make a difference for someone who wouldn't have the opportunity to work for a US company otherwise.
Go through the process of determining what that position would be and what you can delegate to them, and if it makes sense, reach out to a BPO third-party provider, like Solvo (https://solvoglobal.com/), to learn more about what they do and how they can help you.
WATCH THE COMPLETE INTERVIEW PODCAST ON VIDEO:
