A South African company has made a case for the capture of outsourced business from Bermuda’s international companies.

ARC South Africa is seeking out companies in Bermuda and the Cayman Islands as part of its outreach to North America, providing high-quality back-office functions.

It is making the case that South Africa is one of the top emerging outsourcing hubs in the world.

Arc is focusing on reinsurance, fintech, financial services, utilities, gas and energy and other emerging markets.

Companies from other jurisdictions have already delegated and expanded their business functions to business process outsourcing firms in the country.

James Smith, ARC’s head of sales and partnerships, said: “Reinsurance and finance companies in particular would benefit in places like Bermuda where local salaries are much higher compared to South Africa.

“Bermuda has strict and rigorous employment laws. Hiring foreign employees is not exactly an easy task. Employers need to advertise in the local newspaper for several weeks before they can even think about hiring foreign nationals.

“Outsourcing staff will cut the hiring process lead time by months as well as saving Bermudian companies money while still hiring highly qualified staff."

The company said that ARC South Africa will act as the service delivery arm for the aforementioned markets and with its wealth of experience in outsourced accounting, data processing, customer support as well as payroll and HR, the US/Caribbean division will be able to secure and build fruitful and long-term relationships.

Anya Strydom, the founder and CEO of ARC, said: “Bermudian employers are expected to pay thousands of dollars for each employee’s work permit, which can certainly add up. Not to mention the cost to bring new employees on island.

“Accommodation and flights to and from Bermuda are not cheap."

Mr Smith added: “Companies who do decide to outsource qualified employees will save tremendously on the international hiring process which could potentially free up resources to hire more Bermudians.

“Ultimately, the goal should be to create a balanced and sustainable workforce that benefits both the company and the local community.“

He said outsourcing to ARC would create a partnership that would bring several benefits including a reduced payroll, team size flexibility, immediate access to university graduates and the ability to focus on core functions while Arc focuses on non-core ones.

The company decried the notion that outsourcing has a negative impact on the economy and on the client-side job market, arguing that it saves on operational costs, stimulates client-side growth, allowing clients to grow core business, revenue and client-side staffing.

ARC Business Process Outsourcing specialises in inbound contact centre support and outbound sales for companies based in Germany, France, Britain, the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

ARC Business Process Outsourcing