Whether you overhear a conversation about outsourcing or you join in such a conversation, the underlying assumption is that the outsourced workforce originates from India. This is for good reason. The popular media has focused only on India as the hub for outsourced workers. Although this is true, I’d like to warn you that India is probably not your best choice for your outsourcing needs.

If you hire employees from an outsourcing company, you need to know that you can rely on the delivery of their services. If they fail, it is a reflection on you and your company. Your customers are not interested in understanding that the failure was nothing you could control. What this means is that you need an outsourcing company with a solid and reliable infrastructure, and I’m here to tell you that a company’s infrastructure is dependent on the stability of its country’s infrastructure.

So, in this regard, how does India measure up? Well, not so great. Speaking to people in India, you quickly learn that power and water often come up short. Why should you care? Think about it. If you are outsourcing your call center, for example, losing power for one day would leave your customers without support for that length of time. That type of downtime can be catastrophic for your business.

If you do find an outsourcing company in India that is prepared for any loss of power or other disaster that might interrupt business, the cost of that preparedness will be reflected in their outsourcing fees to you. Yes, that’s right, you’re going to be the one to pay for the bolstering of a shaky infrastructure.

“Really?” you ask. Yes, really. For example, the tier 1 companies, the ones you would want to do business with, are going to charge $16 to $30 or more per hour, per person you hire from them. Yikes! Outsourcing is supposed to save you money.

A company based in another country like the Philippines can help you avoid these problems. Without the worries of a weak national infrastructure, the costs are lower for the outsourcing company and these savings are passed on to you. So not only are you hiring with a more reliable outsourced workforce, you are also paying less per hour, per employee.

The Philippines is a safer country in general and English is well-spoken there. Even Indian companies are outsourcing their voice based services to companies in the Philippines. That should tell you something.

You can find outsourcing tips in my new book “Outsource This!” Check it out.