Nine red flags when hiring an offshore agency

We are an outsourcing agency writing about how to spot a bad outsourcing agency. Read this with that in mind — and then use it on us.

Every point below comes from something a client told us after leaving another provider. None of them are hypothetical.

1. You cannot meet the person before you commit

The single most common structure in this industry is: sign first, meet your assistant later. Sometimes you never interview at all — someone is simply assigned.

This exists because it is efficient for the agency. It is not efficient for you. The fit between one specific person and one specific business is the entire variable that decides whether this works, and being denied any say in it is not a small compromise.

What good looks like: you interview and you choose. If a provider will not let you, the reason is always about them.

2. The rate is far below everyone else’s

An unusually low hourly rate means one of two things, and both cost you.

Either the person is inexperienced and learning on your time — which is fine if you knew that and priced it in, and expensive if you did not. Or the agency’s margin is being taken out of the assistant’s pay, in which case they will leave within months and you will do this all again.

Rates in the Philippines for genuinely experienced support staff run roughly US$7 to US$18 an hour through an agency, depending on the skill level of the role. A quote well under that range is information, not a bargain.

3. There is no named human on your account

Ask: “Who do I contact when something is wrong, and what is their name?”

If the answer is a ticket system, a shared inbox, or “our support team,” you are buying seat rental. Every problem you have will begin from zero with someone who has never heard of your business.

4. They cannot answer what happens when your assistant is sick

This is the question that separates an agency from a marketplace with a logo.

There is a real answer — cover is arranged, someone briefed steps in, the work continues — and there is the answer that means you have no continuity: “they’ll make up the hours.” Ask it directly and listen for hesitation.

5. They are vague about where the work physically happens

Home-based and office-based are both legitimate. Being evasive about which is not.

The Philippines has genuine, regular power and connectivity interruptions. A home-based worker without backup power is a risk you are taking on, whether or not anyone told you. An office with a generator and redundant connections is a real answer.

Ask what the backup is. An apology is not a plan.

6. No NDA before system access, or a shared login

If a provider is relaxed about how your data is handled during the sales conversation, they will be relaxed about it afterwards.

Three things should be non-negotiable: an NDA signed before anyone touches a system, individually named logins rather than a shared password, and some form of access logging. We wrote more about this on our data privacy page.

Never accept a shared login. It removes any ability to know who did what, and it is the arrangement that makes a small incident unresolvable.

7. A lock-in contract with a long notice period

Long contracts protect the party who is worried about being left. That is worth thinking about.

A provider confident that the arrangement will work does not need twelve months of your commitment to agree to start. Month-to-month is normal and should be available.

8. Testimonials with no names

“Great service — J.M., USA” is not a reference. It costs nothing to write and proves nothing.

Ask to speak to a current client. A provider with happy clients will arrange it; the discomfort at the request tells you what you need to know.

This one applies to us as much as anyone. If our own proof is thin when you look, hold that against us too.

9. They agree with everything you say

A provider who tells you every role is easy to fill, every timezone is fine, and every request is no problem is describing a sales process, not a business.

There are roles we turn down. There is work that does not offshore well — anything requiring physical presence, deep local regulatory knowledge, or judgement that takes years inside your specific industry to develop. A partner who never says “that one is harder” has not thought about your problem.

The question underneath all nine

Every red flag here is a version of the same thing: is this provider optimising for their operational convenience or your outcome?

Assigned staff, ticket queues, shared logins, lock-in contracts and universal agreement are all easier to run at scale. Interviews, named managers, individual access and honest scoping are not. Which set a provider chose tells you what they are actually built for.

Frequently asked questions

Should I ask an agency these questions directly?

Yes, and how they react is part of the answer. A provider who takes the questions seriously and answers specifically is showing you how they will handle problems later.

Is a bigger agency safer?

Not automatically. Scale usually improves continuity and cover, and usually worsens how personal the account management feels. Neither size is inherently better — ask the nine questions of both.

What if I have already signed with a provider showing these signs?

Most arrangements in this industry are month-to-month or have a short notice period, so check your actual terms before assuming you are stuck. Before you move, write down what specifically is not working — it is the brief you will need for whoever comes next.

How long should hiring take?

From a clear brief to meeting candidates should be days, not weeks. We present three matched candidates within 72 hours. A provider taking three weeks to find anyone at all is telling you something about their bench.

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If you want the whole hiring and onboarding sequence in one place, The Offshore Hiring Playbook is free and ungated.