It is believed to be smart to look at both the well-known and lesser-known countries in the region and throw light on what they offer to the outsourcing community as examined the southeastern section of Central Europe’s growing appeal as a preferred destination for outsourcing.
Our destination is Romania.
People in Romania casually say “Salut” or “Bună” to their friends (Hello). Depending on the moment of the day, the more formal phrase “Bună dimineața/ziua/seara” (Good morning/day/evening) may be used to greet people.
Approximately 22–26 million people speak Romanian as a native language, predominantly in Romania and Moldova, while another 4 million people speak it as a second language. Romanian is an Eastern Romance language.
The official language, a Latin tongue with Slavic roots related to Italian, Spanish, and French, gives Romanians the ideal combination of components for learning foreign languages and being multilingual with ease. For instance, according to a Eurobarometer survey, 17% of French speakers and 31% of all Romanians respectively speak English and French.
Romania is much more than historical landmarks and mythological characters—it may be best known as the birthplace of Dracula. The nation has a long history and is becoming known as a prime location for outsourcing.
Romania has risen to the top of the list of favoured outsourcing hubs for European and North American businesses in recent years, thanks to the nation’s abundance of professional, bilingual, and highly qualified workers and its cultural proximity to Western Europe. Let’s examine more closely what makes it such a fantastic location for business process outsourcing (BPO).
And why Romania?
Here are a few brief reasons why
- Compared to offshore sites, Western Europe is closer to the market geographically (1-2 hour flights) and culturally (business ethics).
- Strong aptitude for language learning.
- An increasing number of IT experts.
- Skilled and knowledgeable IT personnel.
- Academic readiness to support the continuity of the talent pool.
- EU member state, lowering financial and legal issues.
- Economic and political stability.
The ideal ratio of cost to quality
Despite not being the cheapest destination, Romania is very cost-competitive thanks to its highly skilled labour population and its proficiency in both hard and soft skills. For BPO, IT outsourcing (ITO), software development, research initiatives, knowledge process outsourcing activities, and shared services, investors have even labelled Romania an “outsourcing valley.”According to research done, it’s not surprising that the amount of foreign investment and the presence of tech giants has quadrupled in the nation over the past ten years.
Large skill pool of languages
One of the primary draws for foreign businesses wanting to outsource their customer experience (CX) activities is the sizable and multilingual labour force and student body of the nation.
From 15,000 people in 2007 to over 131,000 employees in 2018, the labour force working in Romania’s outsourcing business has grown. According to the Romanian Business Service Leaders’ Association’s annual report, the sector employs 1.5% of Romania’s population (ABSL). Thanks to the roughly 300 businesses that operate in the industry and the influx of graduates from more than 40 technical universities, it is predicted to keep expanding.
For enterprises with a global reach, Romania is particularly appealing due to its diverse language profile. Romanians are well known around the world for their fluency in speaking many European languages, most notably English, French, Italian, Spanish, and German. One in five Romanians, according to estimates, is multilingual.
A top outsourcing location
In conclusion, Romania continues to host more offshore and nearshore centers than any other country in Southeastern Europe because of its favourable cost-quality ratio, thriving technology sector, and abundance of skilled, multilingual workers.