Costa Rica – First-Class Outsourcing Destination

Auxis believes that a near-shore location is a critical success factor for most companies implementing an offshore model. The challenges of managing an Asia based offshore model can strain even the largest of US companies, and be very formidable for companies that have leaner and more streamlined management structures.

Over the past decade, Costa Rica has emerged as a major player in the global market for back office operations. Many leading global companies, such as Proctor & Gamble, DHL, Western Union and Amazon have successfully established large back office operations to serve their North America operations. The rise of Costa Rica as a viable offshore destination for United States based companies has been primarily driven by a combination of factors:

Geographic Proximity

Costa Rica’s time zone and physical proximity to the United States provides a significant advantage. Early adopters of off shoring were significantly challenged in managing operations that were so distant. They also experienced additional strain on their workforce due to the large time zone disparities.

Cultural Similarities

Costa Rica and the United States share very similar business cultures. Pop culture and social customs are also closely aligned. This helps facilitate a smoother integration of the offshore resources with their counterparts in the United States.

Cost Attractiveness

Costa Rica has significantly lower labor costs than the US.

Quality Labor Pool

Costa Rica enjoys a diverse, young and deep labor pool. It has the highest ranked education system in Latin America and a literacy rate of 95.9%. The Costa Rica workforce has a high English proficiency with an estimated 80% of service transactions occurring in English.

Strong Tradition of Stability

Costa Rica has been a democracy for over 100 years and has not had an army since 1948. It received the top ranking in the 2010 Latin America Global Peace Index

Technology Savvy

Costa Rica has the highest personal computer penetration and percentage of internet users in Latin America.