7 out of 10 recruiting firms that try offshoring end up worse off than if they never started. This is the playbook the other 3 follow.
I lost thousands trying to offshore, did everything wrong, and avoided this topic for two years. Then I sat down with Greg Fischer, who built an 18-person international team inside his own firm while scaling it from $1 million to $4.2 million, and now hires offshore recruiters for recruiting firms full time.
Part 1 covers the first two steps of Greg’s playbook: define the function, and set up the structure (region and compensation). Why “I want a cheap recruiter” is already the failure. The full role menu and which one a first-timer should never start with. The rainmaker math: what a dedicated sourcer does to a solo biller doing $400K to $600K, as Greg tells it. Why the big firms already run international teams and you never see it. Greg’s region cheat sheet for the Philippines, LATAM, and South Africa. And real 2026 salary numbers, base and commission, for sourcers, associate recruiters, and A players.
Part 2 (finding the person, managing them, and the $650K case study): [PART 2 LINK]
Chapters:
0:00 Intro
1:20 Coming up on this episode
4:09 Why 7 out of 10 firms fail at offshoring
7:34 What the 3 out of 10 do differently
9:30 Greg’s story: four failed attempts, then $1M to $4.2M
13:31 Every owner wants two things
15:40 What actually changes when it works
19:10 Where the fear really lives
20:27 Step 1: Define the function
22:17 The role menu: sourcer, researcher, 180, 360, SDR
27:00 Owner-led firm vs team-based firm
31:42 The rainmaker math
34:14 The big firms already do this
36:37 Step 2: The region cheat sheet
42:27 South Africa and the time zone rule
45:13 Compensation: real 2026 numbers
49:31 Commission structure
50:05 Raises
50:52 Benefits and PTO
52:39 Employee vs contractor, and payment platforms
54:46 Wrap: go get Part 2
Connect with Greg Fischer: https://www.linkedin.com/in/offshoreisasuperpower/
Well Oiled Machine: https://www.welloiledmachine.co/
Atlas, the CRM that actually understands context: https://recruitwithatlas.com/
Firm Leaders Summit (November 16-18): https://firm-leaders-and-owners-recruiting-summit-2026.heysummit.com
Elite Recruiter Community: https://elite-recruiters.circle.so/checkout/elite-recruiter-community
Newsletter: https://eliterecruiterpodcast.beehiiv.com/subscribe
