How TOBCO Transformed Their Operations with Strategic Offshore Staffing

The Client

Founded in 2012, TOBCO is a Civil & Electrical Infrastructure company with a robust presence across NSW. The company has also undertaken several projects in Queensland, South Australia, and Victoria. As a privately-owned entity, TOBCO’s leadership brings extensive experience from major Australian infrastructure projects.

TOBCO specialises in small to medium-sized construction projects valued up to $50M, particularly excelling in utility infrastructure. As an Accredited Service Provider in NSW, TOBCO is authorised to work within Ausgrid, Endeavour Energy, and Essential Energy’s networks. The company also holds RMS prequalification for work on roads, bridges, and traffic signals.

By employing a skilled workforce directly and owning its own plant and equipment, TOBCO differentiates itself from competitors, ensuring efficiency and quality in project execution. TOBCO has successfully delivered large-scale renewable energy projects by leveraging a self-performing approach and investing in specialised resources.

The Challenges

As TOBCO grew, sourcing the right staffing resources became increasingly difficult. The company needed additional support within its finance team to handle routine, repetitive administrative tasks, ensuring that internal staff could focus on higher-value work. However, finding qualified professionals for these roles proved to be a challenge.

Additionally, TOBCO required skilled estimators, particularly for quantity take-offs, to support project bidding and planning. The shortage of experienced professionals in this area meant that the company was struggling to find the right candidates locally. Without the right personnel, TOBCO risked inefficiencies in project estimation and overall workflow.

The company needed a staffing solution that would not only fill these gaps but also integrate seamlessly into its existing operations. Traditional outsourcing models, where tasks are delegated to external agencies with minimal oversight, did not align with TOBCO’s needs. They required a partner who could provide dedicated team members who would work as an extension of their in-house staff, integrating seamlessly with their existing team and work culture. Recognising the difficulty in sourcing qualified professionals locally, TOBCO explored outsourcing solutions.

Solution

TOBCO found an ideal outsourcing partner in Flat Planet. Unlike other outsourcing providers, which often involve subcontracting work to third-party providers, Flat Planet offered a dedicated staffing solution.

Sam Turnbull, TOBCO Director explains, “What attracted us to Flat Planet, aside from them being able to find us the resources we needed, was that we would be assigned a dedicated resource, so they basically became part of our team. We gave them their own emails and access to our shared folders. It was just like having another person in our office.”

Because TOBCO operates across Australia, with teams working remotely, having staff based in Manila made no operational difference which meant their new offshore employees, Edgar, Cyril, and Joseph seamlessly integrated into TOBCO’s workflow.

“Several outsourcing companies approached TOBCO at the time, but Flat Planet’s personalised approach made our decision an easy one. The key difference was having dedicated team members who became an integral part of our business, rather than just outsourced workers. Additionally, the ongoing support from Flat Planet’s Head Office, ensuring our new staff were properly onboarded and aligned with our company culture, was a major advantage.” – Sam Turnbull, Director.

Working closely with TOBCO, Flat Planet were also able to ensure that their outsourced staff aligned with the company’s unique work schedule and operational requirements.

Results

With Flat Planet’s support, TOBCO successfully onboarded two dedicated staff members: one assisting the finance team and another supporting the Chief Estimator with quantity take-offs and pricing.

The transition was seamless due to the extensive support from Flat Planet. A senior executive from TOBCO visited the Philippines to meet the new team and tour their office. Later,

TOBCO’s Chief Estimator also travelled to Manila to onboard the estimators. These visits strengthened relationships and streamlined processes.

TOBCO’s approach to outsourcing focused on task completion rather than strict performance metrics. The company placed trust in its offshore team, which resulted in high-quality output and an efficient workflow.

“Due to the remote team’s competence and increased knowledge of the business, we’ve been able to give them more tasks and responsibilities – they’ve become a resource that we use quite frequently to do all sorts of jobs.” – Sam Turnbull, Director, TOBCO.

Flat Planet’s careful candidate selection ensured an excellent cultural fit. The company identified suitable candidates, such as Edgar for the finance role, who matched TOBCO’s work environment and expectations.

Conclusion

TOBCO’s experience with outsourcing through Flat Planet has been highly positive. Mr Turnbull’s advice to others considering outsourcing is, “don’t underestimate what these people are capable of. Treat them like an employee that’s sitting in the office, and you’ll get more out of them.”

Flat Planets flexibility has enabled the estimating side of TOBCO’s business to scale up and down over the years, and should the need for additional staffing resources arise, TOBCO would not hesitate to engage Flat Planet again. The ease of integration, personalised approach, and high level of trust have made outsourcing an invaluable part of TOBCO’s business strategy.

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