Running a business means dealing with multiple tasks simultaneously. Even though there may be many teams involved, sometimes there isn’t enough time or money to finish everything on time. That’s where outsourcing can be is used to speed up processes and helping companies meet their deadlines. As a business practice, outsourcing allows businesses of all sizes to grow without any major risks.
It’s no wonder that 59% of companies outsource to cut costs. Other reasons for outsourcing include improving focus on the core business, solving capacity problems, improving service quality, and meeting business needs. What are the key things that make outsourcing a great way to improve a business, how it should be done, and what are the tools to do it? Let’s find out.
Three Most Significant Benefits of Outsourcing
The number one benefit of outsourcing is cost-effectiveness. Today’s technology has enabled businesses to look for companies or individuals worldwide and outsource less essential tasks at a low cost. Almost anything can be outsourced—online services such as customer support or production of items such as phones or clothes. There are no boundaries to outsourcing while sticking to a budget. Outsourcing also reduces employee costs, such as payroll, healthcare and other benefits, and employment taxes.
Another benefit of outsourcing is that it helps business owners and teams shift their focus to core tasks. Every business operates intending to expand its reach and grow their customer base. However, the bigger the company, the more work that needs to be done.
That’s the moment when business owners and core teams tend to lose their focus and attempt to deal with everything at once, ignoring the main tasks that made the business successful in the first place. By outsourcing specific tasks, in-house resources and activities that made the business grow can remain the center of attention.
In today’s world, business agility is a must. Business agility enables the company to respond to ever-changing trends with ease, be more flexible, and, consequently, have an advantage over its competitors. This is another aspect where outsourcing can take a business to the next level. Thanks to contract workers, the company can easily scale up or down, depending on the current need.
Different Types of Outsourcing
There are many types of outsourcing that can improve the company’s productivity. Some of the main categories are professional outsourcing, which includes accounting, legal, purchasing, or administrative services. Manufacturing outsourcing is industry-specific and depends on the company’s ability to invest in its production and equipment. Project and process outsourcing are used when the business needs to outsource a part of a process or project. Last but not least, IT outsourcing is when a company outsources IT development tasks to remote workers.
When it comes to outsourcing work to other countries and locations, there’s offshoring, nearshoring, or reshoring. Offshoring is a relocation of a business from one country to another. Nearshoring is the outsourcing of business processes to a nearby country. Finally, reshoring is the process of moving the production back to the original country. This shows that outsourcing doesn’t depend on the location and can be done as the company sees fit.
How and What to Outsource
Outsourcing can be done in many ways, depending on the company’s needs. Businesses can hire gig workers to work temporarily, as contractors, or hire other companies to do the work for them. Before any decision is made, business owners need to think about which tasks they want to outsource. The best way to achieve this is by answering the following question—can I make more money by outsourcing and what will I get? That way, entrepreneurs will know how to use outsourcing for a specific goal including improving revenue streams, boosting current cash flow, and reducing employee overhead costs resulting in increased profits.
Sometimes, business owners don’t need outsourcing—they need automation. Most recurring tasks can be done with the use of proper software. Tools such as IFTTT or Zapier can handle simple tasks that are often time-consuming. These include sending invoices and posting on social media, among other things. Nevertheless, some tasks are better done by people. These include:
- Accounting
- Marketing
- Sales
- IT
- Customer service
- Manufacturing
- Shipping/Logistics
- HR
The Best Outsourcing Tools
There are many outsourcing tools available for businesses that are looking to hire individuals. There’s TaskRabbit, Upwork, Fiverr, and Thumbtack. TaskRabbit and Thumbtack are great for tasks that need to be done in-house. Upwork and Fiverr are most commonly used for outsourcing digital tasks, although some companies prefer freelancers to handle offline tasks.
Are There Disadvantages to Outsourcing?
While outsourcing is a great way to grow a business, it still has flaws. Very often, there’s a lack of transparency, and consumers want to know who made their goods and under which conditions. That can affect the brand and the consumers’ purchasing decision. If not done correctly, outsourcing can easily backfire when hired individuals or companies start missing deadlines or providing low-quality services. Other cons of outsourcing include hidden costs, loss of control over the outsourced process, and security risks.
Summary
Even with the risks that outsourcing carries, many businesses still find it’s worth their money and time. Outsourcing helps businesses do more for less and stay focused on core tasks. With many companies and freelancers offering excellent services, it’s no wonder that almost 60% of companies outsource tasks. What’s even better is that outsourcing is beneficial for companies of all sizes, and it truly is a great way to streamline business operations.
