To Outsource or Not To Outsource?

What is the definition of Outsourcing?

With the advent of technology, there’s been a trend of outsourcing work on a vast level. In business terms, outsourcing is when a company or an organization hires a third party to perform the tasks and handle operations relevant to any specific section. The hired third party, also known as service providers or vendors, arranges its own set of workers and systems to perform the tasks or services on-site or at external locations.

Various companies, including successful firms like Google, WhatsApp, Skype, Apple, GitHub, Alibaba even outsource several tasks or services. They usually outsource back-office jobs, technical support, marketing, customer support services, accounting, human resource management, and many other activities depending upon the workload and output. This practice of giving certain job functions outside a company instead of having in-house departments or employees can be either given to an individual or another company.

Business call for Outsourcing

Over the last ten years, outsourcing has been a game-changer in different businesses. Right from payroll to accounting, employee training to advertising, and sales to customer services, there are many functions handled by an independent contractor or an entire outside company. For some, outsourcing can be an irrational thought if they believe in getting the task done all by themselves or simply cannot trust to assign bigger projects to anyone else.

Trusting and letting go can be problematic in the aspect of outsourcing. Still, on the other end, this strategy can sharpen both large and small-scale companies in boosting efficiency, productivity and sharpen focus on other tasks.

And, for understanding the pros and cons of outsourcing, multiple questions come around that are answered below:

1. Should you outsource the project?

Generally, the outsourcing trend is common everywhere because an individual cannot do all the jobs perfectly. Whether you are in the government sector, a business personality, or a professional, you need to understand the division of time and giving off some jobs. For example, Parents outsource their child’s education by sending them to school or coaching classes. They cannot give that environment all the time, which is essential for a kid’s development. The same is with the business, you can’t do it all yourself and should assign some activities to the experts.

Outsourcing and offshoring business process services can offer financial advantages, reliable virtual assistance, including low costs, improved versatility, increased expertise, noted discipline, and the freedom to focus on core business activities.

2. What’s the usual cost to complete the tasks in-house?

Financial options and budgeting in business are essential to weigh the needs of carrying out services. It can be cheaper to accomplish tasks in-house, but that’s not always true. But, many companies reported that they had saved funds through virtual assistant and outsourcing specific business requirements.

3. Do you currently have a trained employee for the task?

For example, if you require a research expert, you need to watch whether you have an employee for the task. If not! Then, hiring and training someone, putting them on payroll, and offering other benefits will be in demand. Or, you can outsource who is well-trained in the area to complete the project with no need to check on them or provide office supplies and space.

4. Do you and in-house employees have time?

The answer here should be simple YES or NO. If your employees are overloaded with projects, and you don’t want to pile on more to avoid the task falling off, there’s a need to outsource. You need to find someone outside of the company that has time to get the work done while taking minimal effort on your part.

Reminder! You can do anything, but not everything!

5. What’s the company’s expertise?

Suppose your company deals in architecture and interior designing, and this is what you count on within your employees. The company’s expertise is in dealing with clients and designing their spaces but not well versed in brand building or social media advertising. Therefore, there’s a need to outsource these tasks. Follow the work line in which you and your employees are experts, and rest leave on outside contractors.

Outcome

Taking the little projects off the plate can save a lot of time, costing, and mental energy by freeing up the time for yourself and employees. Asking for help doesn’t mean you failed. It means you know the limits and are willing to put the success of the business over pride. Hence, outsourcing is a great way to meet a company’s goals without overworking yourself, compromising on the quality of the work, and burdening your staff.

Though outsourcing depends on the structure of a business and the ability to provide services at a competitive cost, on the other side, offshoring is driven by the dramatic wage-cost differentials that exist between developed and developing nations. However, price is not the only concern. Other related factors like quality, the quantity of work, availability of labor, environment, and infrastructure should also be taken into account. Companies need to be assured of the services, legal framework, economic aspect, and political stability before outsourcing domestically or offshoring the work.