Outsourcing is the process of hiring an individual, an agency, or a third-party service provider who is not part of your regular workforce to handle segments of your business operations. Companies may outsource some of their business processes to individual freelancers or to entire teams who have the expertise and resources to accomplish the task efficiently.
Why do businesses outsource?
Indications That You May Need to Outsource
Outsourcing offers many benefits (more on this later in this article) and companies have long been hiring outside help to their advantage. In some cases, businesses may have no other option but to outsource some of their business operations.
If you are an entrepreneur, the following are tell-tale signs that you may need to outsource some of your work to freelancers or service providers.
Your company is outgrowing your personnel
Your budget is getting tight
Quality of your customer service is suffering
You can’t keep up with customer demand
Your employees are performing multiple tasks and are overworked
Advantages of Outsourcing
Freelancers and business service providers can provide viable solutions to the issues mentioned above. Outsourcing work to remote workers will spare business owners from the tediousness and stresses that come with hiring, training and setting up the infrastructure required to bring in new in-house employees.
Below are just some of the advantages that business owners can expect when they decide to embrace outsourcing to augment their in-house workforce.
Free up capital. Entrepreneurs can realign capital that would otherwise be allocated for recruiting, training, and setting up in-house personnel.
Hire experts and specialists. Employers can hire the services of remote workers who possess the necessary skills and experience.
Focus on critical areas of business. With time-consuming tasks out of the way, the core workforce can concentrate on important business operations.
Cut down on overheads. Employers who outsource no longer have to worry about high overheads including payroll taxes, health insurance payments, and worker’s comp. Businesses should also expect lower expenditures for office space, rent, office equipment, and IT infrastructure.
Increase productivity. Hiring highly qualified freelancers and service providers should increase productivity. The availability of freelancers from different time zones means that it is possible to extend the hours for certain business operations.
What Should You Outsource
It does make sense to outsource business processes that are repetitive, tedious, and takes up an inordinate amount of time. However, it will do well for entrepreneurs to view outsourcing as a means to enhance the efficiency of their business processes, which in turn, will drive sales and revenue.
Below are some of the most outsourced work.
IT Business Processes
Content Creation
Graphic Design
Customer Service
Data mining and lead generation