Since the late ’80s and early ’90s, outsourcing has become a critical business process and a popular business strategy. Simply put, outsourcing is the practice of hiring a third-party service or expert to handle certain business functions. In the early days of outsourcing, only large-scale corporations were able to enjoy the benefits of this practice, but today, even small and mid-sized businesses can realize the advantages of outsourcing.
No matter how big your business is, there are benefits to outsourcing some of your business’s functions. Here are some advantages to hiring outsourcing and support services.
Increased efficiency and expertise
Leaving certain jobs to experts can increase productivity and efficiency, which can contribute to the bottom line of your company. When done right and in the proper context, outsourcing can be a way for all kinds of businesses to bolster their profitability and significantly reduce administrative burden.
Focus on vital areas
Hiring experts to do certain tasks would free and enable you to focus on your responsibilities as the owner. The same goes for your staff—instead of pushing your employees to learn tasks that are above their pay grade or that are outside of their job descriptions, they can focus all their energies towards their actual responsibilities in the company.
Access to proficient resources
Instead of having to learn the basics of digital marketing, by outsourcing you can just trust some able and talented content writers and creators to take care of your company’s content strategy — you only need to provide them with your goals and the results you want to see. When you opt for outsourcing in certain tasks, you give yourself permission to sit back and wait for positive results instead of having to do it yourself.
Faster services
One of the main reasons businesses choose to outsource different kinds of work is because it will get done much faster. If you’re working with a limited amount of people in your company, not everyone will have the time or the energy to do other tasks on top of their official workload. When you hire a third-party service to do certain tasks, you can ensure that the job will get done on the deadline.
Cost benefits
While hiring in-house can allow you to retain collaborative talent, outsourcing is a much more cost-effective solution for accessing specific skill sets on-demand. Outsourcing means you no longer have to keep hiring more employees, which saves you some money for employee training and benefits.
On the flip side, outsourcing can also come with its own set of risks. Here are some of them:
Security risks
Outsourcing means you will be sharing some vital information with third parties, which can put your business at risk. We live in the age of data protection, though, so as long as you exercise caution when outsourcing processes that require your personal data, you can protect your privacy and security.
Decreased level of control
Hiring freelancers or external agencies means you relinquish the ability to monitor how those tasks are performed. When you outsource, you are also declaring in good faith that the external party will perform to the best of their ability. You might also lose a level of control over the quality of the work being done, and that’s why you must do your due diligence when considering hiring external agencies or freelancers. Make sure you hire reputable agencies and outsource partners who also fit your budget.
Communication and language barriers
Depending on where you choose to outsource, you may face some challenges like communication and language barriers, and things might get lost in translation. It’s not the same as having the people you work with on the other side of the office or in a cubicle next to you. Instructions can often get lost in e-mail or phone conversations. Miscommunication can cause a lot of hassle, and resources like money and time.
Hindrance to growth
By outsourcing everything, you might be depriving your staff and community a chance to level up in their abilities. It might stagnate their growth, and they might be denied the chance to learn new skills.
In the end, though, you need to be able to assess if the pros of outsourcing outweigh the cons. You just need to decide what aspects of your business you can afford to outsource to an independent contractor, and what parts you need to keep close to your chest. Be smart about your choices and where you place your resources, and know that these third-party agencies exist to help businesses create profit and protect their bottom line.
