The definition of outsourcing is exactly why your small business needs it to grow. If you can grow your small business by outsourcing why not use this business strategy?
But if you do not outsource, you may quickly become overwhelmed running your small business.
Of course, there is the option of hiring full-time staff. But this does come hand in hand with a lot of responsibility and you may find that it’s not the best option for you every time.
Instead, there is also the option of outsourcing, which hand your work over to third parties who will deal with it and complete it on your behalf.
Here’s some more information on the subject and how it could benefit you.
Table of Contents
What is Outsourcing?
Outsourcing, when used correctly, can be a wise strategic tool that allows your business to run more smoothly. Not only that but to become more profitable.
One of the great things about it is that it leaves you free to put all available resources into the most profitable areas of your business.
Any task that is not fundamental to your business, wastes time and resources, takes someone off their day-to-day task, is necessary, routine, and highly skilled, should be top of your list of tasks to be outsourced.
Outsourcing what is:
a business practice in which a company hires a third-party to perform tasks, handle operations or provide services for the company.
If you are still on the fence about outsourcing, listed below are a few good reasons why the outsourcing benefits make sense.
Risk Management
When you outsource a business task, you are mitigating any risk associated with that task. First of all, you will have done your homework when finding a suitable company, so you will know that they are expert professionals.
This ensures that the task will be completed correctly. You also know that the company has its reputation to think of, so this is another incentive to do your task right. Any companies about the task can be sent over to the company for investigation.
Also, outsourcing can provide a level of continuity of business tasks that may not be possible when using an in-house team, especially if you are having turnover issues.
Benefits of Outsourcing
But what are the benefits for outsourcing over hiring your own staff? Well, when you hire staff, you (as we briefly touched on above) take on a lot of responsibility. You have to make sure that you provide them with a contract that guarantees certain working hours that you will pay them for each month.
Whether you can provide them with sufficient work to fill this time or not.
You also have to make sure that you are providing employee benefits, such as annual leave or PTO (paid time off), sick pay, compassionate leave, parental leave, and more.
You will also have to provide some sort of pension contributions. Plus, you’ll need to provide them with a space to work from and the equipment they need to complete the role. When you outsource, none of this applies.
With it – you will have an agreed rate for set work. You can end the use of the outsourced party when you please. You don’t have to provide benefits. They will provide their own space and equipment.
Focus on Core Business Tasks
If you are relying on someone from your team to do a certain task, they will be required to step away from their usual business function. This means that instead of working on a core process, they are trying to get to grips with something else.
By doing this, their main job will be piling up. If you take on these extra tasks yourself, you will also be taken away from the job of running your company.
It is far better if you can focus and not worry about extra tasks that can be done elsewhere without falling behind on the profitable side of your business.
Additionally, by using a professional, you will have less stress and worry about whether or not some highly skilled task such as accounting or IT security is being conducted correctly. This can be reason enough to outsource all on its own.
There are countless areas that you can outsource. Companies will find themselves outsourcing any work that isn’t convenient or cost-effective for them to complete in-house.
This can range from engineering to copywriting, product photography, videography, manufacturing and so much more.
Outsourcing IT Support
In today’s modern world, IT support is likely the most common form of outsourcing that most businesses big or small choose to utilize.
It’s fair to say that many business owners and their teams simply do not have the information or knowledge that is required to fulfill the responsibility of sourcing the most suitable technology, nor can they provide their own IT support.
No Denial
Denying that this is the case is certainly a risky path to go down, as you risk leaving your business exposed to the many different dangers that lurk on the web – a hacker or virus could destroy your system and even steal your customer data, so there’s no time like the present to outsource a trusted team of IT experts to take over for you.
There are a number of dedicated IT and tech support teams that you can hire to help you achieve your goals as a business, and the sheer volume of stress and worry that you can alleviate by putting your trust in an experienced team is totally unbelievable.
You’ll certainly thank your lucky stars that you chose to indulge in advanced IT support sooner rather than later, as this way you can continue to thrive online without encountering any costly or time-consuming bumps in the road.
Outsource Your Online Payments
Another area of your business that you should certainly consider outsourcing is online payments.
Attempting to create your own secure online payment system for your website will be an absolute nightmare, to say the least, as you’ll need to put in hour after hour of coding to create even the most basic payment system.
It’s more than likely that you just don’t have the time or skills to craft a safe online payment service for your commercial platform, so outsourcing a top-quality payment gateway for your business is the best course of action.
Your small business customers will instantly recognize a trusted payment platform, and as a result, they may have greater faith in your brand, too.
It’s a win-win! And that’s the definition of outsourcing you want to achieve. An easy thing to outsource is your online payments for your online business.
Lower Costs for Company Outsourcing
Believe it or not, an outsourced worker can actually lower your overheads. You can clearly save on not having to hire a full-time professional.
They may be over the top when the task only needs to be completed once a week.
You can save by not requiring certain tools and materials. Therefore, you will also save on not requiring more seats, office space, insurance, etc. There are a lot of saving you can make by simply hiring externally.
Outsourcing Helps with Growth
First of all, using a professional service will speed things up. It will ensure that you are getting these tasks finished correctly. It can save you money, time, and resources allowing you to focus. Remember what the outsourcing definition is!
All this drives growth and helps you create a better strategy going forwards.
However, when you do find someone to outsource your work to, just make sure that you have a clear agreement with a signed contract. This will ensure that both parties understand the terms of the agreement as well as their own responsibilities.
Access to Expert Knowledge
No one knows it all, and by having professionals on board to help, you will gain valuable insights.
For example, there are many reasons to hire a managed service provider to maintain your IT Infrastructure.
This is something that needs to be done correctly in order to ensure that your computer system works effectively and is properly secure even if you work from home.
You will definitely be able to pick up on some key IT knowledge when they come in. Then assess your infrastructure and set to work to maintain it.
As your company grows too, the knowledge you have gained will help you make a better. Therefore, more informed choices will come when it comes to hiring your own professional.
An Outsourced Worker Is Efficient
A lot of businesses are running at an inefficiency marker of 30%. That means that there are a lot of scopes for the company to become more efficient and increase its revenue. Outsourcing is a great way to make a business more efficient.
Not only does it free up time and resources and allows you to focus. It ensures that all those annoying niggly tasks are done in an efficient and timely manner appropriate.
Yes, delegating those tasks is what the definition of outsourcing is all about.
An outsourcing company will work to deadlines. They will not need to keep contacting you for advice on how to do this and that.
And, they will also have the most modern state-of-the-art tools and technology to do the job. All of this is extremely beneficial to your business to help it grow.
Conclusion: Advantages For Outsourcing
If you read the definition again you will see why subcontracting can work wonders for any business. Not only that, but it helps to exceed your client’s expectations when you have more time.
I’d love to hear from you if you are using outsourcing in your small business.