Can Outsourcing Improve Your Business?
Outsourcing is a business strategy that allows you or your company to focus on core competencies. Utilizing specialty firms, freelancers, and automation, you’ll be able to free up time to focus on what matters most to your business and pass off tasks that are needed, but don’t necessarily need to be done by you or your employees.
Sometimes, too, the need to outsource comes from wanting to lower operational costs. Other times it can come from a need to streamline workflows. There are many reasons behind a decision to emphasize your business’ operations on what they do best. Regardless of your goal, though, choosing to outsource is one that can pay regular dividends.
Outsourcing isn’t as easy as just pointing at a freelancer and asking them to design a logo or create a website. It takes work, understanding, and, most importantly, clear lines of communication. It requires buy-in across the company, from executives who will ultimately okay the decision to frontline workers who may be hesitant to trust outside talent.
The best first step is to creating and describing specific, measurable goals for both your team and the outside firm. Only with a definitive vision in mind will outsiders be able to understand what you need and why you need it. Without that vision, the first steps of company-vendor relations will be a rocky one.
If the project or task is ongoing, schedule regular, recurring meetings with the outside team. Check-ins allow everyone to be made aware of any changes or adjustments to timing or production schedule. It also helps to build the relationship and retain some control over any project, even if it’s not your team doing the work.
When choosing between firms and freelancers, it’s incredibly important that everyone is on the same page and that your new partner is up to the task. Ask for references and examples of past work. If it’s the first time the freelancer or firm is operating in this space, that doesn’t necessarily mean you should dismiss them out of hand. Instead, ask for sample work and ask appropriate follow-up questions to ensure what you’re asking for is understood. In the end, though, trust your gut. Your company deserves a world-class partnership.
There’s no doubt that outsourcing can have a significant impact on your business. It can reduce operational costs, allows for you and your employees to focus on work that’s central to the company, and, perhaps most importantly, free up time.
