Why Outsource?
When your business started, it’s entirely possible that you and your staff were in charge of every aspect and task due to limited resources and to save money. However, as a business grows, these tasks become more complex and time-consuming, and it’s even possible that you wouldn’t have the technical resources and know-how to do so, which is why outsourcing may be the best option for your company.
Promote Focus. When you outsource specific tasks, you take the load off your staff and managers, allowing them to focus on core (income-generating) activities of your business.
Efficiency and Effectiveness. Additionally, outsourcing ensures that able entities perform the tasks; your corporation may lack staff with the required skills or technology to do the job, so outsourcing tasks to experts on the particular task guarantees that it’s done faster and better and through innovative and creative approaches.
Reduce Expenses. Lastly, it decreases your company’s expenses and allows you to save money by eliminating the need for you to hire and train staff as well as invest in new equipment and technology for the task.
That said, let’s take a look at tasks that your company can safely outsource:
Administrative Tasks Outsourcing
Secretarial and administrative tasks can take up a lot of time, and you’ll need an active and trained staff to manage all these crucial tasks for you. Luckily, you can have your administrative tasks handled by a virtual assistant who’s trained and skilled in doing so, and have the necessary tools to keep track of everything.
Customer Support
Establishing your company’s own customer support department and the system requires a lot of time and money, not only would you need to hire and train your customer support representatives (CSR), you’d also have to invest in the equipment and software needed. That is on top of the customer support modules you’ll need to make in order to train and guide your CSRs on how to handle certain issues and perform troubleshooting tasks. That said, you’d be saving a considerable amount of money by outsourcing your services instead.
Logistics
Some companies prefer to establish their own logistics department or even put up a sister company that focuses mainly on logistics. While this may be beneficial, it requires a huge amount of investment and resources that many companies may not have. So, consider outsourcing logistics by partnering with a logistics company and make use of their numerous vehicles, tracking systems, and warehouses instead.
Marketing and Graphics Design
Huge corporations oftentimes have their own in-house marketing and graphic design department, which makes sense, especially for companies such as Coke. But for other companies and businesses, putting up your own marketing and graphics design arm may not be practical nor cost-efficient. While marketing is a constant aspect of the business, you can consider delegating the digital marketing aspect of the operations (specifically social media management, digital content, SEO, website optimisation, and so on). Meanwhile, outsourcing graphics design needs in a project-based contract allow you only to spend what you need.
Product Development
Developing new products is oftentimes done within the company, particularly the brainstorming of ideas and finalising the concepts of the new products. However, other aspects of product development may prove to be difficult due to technological and resource constraints. Which is why you might want to consider outsourcing to companies specialising in new product development services.
Conclusion
Outsourcing is often seen as something that’s expensive, which is why some businesses shy away from the notion of doing so. However, if done correctly (and with the right partner), outsourcing won’t only save your business money and resources, but could even do the tasks a lot better and faster. So, try to review your current business operations and see which tasks your company can benefit from when outsourced.
