There exist in this world hundreds of different agencies and consultancies that work towards one goal: making businesses more efficient and effective. There are agencies that help you make websites. Some look at how you organize your finances. Others offer complete audit services to make your firm run smoother. As a business, it’s important that you engage wisely with these external companies to boost your performance. You should be discerning and selective. Here’s how you should approach outsourcing in your business approach.
Gaps to Fill
The key to outsourcing is that it fills gaps in your business tasks. You have two choices when gaps emerge in your labor force: you can either hire an individual or a team to work in-house, paying them a regular wage, or you can outsource. This decision ultimately boils down to whether you think it will be cheaper and more effective to have in-house personnel or to engage with external experts to help you on a case-by-case basis. Often, for small businesses, the latter is preferable. But a little number crunching will help you decide which will be most cost-effective for your firm. If, for example, you are receiving lots of inquiries daily and will be able to catch up only if you create a team to work on a night shift. If this is not feasible, working with BPOs in the Philippines or other countries that provide great customer service would be the best option.
Critical Infrastructure
Some tasks and responsibilities are more important than others. Marketing is a luxury for your firm – it’s not critical for your survival. But maintaining your IT systems is critical – without doing so, your business software may crash or you may suffer a debilitating cyber-attack. As such, it’s clear that outsourcing to an IT support agency to help maintain your digital infrastructure is a key area that you should strongly consider outsourcing to. This is also a more niche and expensive area to hire for in-house, making agencies that specialize in offering digital assistance all the more attractive for small and cash-strapped firms.
Development
There’s also a case for outsourcing that helps your firm develop, grow, and reach the next level of maturity. For instance, if you’re planning on scaling up to hire more workers and open more stores, it’s likely that a business consultancy firm could help you plan your next step in a smoother, more confident fashion. They may not help you for long – they could just engage with your firm for a month to guide you as you transition – but their experience and knowledge can be invaluable when you’re taking a big step for your firm.
Overworked
Finally, small businesses can be stressful places to work. This is especially true of startups, which often see workers straddling different responsibilities and departments in an effort to cover as many tasks as possible without hiring additional talent. All of this can leave you feeling overworked, which can lead to burnout. It’s far more preferable to be open to outsourcing – even if that’s to find cheap temporary labor to help you complete projects – than to take time off from stress and exhaustion. This is the final reason you should consider outsourcing for the good of your business.
There you have it: four tips to help you decide when, why, and where to outsource when you’re running a small business with ambitions to grow.
