Outsourcing has long been a controversial topic in the business world.
On the one hand, outsourcing can provide cost savings, access to specialised expertise, and increased productivity via extra brainpower. But on the other, it can also lead to poor quality work, unintentional cultural faux pas, and potential security risks.
Even though outsourcing has its benefits, some old-fashioned ideas and misconceptions still make people cringe. Unsurprisingly, the negative situations I mentioned above have put many business owners off the idea of outsourcing altogether.
But these fears, while understandable, rarely reflect the reality of outsourcing.
In a world where anyone can work from anywhere as long as they have stable Wi-Fi and access to a bank account, businesses that refuse to embrace outsourcing might actually be putting themselves at a competitive disadvantage.
Outsourcing can be a highly effective way to improve your chances of reaching your business goals, especially when you partner with an experienced outsourced service provider. And putting effort into finding the right service provider will pay off nicely in the long run.
Still not convinced? First, let’s tackle those fears around quality control.
Making outsourcing make sense
Before you even think about growing your team, you must have defined processes in place to make sure there’s a common standard for all the work that’s done under your brand.
Your policies don’t even need to be anything complicated, either. Just a simple written process everyone can understand and follow. The joy of hiring experienced service providers is that they won’t need handholding – but they do still need to know what you expect from them!
Once you’ve got your standardised workflow in place, you can then start to think about who you want to hire. At that point, having a sound contract and careful checks on the specialised expertise of your outsourced team will make sure your service quality remains high.
When it comes to cultural sensitivities, I hate to be Captain Obvious here, but if your business puts itself out there as a community-focused organisation, you’ll have to look closer to home for outsourced support.
While a significant part of the appeal of outsourcing is the ability to source cheaper talent from a global talent pool, you’ll also have to consider the potential impact of inconsistent service delivery and messaging, which can confuse your clients and damage your reputation.
Although it’s unlikely a local service provider will be able to compete with global pricing, they can offer you the added benefit of local knowledge and cultural understanding, which can make all the difference in delivering a seamless customer experience.
To make it work for your budget, you might want to consider a hybrid approach, where you use some global service providers for certain tasks, and rely on local providers or your existing core team for others.
See, there really isn’t anything to worry about
Once we move past the misconceptions, the benefits of outsourcing become clear.
Working with the right outsourced professionals can lead to significant cost savings and give you access to a wider pool of talent and expertise. By reallocating resources to important, but non-core activities, your team can concentrate on what it does best – adding value to your core business.
Outsourcing isn’t the scary beast it’s often made out to be. It’s a tool, and like any tool, it’s all about how you use it.
