Webinar Wednesdays:Grow my biz: When and What to Outsource

@Womenbiznetwork#womenbizchat Thursdays at 1:30 pm

Webinar Wednesdays:Grow my biz: When and What to Outsource

Micro-level outsourcing – This doesn’t involve people, but tools that are remotely hosted and paid for, that can automatize various processes and actions of the business. For example: you can set a WYSIWYG builder to create a portion of your website that needs to be done quickly, instead of deploying the feature on your own, which is likely to take time and shift focus of your developer from the real priorities.

Outsource platforms safeguard important functions for both the business and clients. If you are a NPO, you will certainly find a lot of companies that outsource services pro-bono.

Macro-level outsourcing – this is where contracts and external specialists are implied. This also involves hiring freelancer professionals for various processes of the business. There are various types of outsourcing at this level, among which the most popular are: Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO), Legal Process Outsourcing (LPO) and Recruitment Process Outsourcing (of course, RPO).

@Womenbiznetwork#womenbizchat Thursdays at 1:30 pm

Grow my biz: Benefits of Outsourcing

• Cost savings – this involves offshoring (companies recruiting workforce from abroad mainly for the reason it’s cheaper). For some it’s a necessity, for others just a business decision to maximize profit. Many large companies were forced by the recession to cut down costs and chose outsourcing by necessity, which stirs lots of controversies nowadays.

• Focus to core business tasks – the company may fuel investment and people’s force onto main processes of the business, leaving aside the non-essential energy consumers. Outsourcing raises the predictability of variable costs, which is another benefit.

• Quality increase – outsourcing provides access to both technology (logistics that the company could not afford by itself) and knowledge (skills, intellectual property). This enhances the in-house ability for product innovation and boosts the image of the company from customers’ perspective.

• Contract and other legal advantages – externalized services imply having a legally binding contract that offers the possibility of applying penalties and special conditions. Also, tax incentives for hiring outsources in some countries can be remarkable.

• Scalability – you won’t have to worry about temporary decreases in productivity, the outsourced company will usually be able to manage such fluctuations and integrate positive deviations too. This is a main advantage of having an external workflow.

• Liability – companies developed on a lot of ramifications often transfer liability over some concerns that are outside their core competencies to outsourcers.

•  A fair open schedule – you hear a lot of talk over the work-life balance and how to optimize it. Well, outsource some of your leg work and it’s achieved!

@Womenbiznetwork#womenbizchat Thursdays at 1:30 pm

Grow my biz: Concerns about Outsourcing“I won’t be able to supervise things as I do with my in-house workers.” Distance and time zones can be obstacles for exchanging feedback, so it may be less frequent than for internal processes. There are various software solutions for communication and employee management that will help you overcome this (VoIP, instant messaging, time tracking software such as Paymo, cost and schedule assessment tools).

-  “I fear my outsourcers are not as qualified as I would like.” Get to know outsourcers’ skills, expertise and know-how, also be willing to spend some hours training them in matters of your company in order to achieve the best results. This way you won’t have surprises and you will share the responsibility in case something goes wrong. Why do that when it’s easier to cancel the contract and maybe ask for compensation? Well, maybe it’s just me, but it’s more ethical to share responsibility, plus you won’t waste time in finding another outsourcer each time, and another, and another…

-  “I have doubts over the quality of the service.” This is legitimate. While it’s clear that in most cases outsourcing is cheaper than hiring in-house personnel, you should take into account the level of quality provided by the third party – if it’s poor, outsourcing will cost the company more than anticipated and won’t be a viable solution. You should perform frequent customer satisfactory surveys to monitor the quality level of the outcome.

-  “My employees feel threatened by my decision to outsource.” In-house workers may feel insecure when hearing they have an outside “competitor”. The best approach is to keep your people positively motivated. Give incentives and explain them that you outsource the work that would have otherwise made their lives hard.

@Womenbiznetwork#womenbizchat Thursdays at 1:30 pm

Grow my biz: Conclusion

Consider outsourcing when:

• Repetitive jobs that take time and effort, for example paper work (reports and office documents).

• Tasks that are not part of your core competencies and that third party services could handle with proficiency. IT is one of the most popular fields for outsourcing. Coincidentally or not, this domain has some of the most numerous freelancers out there, so there’s a great chance to find someone competent if you sound off a gig.

•  Jobs that a big company would manage with no problem, but being a small one you won’t be too good at, even if you decide on hiring. Employees should be coordinated properly, and if you can’t handle that it’s better to outsource. An example is search engine advertising for a small company with online presence.

• Tasks that are above your logistic capacities. Of course, you cannot put up a postal mailing service of your own, but who cares when FedEx exists?

@Womenbiznetwork#womenbizchat Thursdays at 1:30 pm

Content Source: Work Awesome.com Presentation copyrighted – not to be distributed

Grow my biz: Outsourcing ResourcesHere are some Resources

• Online portal for Members on womeninbiznetwork.com has interview and contractor contract templates and further reports on outsourcing under January 2015

• Ask for a referral from Women in Biz Network and use our directory, events and private facebook page to seek referrals

•  Read Four Hour Work Week – Timothy Ferriss – go online to his blog for more ideas and suggestions

• Look at O-Desk, Fiverr to get help with quick one off projects

• Start a process manual – understand the various areas of your business

• Evaluate your core strengths and ask people working with you what areas they think should be outsourced to be more efficient and profitable

• Consider hiring a sales person if you hate sales

• Prioritize Most Important Areas: ensure someone competent is overseeing your financial and legal needs

• Consider barter services

• Consider partnering with organizations @Womenbiznetwork#womenbizchat Thursdays at 1:30 pm