Why do companies outsource?
Business owners often look for any advantage in business. How can they be more efficient? How can they cut costs? How can they be more profitable? What is the best use of their time?
You probably ask those same questions yourself. That’s where outsourcing comes in. Outsourcing allows you to do more with less.
One of the major reasons why businesses close down is burnout. Business owners exhaust themselves physically, mentally, and emotionally trying to do everything themselves.
Take a look at these reasons why companies outsource and learn how you can delegate tasks to make your business run more efficiently.
1. Save Time
Let’s say you have a project coming up and you need to hire people in order to complete it.
Think about the amount of time you’d spend on hiring. There’s recruiting, multiple rounds of interviews, reading resumes and training new employees.
Outsourcing allows you to delegate tasks and save you a huge amount of time.
In another instance, if you have to build a website and market it, you’d have to take the time to learn code and marketing.
Why not save that time and invest in outsourcing to experts? You’ll be much more productive if you do.
2. Save Money
The costs to hire quality employees can take a huge toll on your business. Hiring the wrong employee can cost even more.
You have to invest in training and retaining your employees, plus providing a sweet benefits package to convince them to stick around.
3. You Do What You Do Best
Do you know what skills and competencies fall within your wheelhouse?
Let’s say that you know how to sell to clients and deliver an excellent service. Why would you pull yourself away from what you do very well to try to master something you know nothing about?
Outsourcing lets you hire experts who have specific tasks that they have already mastered. You don’t have to invest the time to become an expert in something and you can focus on what you do best.
That’s what outsourcing can do for you.
4. Outsourcing Isn’t a Long-Term Investment
Hiring an employee means that you’re making an investment in their career. It’s a long-term investment to hire them, train them, and give them the opportunity to grow.
If there’s not enough work for the employee, you still have to pay their salary, too. With outsourcing, you can hire someone for a short-term project and hire them for work on an as-needed basis.
5. Speed Counts in Business
Being in business can be tough. It’s competitive and the longer a project takes, the more you lose.
As a business owner, you’re responsible for a lot. If projects are held up and you’re the bottleneck, that’s costing your business.
Outsourcing tasks lowers your opportunity costs because your business isn’t waiting for you to complete tasks.
6. Outsourcing Fits Your Management Style
How involved do you like to be on projects? Do you like to micromanage or do you like to completely hand tasks off to others?
Hiring the right outsourcing company lets you maintain as much control as you want. You can completely delegate tasks, remain highly involved or check in periodically.
7. You’re Not an Expert in Everything
Why do companies outsource? When you decide that you’re the company’s lawyer, accountant, chief marketing officer, and CEO, you’re putting your company at risk.
There are legal ramifications for trying to take on every aspect of your business. If you make the wrong move because you didn’t have the expertise, you can lose your entire business.
Top Things Companies Outsource
Now that you understand the benefits of outsourcing, let’s take a look at where you can start. These are the most common areas in your business to outsource.
Legal Advice
Having a knowledgeable business attorney to turn to can help your business in the long term. You need to have someone who’s an expert in contracts, setting up your business, tax law, and intellectual property.
Human Resources
If your business is booming and you do need to hire employees, you nee someone who knows employment law. There are regulations that you need to follow when it comes to hiring and firing staff.
An HR consultant knows the best practices to follow in these areas and creating an environment that creates productive employees.
Bookkeeping & Accounting
Do you have a system in place to track income and expenses? How about following up on accounts receivable?
You want to be sure that you have an accountant who can help you maximize your revenues while minimizing your taxes.
That’s where a company like Ceterus can help. They specialize in providing accounting solutions to small businesses and entrepreneurs.
Content Writing
If you’re relying on SEO as part of your marketing, you need a blog.
Unless you’re capable of writing good content quickly, you’ll want to invest in hiring someone to write for you.
It takes an average of two hours to write a 1000-word blog post. To have the best impact in SEO, you want to write 1-2 articles a week.
Unless you have that time to write, you’ll need to hand that off to someone else.
Graphic Design
People process information much faster by looking at a picture than by reading.
Both written and visual content have a place in your marketing. That’s why you need a good graphic designer. They can create logos that stand out, brochures, business cards, and images for social media.
A graphic designer understands what looks good and the theory behind typography and color. These can influence people on a subconscious level.
Why Do Companies Outsource?
In today’s competitive business environment, businesses are looking for every advantage they can get. Why do companies outsource? Outsourcing the right tasks to the right people gives them an advantage.
When you outsource business tasks, you’re freed up to address the profitability and long-term health of your business. You have the time to focus on business development and you don’t have to take time to teach yourself to be an expert in law, human resources, accounting, or design.
You can just hand those tasks off to someone else.
For more great tips for creating a thriving business, check out our business blog today.