Outsourcing is the process of hiring another company to take over certain business functions so that you or your employees don’t have to worry about them. It also saves you from having to hire an individual (or individuals) to perform these tasks. However, outsourcing has both advantages and disadvantages, and there are different parts of your business that you can outsource. Here’s what you need to know about outsourcing.
Pros and Cons of Outsourcing
There’s a good and bad side to every decision a business owner must make, but the good outweighs the bad in most cases when it comes to outsourcing. Here’s a look at both the costs and the benefits of outsourcing parts of your business to another company.
Pros
Around 300,000 jobs in the U.S. are outsourced each year because outsourcing lowers labor costs for businesses. When you outsource, you don’t have to hire additional employees, who come with additional costs like training, benefits, and payroll.
Even if you assign tasks to the employees you already have, they can suffer from burnout from all the additional work. Outsourcing the mundane tasks can help keep your employees more productive on important business projects.
Cons
The biggest downside of outsourcing is the lack of control you have once you’ve hired another company to take over certain operations. This is why businesses don’t outsource every part of their business, or even the most important parts. This is also why you shouldn’t outsource to just any company. Do your research to find the best companies to outsource to.
What Businesses Should Outsource
Accounting
Accounting, bookkeeping, and other money-related tasks are one of the most outsourced functions of a business. All businesses have to keep records of all of their financial information, and this is a very tedious and time-consuming task. Tax preparation and tax filing are other functions that take up a lot of time, and a professional accounting firm can take care of this for you too.
Cleaning Services
Most businesses have their employees clean the premises every night before closing. However, cleaning is something that should be done consistently, making it a full-time job. Hiring a professional cleaning company will give your business a more thorough clean than a quick, end-of-the night cleaning. You’ll also save more money because cleaning companies supply their own cleaning supplies, meaning that you won’t have to worry about buying any.
Digital Marketing
Digital marketing is marketing done online, and there are several different types of digital marketing strategies. Outsourcing your marketing department allows you to get the best digital marketing professionals for your company. They’ll be experienced in various techniques and can figure out which ones are the most effective for your business. Many digital marketing companies can also provide you with social media marketing experts.
Human Resources
Human resources (HR) is another one of the most outsourced functions in business. When you’re still a small business just starting out, you may not need to hire another company to hire, train, and onboard your employees— but this will definitely be helpful for you in the future.
Legal Services
All businesses can benefit from hiring a law firm— and not just for in the event they are sued. Legal services extend beyond that, with law firms offering document review, litigation support, and many other legal services for businesses. When you hire a law firm for your business, they can help you with everything from codes, licenses, and permits employee contracts.
Security Systems
Security systems include more than just the alarm systems you’d use to secure your building. You also need cyber security protection, and this is a very specialized task that needs experts. All businesses are at risk for a cyber attack or threat, and you can reduce your risk with SIEM (security information and event management) technology from Cyber Sainik.
Other areas you should outsource are the skills you don’t have. Many entrepreneurs have a working knowledge of a lot of the areas listed above, but it’s hard to be an expert at everything. For example, if your skills don’t lie in website design, then you should hire a professional to design a website for you.
You can also outsource the tasks you don’t enjoy doing. This can vary from owner to owner, as some business owners may like the tedious tasks. Others may dislike writing articles for their website’s blog, and you can hire writers to do that for you.
