With today’s uncertain economic conditions and the massive competition of the international business arena, it’s really no wonder why so many businesses are being founded and then going under almost immediately. With all the different obstacles and complications there are, you’re going to need to run your company in a hugely efficient way, lowering operating expenses wherever you can, all the while providing the highest standard of service you’re capable of. Obviously, finding a good balance between these things can be pretty hard when you’re running a fledgling start-up. In order to remain relevant and competitive, there may be times where you need to reach out for outside help. Here are a six common signs that it’s time for your business to outsource.
Your Employees Are Struggling with Certain Tasks
Probably the most immediately obvious sign that you need to consider outsourcing is that your regular staff are struggling to meet the targets you’re setting them. Let’s say you have a fairly complex, one-time task which you need to accomplish. None of the people you have on the payroll have experience with this kind of task, and won’t be able to do it without a lot of reading and careful preparation. In the meantime, you need them at their desks fulfilling their regular duties! Of course, you have the option of launching a recruitment drive and looking to hire someone with the skills you need. However, this will only serve to postpone the task even more, and you may be limited to hiring candidates with little or no real experience. In this kind of situation, outsourcing is the perfect solution. You’ll be able to bring in an experienced professional who’s certain to have the skills you’re looking for, and will have the option of hiring them again if you run into a similar task later on. If you’ve never tried outsourcing before, you’ll be amazed at the amount of time and effort you’ll save yourself!
Your Budget Is Stretched Too Thin
If there’s one thing that makes outsourcing attractive, it’s the fact that it’s always, always cheaper. When you’re delegating specific tasks at your business to third parties, you’ll always be able to shave down your company’s operational expenses, thereby increasing your profit! While in-house employees will have a special familiarity with your company culture which can be a huge help in a lot of areas, they’re always going to be more expensive than outside professionals. Their salaries alone are generally much higher than the fees you have to pay for outsourced talent. That’s before you think about sick pay, work insurance, paid vacations, pensions, and a whole host of other expenses that comes with keeping full-time employees. Aside from the capital that goes directly towards their upkeep, in-house employees mean you have to pay a whole host of other expenses, such as computers, software, mobile devices, ongoing training and office supplies. When you choose to outsource, you obviously get to dodge a lot of this expenditure, saving money which you can pump into other areas of the business.
Routine Operations Are Holding You Back
If your business has stayed in one phase of your overarching plan for a very long time, it’s an obvious sign that something has gone wrong. This is usually due to business owners pushing their firms too hard too early, and then getting stuck in a routine that keeps their operation afloat, but never really takes it anywhere. If you’re spending too much time going through the motions of a work day, without any kind of view to innovation and change, then you may be in serious need of some outsourcing. If your marketing team aren’t doing anything to evolve your brand because they’re too busy keeping a steady stream of traffic coming into your website, then it may be time to hire an outside marketing service. If your logistics guys are just about staying on top of your orders without finding any room for improvement, then it may be worth looking at some ecommerce fulfillment services. Routine tasks should only be the foundation of what your company does, rather than the sole occupation of you and all your employees. By outsourcing certain tasks, you’ll have more time to push your business on towards its larger, long-term goals.
Your Employees Are Void of Fresh Ideas
When you have the same workforce at a company for a number of years, it can make them extremely familiar with your specific niche. However, it can also diminish your workers’ creativity. They’ve seen it all and done it all, so naturally all those big, epic ideas begin to fizzle out. Don’t worry; you don’t need to fire them all and hire a completely fresh workforce, although this may work after you’ve gotten over all the headaches that come with a big recruitment drive. Instead, spend some time scouring the freelance market and find experienced professionals who can bring a fresh, outside-the-box perspective to the table. This, in turn, will open your eyes to new, lucrative routes your business can take to pursue its overarching goals. When you and your workforce are struggling to come up with any new ideas, outsourcing can often be a win-win situation.
You’re Having to Take Care of Odd Tasks Personally
This is a very common issue amongst the heads of small and medium-sized businesses. From time to time, this class of business owner will want to kick off a broad marketing campaign, starting off with the slogans and rhetoric they’re going to use and ending with detailed media planning. In the majority of cases, these companies won’t be able to afford to hire a whole team of in-house specialist marketers just for this one campaign. Aside from that, this would almost certainly end up a waste of money because you don’t have to come up with fresh marketing campaigns every day of the week! In this situation, a lot of CEOs who have some vague opposition to outsourcing will try to deal with various marketing tasks themselves. Yes, you’ll have a certain guarantee that the campaign’s being executed exactly as you want it. However, the amount of work you’re going to have to put in to chew through every little facet of a great marketing campaign will rarely be worth the returns. Don’t think that when it comes to outsourcing, you always have to tie yourself to some lengthy, complex agreement. There are countless specialized firms, consultancies and freelancers which you can choose to hire. A lot of them will be more than happy to come in to help with a single task you need done, and then leave before their fee gets too high!
You Can’t Find the Right Talent
You’ve probably heard there are a lot of advantages to running a small start-up rather than a multi-national giant. However, there are certainly drawbacks to it as well. One of the biggest challenges you’ll face is finding the right talent through your recruitment drives. You want to accomplish big things, so obviously you’ll want the best minds you can get hold of. The problem here is that the best people in the business are all going to be pursuing jobs at larger companies. After all, they can usually offer them higher salaries, more career opportunities, and a better stamp of prestige to add to their résumés. With outsourcing, on the other hand, you can hire some of the best professionals in a certain niche without the challenge of a lengthy recruitment drive.
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