April 24, 2020
The Pros and Cons of Outsourcing
In the last couple of years, outsourcing has become a hot topic. It may be highly debated upon, but for small businesses, outsourcing does not mean sending jobs overseas. When small businesses talk about outsourcing, they are talk about things like giving content-related work to freelancers, hiring an outsource firm to take care of their human resources, and so on and so forth.
Outsourcing can be a great way for small businesses to increase efficiency and improve their chances of success in the long run. However, that does not mean outsourcing does not have its cons. So if you are considering outsourcing, let’s take a look at some pros and cons so that you can easily make an informed decision.
Pros of Outsourcing
You may have an excellent core team, but you need to realize nobody is perfect. You can outsource those tasks that your team is not good at, and the results will speak for themselves. Seeing how companies have increased overall performance by outsourcing to niche experts, there is no reason why you should not do the same.
A major reason why small businesses outsource is because things get done faster. If you have a limited staff and they have a lot on their plate as it is, burdening them with more work will be counterproductive. To get things done faster, you can outsource them to external agencies or freelancers.
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Focus on things that Matter
Another great benefit of outsourcing is that you will have more freedom to focus on things that matter. You can outsource supporting processes to work on aspects of your business that will increase revenue, etc.
Most importantly, outsourcing will help you reduce costs. By outsourcing small tasks, you will be able to save a lot of money, because otherwise you would need a full time staff.
Cons of Outsourcing
When you outsource work to external agencies or freelancers, you are bound to lose control of how work is monitored and performed. Of course, this does not have to be a big issue, if you are working with someone you trust – but extreme caution is advised.
Since freelancers and external agencies serve numerous clients at the same time, your work may not get the attention it deserves. This lack of focus could hurt your business in the long run.
In this day and age, when data protection is given top priority, it is important you take the necessary precautionary measures whenever you hand over customer data. There are security risks involved, so think it through when considering outsourcing.
Outsourcing may be a cheaper option, but you need to make sure you are not being ripped off. Big agencies and outsourcing companies will ask small businesses to get into lengthy contractual agreements, with a lot of fine print. If you do not read the terms carefully, you may end up having to deal with hidden costs.
Just like any other thing, outsourcing too has its pros and cons. But you can avoid a lot of problems if you spend a considerable amount of time looking for the right outsourcing company in the first place. Once you do, it will be worth it.
