It’s an obvious business tool but reasons for and implementation of outsourcing isn’t always the most obvious. It’s time to find out more about this practice.
By Craig Falck for Africa Report
Photograph: © Witold Krasowski | Dreamstime.com
In simple terms, outsourcing is using people or companies outside of your business to perform various functions because you do not have said functions or capabilities in-house.
The main reason for a company outsourcing is to save money. The contracted person has no benefits that the business needs to cover nor are they permanent staff that might be productive for only three or four out of every five days, thus lowering the expense of the service being provided. In fact, it’s sometimes cheaper for a business to outsource work to an enterprise on an entirely different continent than it is to train and pay for existing staff to perform the task.
Another key benefit of outsourcing is that the business managers and key players are able to outsource a task and “forget” about it. They don’t need to worry about whether it’s being done correctly, if there are flaws, if the person knows what they’re doing – they can focus on running the business and other more important matters while the outsourced staff complete the task required. This is made possible because most outsource businesses have made sure that their staff are highly trained experts and that they are used to this sort of work environment. To put it in crude terms, outsourced staff are paid to come in and perform a task. They’re not there to make friends, to share lunch with colleagues or chat around the water-cooler. They clock in, work, and clock out. There is no mess, no fuss, no worry – just the completed task.
One of the key aspects of outsourcing is knowing when it’s time to pick up the phone and call in the cavalry. It might be a case of you not having staff trained to perform the task, not having the necessary equipment or machinery, limited time or space, tight deadlines that you worry you won’t meet… any number of problems can force you to turn to outside help as a solution. Rather investigate the option at the earliest stage than be caught napping and not being able to outsource in time.
Outsourcing is a tool that is at everyone’s disposal; the biggest barrier is that many business owners just don’t understand it and how to use it properly. It should be something that all businesses consider at one time or another because it’s actually quite easy to implement and can often provide the business with a superior result.
