Outsourcing is a critical aspect of many businesses and failing to do so can really put unnecessary pressure on the business and in some cases could even result in a business being forced to close. When most people start their business they try to micromanage everything in order to stay in charge, many will consider outsourcing as an expense which they don’t wish to have but in reality that small investment will help out greatly in the long run. Business guru Dharmendra Rama cites smart outsourcing as one of the key aspects to success and growth for businesses, and these are the questions which he believes an owner should ask themselves in order to do it right.
Are They Better?
Naturally the idea of outsourcing is to hand off an area of the business to a company or individual who is able to perform the task better than you are able to within the business. This therefore is the first question which should be asked, whether or not the potential candidates are able to complete the task or function better than you.
What Will It Look Like?
One of the biggest benefits of outsourcing an area of the business is that you are able to free up time within the business for staff to focus solely on the job that they should be doing within the company. For example having a head chef doing accounts makes little sense when their skillset is about cooking, in this case then an accountant will be able to free up time for the head chef to deliver. An important question to ask here is what that additional time will now be used to do. This is important in order to ensure maximum efficiency as a result of outsourcing.
Will It Help The Business?
Remember that not all outsourcing is something which can help the business, and not every area of your company needs to be sliced and shared amongst a number of 3rd party companies. For example an area like marketing doesn’t have to be outsourced, especially not for a small business and in reality a solid social media campaign can be conducted in house at low cost and without taking up very much time. An area such as manufacturing or logistics on the other hand, will almost always benefit the company when it is handled by the experts.
Quality Providers?
The last question to ask yourself once you have decided upon which aspect of the business you will outsource is whether or not you are going to be giving the job to quality and reliable providers. There is a school of thought that any form of outsourcing works well but depend on the wrong company and you could end up causing the opposite effect to what you are looking for and causing your business a great deal of heartache and pressure. Spend the time on getting the best provider in order for this to be a success.
These are the questions which you must ask yourself prior to outsourcing.