(ThyBlackMan.com) Many small – and large – businesses use outsourcing to help them achieve better results. However, there’s a genuine need to work out the value of outsourcing tasks and projects to others that you have to consider beforehand. If you don’t, you will have to answer serious questions at some point – if the project fails to deliver, for example. Before you waste money on hiring third parties, read this guide. We’ll give you everything you need to know to work out the value of outsourcing.
Work out your overall goals
The first step is to define what you want from outsourcing. Are you a medical business looking for a virtual health assistant to help you talk to patients without the need to wait for an appointment, or are you an office manager looking for support with payroll? There is always a way in which outsourcing can help.
Many companies outsource to make financial savings, but there needs to be more to the process than that. Sure, everyone wants to free up cash for their business, but why? How does it fit into your overall strategy, and what effects might there be regarding quality and delivery? Instead of targeting savings alone, you need to make outsourcing will deliver your central goals in a better way than your business can.
Look at the cost vs. savings and profit
Of course, outsourcing is supposed to save money. But you need to look at those savings and ask how they help you free up time, or make you more profit. A good example is search optimization. Many firms hire third parties to look after their SEO these days because more traffic gives you more of a chance of making more sales. And, learning SEO and implementing it for your website is time-consuming, to say the least.
So, in this scenario, you would first need to look at the cost of hiring an SEO Digital Agency. You can then weigh up the time it will take for you and your team to learn those skills you want to use. Put a value on that time, before estimating the results of the job once complete. In simple terms, if the time savings and profit are greater than the cost – without affecting quality – it is worth outsourcing.
Defining quality
Of course, it’s hard to judge qualitative things in business. But it’s not impossible. Customer service results can be a great way to measure if things are working. They can also identify areas of your business which you shouldn’t mess with. It’s important to value these qualities to your business – in the volume of sales, for example. And, you should also include any costs in time or money it will take to put these measurements into action. For example, how much more time will it take for your customer service checks to happen every time you outsource? Many businesses rely on fine margins for success. So, these qualitative factors may be the most important measurement you can make.
If you follow these basic tips, you should be able to find out how much value your outsourcing will bring. Failure to acknowledge these factors can lead to losses, choosing poor quality services, and ending up in trouble. While outsourcing can bring many benefits, it can also have an adverse impact on your company. It is vital that you plan ahead and measure the cost before getting started.
Staff Writer; A.J. Dawson
