When businesses are first set up, it is likely that, if small, the owner will attempt to cover many of the roles himself. However, this approach is unlikely to be sustainable. Outsourcing aspects of your business will allow it to grow and become profitable without the risk of burnout for you or any other employees.
Here are five essential things to know when you are starting to outsource to others.
When you are seeking to outsource aspects of your business to others, it is essential to consider their experience. If someone is just starting out, that does not mean you should automatically discount them. However, if someone else has a wealth of experience and charging the same price, it might be worth going with them instead.
Even if someone professes to being an expert in a certain area, such as logo designing or accountancy, it is always worth checking their portfolio, showcasing their previous work. This will give you an idea as to their style, their finish, and their overall standard. For some work, you may be able to visit in person to see it for yourself without having to rely on photographs. Of course, this all depends on the type of work you are outsourcing.
Before agreeing to outsource any aspect of your business to someone, such as contingent workers, try to find out how much their services will set you back. If the price is too low, you may have alarm bells ringing as to whether the work will be carried out to the standard you expect (refer to the previous two points and check those). However, if the cost is too great, it is imperative that you work out the impact this could have on your business. Are you able to cut costs elsewhere to make it happen if the people you are outsourcing to are definitely the ones for you? It is worth trying to negotiate and see if anything can be done.
If you, as a leader, or another employee has been carrying out a certain aspect of the work you are now looking to outsource, consider whether this will have a greater impact than you expect. Think about the amount of work remaining for the employees and whether it is financially worth your while keeping them on. It would be a great shame to lose an internal worker and replace with an outsourced one, but this is an area you must decide upon based on your business’ individual needs and aims.
Even if we have considered the previous four areas when outsourcing parts of our business, it can still be the case that satisfaction levels are low regarding the work carried out of our behalf. Where this occurs, be assertive and inform the people doing the jobs that you are unhappy with the quality or finish and give them the opportunity to rectify the situation. If, however, you remain discontent with everything, you have every right to find someone else to take over that side of things. Of course, if contracts have been signed, be sure that you are not going against that. Seek legal advice first.
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