Outsourcing is a practice where businesses hire outside parties to perform tasks and offer services that would traditionally be handled in-house. While outsourcing is often seen as a cost-cutting measure, there are actually several reasons companies turn to outsourcing. Outsourcing allows businesses to focus more on their core activities, which boosts productivity across the board. It also allows businesses to share risk with other companies, not to mention granting access to a larger talent pool.
Likely the biggest con of outsourcing is that it may impact company culture and upset employees who fear being replaced. Clear communication within the company is key to offset this. With proper communication and research to ensure the outsourcing company will provide the quality you expect, you’ll find the benefits of outsourcing can far outweigh the negatives. Here are some of the best areas to consider outsourcing to improve your business.
Manufacturing
Outsourcing manufacturing efforts can be a great choice, especially if you run one of the many home businesses in the US or lack proper licensing. Ecommerce businesses are popular to run from home, and you can sell a wide variety of products so long as you purchase them from licensed manufacturers. Take nutrition supplements, for example. If you work with an approved manufacturer, you can sell their supplements on your eCommerce store without having to be licensed yourself.
If you’re running a larger business and need to manufacture products, you’ll find that building and maintaining your own plant is extremely costly. Outsourcing to offshore companies is likely the cheapest option, though you may be able to find some good options within the United States as well.
Accounting
Finance and accounting services are great candidates for outsourcing. If you’re running a small business that you want to grow but don’t know if you have the resources, finding experts in accounting for eCommerce business could be exactly what you need. While you could rely on your own accounting software, having pros on your team ensures your financials are taken care of and you won’t have to worry come tax time. Mid-size business owners could also save money by contracting a part-time CFO to handle their financial needs as they arise instead of having to hire an entire team.
The Office
Every business has an administrative workflow, and the costs of renting office space, equipment, phones, and utilities aren’t cheap. That’s why many businesses opt to move the administrative side of their business to shared office suites. Facilities with office suites generally have multiple locations in major cities, and they can be an easy way to get your business up and running as soon as possible.
Customer Support
A successful business needs to provide exceptional customer support. Even if you can’t offer the best deals, the way you treat your customers can make all the difference. Customers are likely to share especially good and bad experiences, and you’ll naturally prefer it if it’s the former.
Your contact center should be equipped with the best software available to improve customer journeys and boost agent productivity. Interactive voice response makes it easy for customers to find the answers they’re looking for and be directed to the right agent when need.
True omnichannel routing lets customers contact your agents through their preferred methods (voice call, text, SMS, webchat, etc.), and they can even seamlessly switch channels if needed. CRM integration even makes it easy to store customer data and acquire actionable insights. Best of all, you can even request a free call center software demo.
Human Resources
Small to mid-size businesses generally need to focus on their core practices as much as possible, and spending the time and money on their own Human Resources department can be too much to handle. Fortunately, a professional employer organization can handle all your hiring, benefits, compliance, and other HR needs. This way, you can find qualified candidates, offer more affordable benefits, and many PEOs will even offer job training to save you more time.
These are just a few ways outsourcing can benefit your business. The truth is, you can outsource basically any department. You’ll just need to carefully consider the pros and cons to know if it’s right for you.