To some small business owners and advisors, the concept of outsourcing is an unexamined one. Many might consider outsourcing to be a thing only larger companies do or something far out of their price range. Others still might only consider outsourcing for specialized tasks such as online marketing.
Yet the range of outsourcing options for businesses couldn’t be better these days, as our digital age has given rise to many options for small businesses to outsource their work to, from freelancer sites to firms with their own website. Competition and information keep prices reasonable while allowing you to find the very best talent to work with, whatever the job. A great outsourcing decision could make all the difference when you look at your next earnings report.
Read further below for some reasons why outsourcing is not just a feasible option for small businesses, but often the best option:
Many Full-Time Jobs Aren’t Justifiable
Small businesses need to be very careful when taking on new employees, as the margin for error regarding payroll could make or break your business. That being said, your business will have specific needs, and you will need to work with people who are dedicated to the job, even if that job only amounts to five hours of work per week.
For example, a small business with a staff of only six or seven employees does not usually need a dedicated HR professional. Instead its easier to learn about a good PEO service online and simply let them take care of payroll on top of HR concerns. Similarly, why keep a web designer on staff when you could outsource the work anywhere in the world and still provide a great site for customers or clients?
More Jobs Can Be Done Online than Ever Before
While the phrase “there’s an app for that” might not be the most apt when talking about work your business needs to be done, unless physical goods need to be handled there’s almost certainly a way to do the job online securely and efficiently. The most you might expect to pay is some program licensing fees or subscriptions, and those still aren’t usually as costly as arranging additional office equipment or space.
Even if your proposed work is hard to describe or doesn’t necessarily have a simple, searchable description, that doesn’t mean you’re out of luck. You’ll need to put in more effort to find the right person for the job, but there is absolutely a specialist out there or someone with the skills necessary, especially if you’re willing to compensate competitively.
Besides, do you think you would have to expend less effort attempting to hire from the local market?
You Can Work with the Best More Easily
On that note, sometimes local talent won’t cut it, especially if the labor pool is relatively small in your region. While you can do your best to attract the best employees from across the region and even the country, this is often an expensive process that won’t work for a small business.
Since outsourcing today effectively means looking online to find the best people for the job, you can afford to be pickier when looking for someone, and you can search for people who are the very best at what they do and only have them perform that task. It is much harder for a small business to benefit in a similar manner from using in-house employees.
While you will of course want to utilize your own people for the sake of consistency and stability, calling in an outsider can be exactly what’s needed when absolute quality is required.
Outsourcing Is Generally More Cost-Efficient
Should you look up agency or freelancer rates for outsourcing work, you might be alarmed by some of the prices and quickly dismiss outsourcing as a far more expensive option than simply having the work done in-house.
There’s more to the equation. When hiring employees there are additional costs, some training related, others might revolve around equipment or uniforms. You will also have to manage schedules more activity. When you outsource your work, ideally you will be managing less (saving you or your managers time) and you should be paying just for the work. If nothing else, you will be able to remain focused on main business activities as opposed to the small tasks and odd work you outsource.
Yet the main factor we would like to introduce is the value of the services and work you are getting. When you outsource specific tasks you’ll most often do so to specialists, unless the tasks involved are extremely basic (in which case expenditures will be cheap anyhow). To put it concisely, vetted specialists will be able to the same work in less time than someone you hire, train, and still isn’t the best person for the job.
Conclusion
The advantages of outsourcing more of your small business’ work are many, but we hope that you consider the reasons that you wish to do so and tailor your strategy around that. Try to work out the numbers and look at services and freelancers that would be relevant to your industry, and we doubt you’ll be disappointed.
Have you considered outsourcing in your small business? If you have already done so, what was your experience like? Either way, we would love to hear your thoughts, so please leave a comment below.
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very interesting information! .