|
|
Outsourcing
has become a big deal in our economy. There are articles and books written
on it all the time, and you can attend countless seminars and speeches on
the subject. One popular way this is described is that you should
decide what you are good at and outsource everything else--i.e., focus your
company on your core competency, and let someone else do the rest. That
logic is sound in theory, and to a certain degree in practice, but like
everything else you can take it too far. The key is to understand your
business and its goals and decide how outsourcing might help you attain
them.
When
thinking about what to outsource, some things (legal services, printing,
health insurance, etc.) are fairly obvious, and most businesses outsource
them. Some functions are a bit less obvious, and people outsource them or
not depending on their personal expertise. For example, if you have an
accounting background, you probably keep your own books and file your own
taxes. There are other things that many people could--but probably
shouldn't--do themselves. For example, most people could create a basic Web
page or design their own logo, but the differences in the end result between
doing it yourself and hiring a professional can be significant.
There
are some things that are crucial to your business that you should probably
not outsource. You need to keep an eye (your eye!) on them at all times.
These include cash-flow management and, in many cases, customer interaction.
Some
tasks make sense to outsource initially and bring in-house later. If, for
example, you aren't very experienced at hiring a receptionist, you could
turn to a temp agency to hire one for you. They will charge you a premium,
but for that you get significant value--they will understand your
requirements, advertise for people, screen them and place them at your site
with no risk to you. If they don't work out for whatever reason, you just
call the temp agency and tell them to send someone else. When you find the
right person and decide you want them long term, you can pay the temp agency
a fee and make them a regular employee (i.e., transition from outsourced to
in-house).
While
the above scenario is common, you don't have to view outsourcing as
something to do until you have enough work for an employee. One of the big
advantages to outsourcing is flexibility--it can be a lot easier to cut back
on a vendor than an employee. (Think of how you would feel if you had to
tell an employee who is dependent on her job that you only need her
half-time now.) Another advantage is that you don't have to become an expert
in a particular area--you can depend on the outsourced company to be the
expert, as in the above Web site/logo example.
Perhaps
the most positive thing about outsourcing is its ability to save you money.
This will, of course, depend on the size of your company and what specific
tasks you outsource, but in general, if you think it through, you can save
money. A disadvantage to outsourcing is that you are putting part of your
company in someone else's hands. You have to ask yourself if you can trust
them, if you think they'll stay in business and if they can adapt to your
growing/changing needs.
The
best solution is to carefully think through each function in your business
and figure out which tasks make sense to outsource…then just try it! In
most cases, common sense will see you through.
|
