10 questions about outsourcing you want to ask
This article was first published on Booth & Partners’ official website. Booth & Partners is an American-owned business that provides outsourcing services from all around the world with their own full-time, first-rate offshore team in the Philippines.
No matter what the size of your business is, at some point, the thought of outsourcing might have occurred to you. You might have started to research it and asked some of your business contacts to get ideas. And you probably have questions you want to ask but don’t know who or where to ask.
In this article, we will be answering 10 of the most common outsourcing questions. So read on to get the answers you need to help you decide whether or not to outsource.
10 Outsourcing questions you want to be answered
If you are an entrepreneur considering outsourcing some of your tasks, you might have questions that you’ve been longing to ask. We are here to answer some of them!
Here are some frequently asked outsourcing questions and the answer to them:
1. What are my goals and objectives for outsourcing?
Before starting with your outsourcing journey, you should be clear with your goals and objectives. Think of the reasons why you want to outsource in the first place.
Is it because you aim to reduce your labor expenses? Is it because you want to give yourself extra time to do more important business activities? List these reasons and make them the targets you want to achieve through outsourcing.
But make sure to set clear goals and objectives that are achievable. Take note of the word “ACHIEVABLE”. This will prevent future conflicts when it comes to opinions and other related things.
This step is highly important as many businesses have failed in outsourcing because of the unrealistic goals and objectives that they have initially set.
These goals and objectives shouldn’t be kept for yourself, instead, let everyone involved in the process know these so they are also aware of your targets.
This way, you can be on the same page and they will know exactly how they can help you.
You should also understand that the maximum results of outsourcing take time to manifest.
2. Which services or tasks should I outsource?
This is undeniably one of the frequently asked outsourcing questions. Basically, it depends on the needs and goals of your business. You can outsource any process necessary to your company.
If it’s your first time outsourcing, it would be better if you begin with a non-core service. Once you get a hang of the idea and how it works, you are now ready to dive deep and scale up your outsourcing program into more complex tasks.
The most common tasks that businesses outsource are the following:
- Customer Support
- Live Chat
- Data Entry
- Finance and Accounting
- Research and Development
- Web Design
- Creative Services
- Computer Programming
These are all important activities, but businesses prefer to outsource them from a third party because they are also time-consuming. And we know how important time is to businesses.
After all, service providers have the infrastructure and almost everything needed to manage a larger volume of work.
3. Won’t I lose control of my business?
Since outsourcing takes the non-core business processes, the answer to this question is NO. It’s actually the opposite.
Outsourcing lets you have more time to take over and control the business-impacting activities such as strategy and planning, and business development and partnerships. When outsourcing is done right, it will definitely help your business grow.
Take note as well that the involvement of the service provider varies on the outsourcing model that you will take. The right outsourcing partner will help you choose the model that fits your business.
4. Why should I outsource when I could just hire in-house?
While building an in-house team has its fair share of benefits to businesses, it also requires a lot of effort and can also be costly.
From the recruitment process to taking care of your employees, it all requires a budget and a great amount of work. You need to have the workspace, equipment, tools, software, and many more.
Fortunately, there’s outsourcing for businesses that want to skip the stress and save operational expenses while still getting the result they need.
When you outsource, you free yourself from the works that building an in-house team entails. One of the initial benefits of outsourcing is that it saves you time, effort, and costs of recruiting candidates.
It provides you the support you need to continuously function even the simplest business process while you focus on the more important business activities.
The outsourcing service provider will be the one to handle your outsourced staff. It includes giving them healthcare benefits, creating engagement activities, and other perks that could help motivate and retain them.
5. Can I outsource even if I’m a small business?
There is a common misconception that outsourcing is only for big companies as small businesses don’t need it because they only have limited processes. But to tell you the truth, outsourcing isn’t exclusive to anyone.
Even small businesses can outsource tasks. It is for everyone who needs support in their business operations.
One of the advantages of it to small businesses is that it allows them to access professional workers in a more cost-efficient way than hiring them in-house. It can also be a way for small businesses to scale up and be ahead of the competition.
Tip: There are outsourcing companies that cater to SMEs. They primarily know how to bring your business to greater heights of success more than anyone.
6. How much access should I give to my outsourcing partner?
More than just hiring the right outsourcing partner, there are certain steps that you can take to make sure you maintain control over your project or task. One of the first things to remember is to be clear about expectations and stay involved in the process.
Having a clear understanding of how partners will handle and secure financial information and other sensitive data will help prevent unwanted issues from occurring.
Make sure that subcontractors are properly versed and trained in your policies.
7. Why is transparency important when you outsource?
Successful business relationships are built on transparency and the five-letter word “Trust.”
In outsourcing, when you say transparency, it’s all about providing a line of sight and communication about everything that’s happening in the operations. The outsourcing company should provide you, being the client, with the latest updates and information about your process.
It is safer for everything to be documented, from the simplest task to the results.
If you want to be one of those businesses that are successful in outsourcing, you need to ensure full transparency. This will guarantee that you and your outsourcing partner are both on the same page, which will soon create a sense of trust between both parties.
This will also help you decide whether or not to continue outsourcing, especially with your chosen service provider.
Moreover, when problems arise, be transparent with your outsourced staff as well as with the third-party company in any way possible. Always ask for the cause and reasons why an issue occurred and try to understand them. You can share a few suggestions to avoid the same problem from happening again.
One way to minimize issues is to constantly check in with them and let them know that you are always available when they have questions and concerns.
Set up weekly or monthly meetings for quick catch-ups. Daily or weekly reports will also be helpful to achieve transparency.
8. How do you ensure that your data and your business are safe?
Nowadays, data is one of the most important assets of an organization. Because of this, data security and privacy can help prevent the possible loss of revenue, especially when it involves customers’ privacy.
Ensuring secured data can help maintain and improve your brand value, supports your code of ethics, and give your business a competitive edge over your competitors.
To protect your data and your business from issues that may arise, a few things to remember when outsourcing are to identify which data need to be transferred including the when and how, make sure that you have a trustworthy service provider, and secure your data in a safe system with backup in a separate location.
Moreover, it would create a significant impact on your business if you choose a service provider that is ISO-certified, GDPR-compliant, and has other important data protection certifications.
These will help ensure that your data and your business as a whole are secured.
9. Where can I find a reputable outsourcing services provider?
There are many avenues where you can find an outsourcing partner that will best suit your needs and requirements. To guide you in finding the right one, here are some ways you can do:
Search on the internet
Many outsourcing companies are boosting their business digitally as nowadays, most organizations interested to outsource are using online platforms to look for a service provider.
Here are some helpful sites you may visit to read information about outsourcing and finding the right business partner:
Focus Groups and Organizations:
- Quora
- Medium
Social Media Sites:
- YouTube
This is the easiest way to search for a third-party company. You can use the keywords related to outsourcing such as “Outsourcing in the Philippines” if you want to outsource in the Philippines.
Websites
This is one of the first things to look at when you are interested in an outsourcing company. They should have an active website where you can browse their stories, services, and contact information.
You can also check client testimonials to see what business owners have to say about a company and case studies to know how outsourcing affected companies.
Referrals
Since many businesses nowadays are outsourcing some of their business processes, there is a huge chance that one of the people or business contacts you trust knows a reliable service provider.
Ask them for details and all the information you want to know.
10. Where do I start?
Last in our list of outsourcing questions is where to begin your journey.
Start with setting your goals and objectives. Once you have identified these, it’s time to determine the task to outsource. After this, you can now look for a service provider that is suitable for your needs — the expert in the specific process you want to outsource.
Moreover, it would be best to identify the outsourcing model that would work best for your business. There are two common models: Staff Leasing, which gives you full control over your team, and Managed Services, in which the service provider will take care of everything including managing and overseeing the operations of your staff.
You can ask your chosen partner to help you choose what’s best for your business.
When you’re done with all these, buckle up as you are now ready to start your outsourcing journey!
Wrapping Up
Outsourcing is a highly beneficial business strategy. Having a keen understanding of the idea and the whole concept can help you maximize its benefits for your business.
It is easier when you know the right questions to ask. The outsourcing questions above are just some of the most common ones and there are more to be answered.
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