Sometimes the best way to get the most efficiency and productivity in your business is to look outside it. Outsourcing is a time-tested way to deal with challenging tasks that require specialized skills and technology.
If you don’t know how to do it, you have three options: learn, hire someone who does or outsource. A 2019 survey found that about two-thirds of businesses save time and money outsourcing critical tasks.
There are real advantages to outsourcing. The question is, how can you use it to increase productivity in your business? Consider seven ways outsourcing will improve your business.
1. Delegate Critical Tasks
Productivity often involves delegation and determining if you have the in-house talent that’s ready to take on more responsibility. That said, some tasks require advanced expertise, and it can be risky to ask employees without the necessary experience to complete them. So, how do you decide which “to-dos” to take off your plate without creating a negative ripple effect?
Make a list of the tasks that take up too much of your time (or that staff find to be the most challenging), and decide if you have the resources to manage each one effectively. If not, outsourcing could be an option, or it could be time to invest in tools to help your team be more productive. For example, is your administrative or accounting team still manually running payroll? If so, it might be time to consider the benefits of using payroll software to manage this process. Many providers take the hassle out of things like calculating payroll taxes each pay run, freeing up time for you (and your team) to focus on other ways to move the needle. Investing in the right software can help you take care of complicated tasks without having to hire or train a dedicated specialist.
2. Get the Top Talent
Next, look at your staffing. Are you able to hire top talent, or are you settling for what you can get based on your budget? Again, outsourcing kills two birds with one stone.
By outsourcing certain functions, you get both. First, you open up your budget because you can hire fewer people. That leaves you with more money to get the best talent for your business.
You are also assigning essential tasks to the people best able to do them. An excellent example of this is a virtual personal assistant. Maybe you need someone to help keep you organized and handle administrative work. Do you need to keep a full-time slot open for that job?
Outsourcing these tasks means you hire someone who knows all the tricks. But, you are not paying them a full-time salary plus benefits.
3. Scale Based on Your Needs
Outsourcing also means you can hire someone only when necessary. If the business is slow, you are not looking at layoffs. You simply take on some of these tasks yourself.
Maybe when you are busy, you don’t have time to send emails or handle marketing tasks. You need to put your efforts elsewhere, so you outsource to either a virtual assistant or a marketing firm. It’s possible to shift your focus back when it slows down to help increase your business opportunities. You can take back some of this work without letting staff members go.
4. Get the Best Technology
Outsourcing means you can access the most state-of-the-art technology without buying it yourself. For example, if you are trying to manage your books on a laptop still running on its original operating system, you are missing out on some of the best software, cloud services, and apps.
If you outsource your accounting, you don’t have to worry about how old your laptop is because the firm doing the books will have the best. They also want to run their business efficiently, so they invest in the right tools to make that happen
You have a choice to make. You can spend thousands getting your technology up-to-date or hire the best in the business and buy a budget-friendly laptop to use in the office.
5. Keep Your Information Secure
The companies you outsource to will also have the most secure systems. That matters to both you and your customers. Data security is one of the top concerns for businesses today. Unfortunately, it may not be possible for you to match the level of protection outsourcing can offer.
Security isn’t just about having the right technology in place. It requires knowledge, too. Do you have the budget to hire a security expert to come in and teach you what you need to know? The firms you outsource have people on staff that train to ensure your data is safe.
They also keep backups of your information. How often have you put off backing up your system because you don’t have time? When you outsource critical tasks, you can worry less about what might happen if there is a natural disaster.
6. Improve Quality
Outsourcing certain operations will give you and your staff more time to focus on making your customers happy and growing your business. Just one negative review is enough to tank a small business.
You need to put quality at the top of your list of concerns. That means outsourcing time-consuming tasks can pay for itself. You will have more time to put into providing quality products and services.
7. Enhance the Work Environment
Let’s face it; you are not the only one that hates tedious tasks. By outsourcing them, you will motivate yourself and your staff to work much harder on the things that matter to you. That is a win for everyone.
Outsourcing is commonplace today, especially for small businesses. What tasks could you outsource to save time and improve productivity?
Related Post: Top 15 Free Sites to Promote your App or Software
