Are You Outsourcing too much? Take Back Control!
Outsourcing functions and services are often considered a smart investment for startups and small businesses. But does outsourcing most of your functions yield growth in business or is over-outsourcing a recipe for doom? Let’s see if you are outsourcing too much, and if so, how do you take back control of your business.
Before diving further, let’s first check what exactly is over outsourcing? How would you know that you have outsourced too much of your business functions?
What Is Over Outsourcing?
Over outsourcing is delegating too many critical components of a business to a third party the company. It creates overdependence on the service provider, diminishes the business owner’s control, and could create bigger problems in the long run and. Ideally speaking, one should not outsource too much of the business. To have complete control of your business even if you outsource, the golden rule to remember is to only outsource the activities that do not heavily influence the core business, and not to get carried away.
Disadvantages of Over Outsourcing
As stated earlier, over outsourcing can be disadvantageous when taken to extremes. The consequences include:
- Losing Control
When you outsource too many or outsource the critical functions of your business, you lose some control over that department and will come to rely on the other party to turn around the project in time for your company to work smoothly.
- Security Risks
Misjudging the character and work values of the third party could result in security risks, especially for the IT, finance, manufacturing, and administration functions. An outsourcing firm with poor work ethic or values could steal and sell your company data or product designs, or launch cybercrimes on your network. It is advisable to run a background check of the third-party firm before contracting them for the services.
- Communication Issues
Many ideas get lost in translation, or simply get lost, between people and workplace. This is easily resolved when the department is in-house, but more challenging to address when you outsource too many tasks or over-rely on the service provider to make decisions for your department. The best recommendation is to take step back and determine which aspects you can reclaim, or to make sure the outsourcing firm employs industry experts who can present solutions when miscommunications arise.
How Can You Take Back Control?
Taking back the control does not necessarily mean creating new in-house departments and employing whole teams by next week. Especially if your business is a startup with a small team, outsourcing non-mission critical aspects can provide you with great support and allow you use the newly free time to focus on gaining more clients.
Here are some pointers that will help you take back control of your business:
- Focus on the services that affect the core capabilities of your business.
- Choose the non-core functions to outsource.
- Begin with partial outsourcing and short-term projects to test the waters.
What Functions Can You Outsource?
The best functions to outsource are:
- Digital Content Marketing
The goal of content marketing is to establish a digital presence of the brand and a platform for the business. Let the experts take the reins to generate great content as per the industry standards. In many industries, it is common practice for marketing departments to outsource content creation.
- Admin/Virtual Assistants
Letting someone handle administrative tasks for you won’t impact the core capabilities of your business. Some tasks to outsource include scheduling meetings, following after suppliers, and other things that exhaust your energy.
- Finance
Lastly, you can also consider outsourcing bookkeeping, payroll, and related tasks. This will help you run the company efficiently without any worry of finances or taxes, especially if you employ a trustworthy third-party company with expert staff.
In summary, you can regain control of your company by reclaiming and taking ownership of your mission-critical functions while taking advantage of the benefits of outsourcing involving secondary business functions. To know more about the services you can outsource to Yempo, contact us today.