The new year is almost upon us. It is the perfect time to have a fresh look at your business goals and adjust them if necessary. It is an opportunity to rethink your business strategies and learn ways to make your business bigger and better. One such way of doing this is through outsourcing. This is what we are going to explore in this article.
Why Outsource?
If you deprive yourself of outsourcing and your competitors do not, you’re putting yourself out of business. – Lee Kuan Yew
It allows you to hire your dream team.
Some tasks that your business performs may not need a full-time member of staff on-site at all times. It may be something that requires someone a couple of hours a week or on an ‘as and when‘ basis. It would be a huge waste of money to hire someone to work full time to do something like building a website as a one-off.
You also have to think about the things on top of hiring and salary costs – the holiday pay, taxes, any sickness or maternity pay that you may be liable for. By outsourcing, you can access these skills when you need them. It also stops the hassle and cost of having them in-house.
It improves business focus.
The main reason that many businesses outsource is because of costs. However, it is also an effective way of improving the quality and productivity of your business. Look at all of the tasks that are necessary for your business. These might include customer support, IT services, marketing, accounting, and social media. It might even include tertiary sanitation tasks like those that can be completed by top quality Commercial Cleaning Services in Fort Lauderdale (or those elsewhere more relevant) who can ensure your workspace remains sanitised, tidy and organised properly for efficient working. Where possible, and where your budget allows, outsource these tasks to the professionals who specialize in these are
By doing this, you can focus on your business’ core activities. These may include enhancing your services or developing new products, while the experts in the background handle the other vital tasks without putting in much time and effort from your end.
It gives you access to new technology.
The rapid growth of business brought by digitization has increased the need for investing in the latest and high-quality technology. Through outsourcing, you can cut these expenses without sacrificing the quality of your services and products. Outsourcing can help you reduce your costs for equipment. Your outsourcing partner should have access to the right tools and resources that are required for your business.
It allows you to work globally.
If you are considering a global expansion, outsourcing is not just something that will make the task easier. It is essential due to the differing time zones. Outsourcing social media management, for example, means that your business can monitor it’s social platforms 24 hours a day, seven days a week, responding to customer inquiries. Outsourced customer service in a different country allows you to operate even when you are asleep.
It increases productivity
Having an efficient outsourcing partner enables you to free up valuable time and handle more important responsibilities. It provides your business with much greater flexibility that will allow you to manage your time well. Outsourcing agencies generally employ people with expertise in a particular field. This, in turn, leads to higher efficiency, as your staff will be able to focus on the tasks you have hired them to complete. These outsourced teams, whether streamlining your managed care contracting, assisting you with payroll, or managing your IT systems, can deliver quality work within a designated time frame. Outsourcing is the best way to run your business with minimal supervision while increasing productivity and output.
What jobs can you outsource?
Marketing
Marketing is an integral part of business, and you do not do it correctly, it can really impact on your success. It is a task that is sometimes best left to the people with expertise, and this is where outsourcing comes into use.
A marketing firm will know how you to push your business in the right direction without constant supervision and will get you the best outcome that they can. After all, if you are employing someone on an ad-hoc or freelance basis, it is in their interest to do well. They want you to hire them again and again!
Social media management
These days, a presence on social media is essential. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn are all critical ways of marketing your business and connecting with clients, customers, and your peers in the industry. However, they can also take a lot of your time.
You have to create profiles, post engaging and compelling content, respond to messages and inquiries, and spend some time engaging with others. This can be a job in itself if done correctly.
By outsourcing this task, you can rest assured that your social media profiles are in the safe hands of someone who knows what they are doing. Websites such as People Per Hour and Fiverr are excellent for finding freelancers who specialize in social media management.
IT Management
You might think that you are pretty nifty with a computer, but what happens if your entire network goes down just minutes before a crucial meeting with a client?
Sorting out IT issues, especially in a large workplace or company can take an enormous amount of time. Having someone at the other end of a phone to manage your IT services and deal with any issues that crop up can be both reassuring and a huge time saver. You can be getting on with the important things for your business while someone else deals with the problems.
Accounting and Finance
Keeping on top of your accounts and finances, and making sure everything is done by the books is important. It stops you from getting into a financial and legal mess. However, if you are capable of doing simple record-keeping, or you have an admin assistant to do this on your behalf, you can outsource the more important parts to an accountant. They can help you to file your tax returns, understand the expenses that you claim. They can also make sure that you are not breaking any laws.
Search engine optimization
Search engine optimization, or SEO, is a key part of getting your business noticed. In it’s most basic terms, it is about choosing and using the keywords that people would use when searching for your website. The better your SEO, the higher you rank in search engines and more traffic will be directed to your site. This should lead to more sales and eventually, more profit. You can see why it is such an important thing to get right! By outsourcing this job to the professionals, you can get on with the parts of your business you know best.
Admin
Day to day admin tasks can be done remotely in many cases. Responding to emails, entering data into a system, booking appointments and making phone calls can all be done by an outsourcing partner. Again, freelance websites such as People Per Hour or Upwork are prime places to find someone who can do this, and it will usually cost a lot less than hiring someone to do the task in house.
Outsourcing is much more than just a cost-cutting tool. It gives you the tools and expertise to make sure a job is done effectively without distracting you from the important jobs in hand. It is the best way to grow your business without losing focus of achieving your business goals. Head into the new year with a new strategy. Look at what tasks you can delegate to leave you to continue to take your business to the next level.
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