There are many success stories of how outsourcing saves time, saves costs, and brings highly-skilled employees into the business to complete specific projects. And it is true that the best way to manage time is by delegating and outsourcing. You can save time and save yourself a lot of stress by putting the effort up front. Here are five easy steps to make your outsourcing plan successful.
1. Choose the right person
Choosing the lowest bid for a project is tempting. However, before you do this, make sure it’s someone you’re ready to work with. They will need to be in contact with you for the duration of the project, so make sure their business practices align with yours. You don’t want to have to explain to your clients that you were outsourcing and didn’t know the company’s business practices. Save yourself the frustration and research the new partner.
2. Trust them and treat them as partners
When outsourcing, there is a tendency to micromanage or ignore. If you’re used to being in control of your company, it’s hard to let go and trust someone you don’t know to handle crucial parts of your business. By losing direct control over the day-to-day operations of a specific process, you can gain more control over the rest of the processes that need attention.
Therefore, when outsourcing, the relationship must be based on the trust of mutual competition. So it doesn’t hurt to pay more for someone you trust than for someone you don’t know.
3. Don’t outsource the core of your business
Trust is crucial in outsourcing, but someone else probably won’t take over your business like you will. The employees you hire and train must run the core parts of your business. You don’t want to risk your business failing and having to start from scratch all over again.
Choose a partner who knows your role in your business and will work with you to embed your workflow and company culture, as if you were building it yourself.
4. Define job ownership
For outsourced projects, make it clear who owns the resulting product and significant parts of the product. Make sure service providers know how you intend to use the work they agree to provide. It is important to have a written agreement, especially if the job is sensitive.
5. Keep things professional
When working with outsourced staff, they sometimes become friends. This is often a big mistake because it makes it hard for you to fire them if they’re not doing their job. If someone isn’t doing their job on time, it’s their fault that you’re firing them and you shouldn’t feel bad about it. In most cases, if you want your business to be successful, separate business from friendship.
