The Transformative Impact of Outsourcing on Businesses

How outsourcing changes businesses?

One of the main reasons for outsourcing is to save money. But not only outsourcing is cheaper, it also removes some of the complexities and costs of employment. Legal, recruitment, compliance, taxation, healthcare and office management, are a few of these complexities. Businesses can also avoid expenses associated with overhead, equipment, and technology.

Outsourcing isn’t just about saving money. Imagine what you could do and how you could outcompete your market if you could double your workforce for the same cost. And the other major advantage of outsourcing while doubling your workforce you also offer the opportunity for more resources to grow, develop, sell, research, service your company, clients and product beyond limitations.

“If you deprive yourself of outsourcing and your competitors do not, you’re putting yourself out of business”- Lee Kuan Yew.

Uber, the ride-hailing service we’ve all heard of, has outsourced the vehicle ownership to the uber drivers, eliminating all costs that they would have to bear if they owned the vehicles. Can you imagine an Uber with their own fleet of vehicles? It would just be a “traditional cab service” that none of us are familiar with anymore.

Outsourcing is an economic boon. It pays relatively highly paid jobs and offers enjoyable, safe and engaging careers. Not only does the industry provide valuable economic and job opportunities, but it also serves as an avenue for connecting different nationalities across the globe.

“Master your strengths, outsource your weaknesses.” – Ryan Khan.

Managing all aspects of a company can be a challenging task in this dynamic, fast-paced business environment. Every business wants to have a time saving, cost-effective and high-efficiency work force which can provide them with constant workflow to the system. Outsourcing business processes is therefore a go-to solution for many companies in any scale of business operation since it is an effective strategy to reduce expenses, to access trained employees, powerful automation, and superior technology at low rates. However, you might wonder if outsourcing is the right path for your business.

Types of outsourcing

Process-specific outsourcing

Widely known as business-process outsourcing (BPO), it focuses on delegating specific processes within a business such as sales, accounting or content creation, among other processes. BPO is ideal for companies that are looking to reduce costs and increase efficiency in certain business processes while freeing up resources to carry out crucial processes where strengths of the business lie. This can help businesses expand their operations more efficiently.

Professional outsourcing

This is when a business hires an expert to carry out a specific project or task. For example, if the company does not have a legal team, it can outsource the legal tasks to a company that outsources legal work. Small-scale businesses would find this ideal.

Offshore outsourcing

This is when a company outsources work to a firm in another country, mainly for the benefits such as the low labor costs in the country and convenient legal requirements. Offshore staffing, for example, is a business tool that allows companies to hire incredible offshore staff at an enormous discount. By outsourcing, firms get easy and flexible access to high-quality staff, and processes are streamlined. Moreover, workforce becomes shorter and more precise, and outcomes are improved. Normally, the recruitment process is expensive and time-consuming for businesses. When you are outsourcing, the outsourcing company will generally take care of this for you, including screening, hiring and onboarding. In offshore staffing businesses can access even more prospective employees. And it opens incredible employment opportunities globally.

Nearshore outsourcing

This, being similar to offshore outsourcing, is where work is delegated to an expert firm near the country of operation, mainly to benefit from lower costs of labor while also maintaining a similar cultures and time-zones.

Onshore outsourcing

This is where tasks are outsourced to expert companies within the country since the low labor costs in different regions of the country can be an advantage.

Cloud outsourcing

This is when a company outsources work to a cloud-based service provider. This brings out the benefits of the flexible and scalable nature of cloud-computing.

Multi-sourcing

This is when a business outsources work to different outsourcing companies with the intention of reducing the risk of business-related confidential information being exploited.
Being common types of outsourcing, not all of the above outsourcing options are suitable for every business, which is why a business should carefully consider and scale out the advantages and disadvantages of each type when deciding on which type of outsourcing best suits their business needs and requirements.

3 main factors to consider before you outsource.

Amongst the variety of factors that need to be considered when choosing to outsource, here is a brief description on the main factors.

1. Consider the current productivity and performance of your business and analyse the benefits outsourcing can bring to you.
2. Find the right outsourcing partner for you. With outsourcing firms all around you, are you in doubt of whom to reach out to? Contact Accario, and we will help you clear your doubts.
3. Make sure you have an outsourcing manager to oversee the contract and ensure your budget can sustain the outsourcing partner you choose.

“Do what you do best and outsource the rest.” – Peter Drucker