Outsourcing is a billion-dollar industry, with 59 percent of businesses using outsourced services to cut costs. While there could be lots of reasons why you are considering outsourcing your workforce needs. There are a number of tasks and roles that are most typically redirected to an outsourced skill-set. Statistically, 74 percent of companies use outsourced IT, while 52 percent use HR and 39 percent use outsourcing for finance.
Your decision to outsource is typically based on one or more of the following factors:
1. You want to save money
Outsourcing skilled labor means reducing your operating costs. With an outsourced employee, you don’t have to pay for the full-time salary, benefits, and other costs related to HR.
2. You can hire the best professional for the job
Instead of focusing on a well-rounded professional that can fulfill a number of roles in your department, you can hire the best person to create a video, the best person to create a social media campaign, and the best person to handle specific HR tasks.
3. You can access the training and technology without paying the price
Since you’re able to hire the best person for the task at hand, you can also find someone who already has the training and technology you need for the current tasks or responsibilities.
4. You can trust in their professionalism
When you outsource, you don’t need to supervise your outsourced labor. Just give them the work and review the finished product. Of course, you may need to offer input into the creative process along the way. But an outsourced professional should not require the same level of oversight. After all, you’re not paying the person to work full-time, just to complete the task on time and on budget.
5. You have an agreement that lays out what is required
There should be no misunderstanding about what is required as a deliverable for the outsourced tasks or requirements. You can put a Service-Level Agreement (SLA) in place to make sure there is no ambiguity.
Communication is key to any outsourcing situation. It’s also the opportunity for you to fulfill tasks and responsibilities quickly and reliably. There’s no hassle or fuss. It’s a great way to grow your business without overextending yourself by hiring too many full-time employees.
Here’s a breakdown of the functions or roles that you might outsource to save you time and money.
Administrative Tasks
When you outsource administrative tasks, you’re able to save time and money by bringing on skilled labor to handle projects, seasonal activities, or special needs. Instead of a full-time employee, you outsource the work to cover the current requirements. It’s a great way to expedite the administrative tasks, with a focus on productivity and efficiency, without the higher costs and requirements of a full-time employee.
When you outsource administrative tasks and roles, you can plan ahead for upcoming projects, improve productivity and streamline those time-sensitive and time-consuming requirements. Instead of heaping more work on your current staff, an outsourced professional can take care of the workload with speed and accuracy. Outsourcing admin tasks can help you to improve productivity and save money.
Human Resources
It’s all about hiring and firing, but it could be so much less complicated. Human Resource is a specialized task that’s one of the most frequently outsourced activities. Many of the tasks can be automated and streamlined, which saves your company time and money while guaranteeing absolute compliance.
HR is also one of those roles that may function more efficiently and effectively as a separate function, with all the training and knowledge on current labor laws and compliance responsibilities. An HR professional must be able to keep and maintain records, ensuring tax and regulatory compliance as applicable. The role also mediates disputes while facilitating performance evaluations and improvement plans.
Visual and Creative Content
There are several reasons why it just makes sense to outsource the creative content that you need. A graphic designer or video editor has the years of experience and knowledge to quickly produce the high-quality visual content you need. These tasks lend themselves more easily to project-based jobs because you can meet strict deadlines and tap into fresh new ideas from any number of professionals.
So, you can free up staff time and resources, while still getting the high-quality, cost-effective, and flexible solution you need for your current and future graphic design and video requirements. You may consider the type of on-demand graphic designer that you’ll use, whether it is a Virtual Assistant, on-demand service, or other outsourced options.
Digital Marketing
You can and should outsource your digital marketing efforts to take advantage of experienced marketers, who will create compelling campaigns based on the latest proven techniques and strategies. The marketing professional can emulate your brand identity, create a full strategic plan or fill in the pieces of content that you need for your campaign. Consider these digital marketing tips.
Invoice Factoring
A factoring company specializes in streamlining the Accounts Receivables process by improving the cash flow for a business. Invoice factoring allows you to sell the outstanding invoices to a third-party company for upfront money. Instead of waiting 30, 60, or 90 days, you’re able to immediately put the money to work for you.
It’s just one more way of outsourcing part of your Accounting business requirements. If you’ve been considering options for a business loan, cash advance, a credit line, or SBA credit or credit line, invoice factoring may be a better option for you when you’re looking to grow your business or simply to stay on top of your supply chain requirements.
