Outsourcing: Where to Begin

So, you want to start outsourcing but you’re unsure where to begin.

Every entrepreneur wants to see their organization grow. Every company, no matter what kind, hopes for customer satisfaction, a greater return on investment, and that it captures a larger portion of the market. A rising market position and lower employee turnover are also important goals for many CEOs. This is just the start of a very long wish list, but it's not an easy list to achieve. It requires absolute and unrelenting focus. You cannot afford to be distracted. Outsourcing some of your responsibilities to external specialists may help you to start crossing off the items on this list a little sooner than you expected. 

This article provides some guidance on creating an outsourcing plan and offers some ideas on roles and positions that you can consider outsourcing first.

Develop an outsourcing strategy which suits your business objectives

Having a clear outsourcing strategy is vital to your outsourcing success. Any basic outsourcing strategy should include the following:

1. Clearly outlining the desired outcomes is crucial to ensuring the initiative's success.

2. Establish a project structure to manage the project and ensure that any outsourcing meets your requirements.

3. Be precise when creating a list of tasks you want to outsource, and how and when you want to do it.

4. Budget properly. This will affect the timeframe, the quantity of outsourced resources, and the technologies and equipment that are able to be used. Do this diligently.

5. Choose your preferred outsourcing model. You can choose between a project-based model or dedicated-team model. In the first case, you can have the entire project handled by the BPO partner you select. In the second case, you can choose a team from the BPO partner to work exclusively for you and report directly to you.

6. Carefully choose your BPO partner. Ask for references. Be sure they have the required knowledge, technology, and infrastructure.

7. Establish clear processes, roles, and responsibilities in order to ensure proper execution of the project.

8. Frequent and clear communication is key to staying abreast of project status and progress.

9. Track the performance, advancements and outcomes. This will let you know if the project is progressing as planned, and if it will fulfil your objectives.

You've now developed your outsourcing strategy. So, what services can be outsourced successfully?

Here are some ideas...

(1) Business development, sales and lead generation

Whereas large businesses often employ a large sales team, small businesses usually do not. There is almost always a single individual doing the job, which may not be optimal. Sales management is critical for running a firm. You will never make money unless you close deals. Outsourcing sales will help you turn leads into clients and reach more of your target market. 

(2) Customer service

It's crucial for businesses to establish strong client connections and positive customer feedback. After signing a deal, your customer service managers serve as the face of your company. If your customer service team is doing its job well, you'll also increase customer retention.

(3) Customer support and experience

Customer service has a direct impact on sales. One dissatisfied client can have an extremely negative effect on your business. If you don't have enough personnel to provide attentive service to customers, you may want to outsource it to a specialist BPO with the right skillset to improve results.

(4) Human resources

The recruiting function is costly, time-consuming, and complicated. You need to create job descriptions, search for suitable candidates, and interview countless times to complete the process. Every aspect of this process, from hunting for candidates to hiring them, will consume time, money, and energy. Having HR managers on-site is costly, and outsourcing human resources may be a more suitable and intelligent choice. Read of one of our previous articles here for more information on this topic.

Key takeaways

- Develop an outsourcing strategy which suits your business objectives.

- Any number of roles can be outsourced. Look carefully at each function which your business performs and ask yourself if it could be improved through outsourcing.