Outsourcing has its advantages but there are times when business leaders don’t need to consider the possibility.
When they already have a team of employees with the time and ability to take on the tasks they might otherwise outsource, it makes more sense to keep things in-house. Similarly, business leaders shouldn’t outsource tasks that they could easily do themselves. In both cases, outsourcing could be seen as a waste of money.
However, there are situations where outsourcing is the sensible answer. These include the following.
#1: When there are skill gaps in the business
Business leaders will always require employees with certain skillsets, and these will be set out in job descriptions during the hiring process. A leader of a building firm would naturally hire somebody with the necessary skills to carry out work on a renovation project, for example. But then there are those areas in business where skills are needed but new hires might not be considered. We are thinking about marketing, accounting, and IT security, as just a few examples. These are all important areas for any business, but going back to the building firm leader, they aren’t the first things they would think about when hiring employees.
In some cases, it would be more cost-effective to hire a marketing team, an accountant, or managed IT services, instead of hiring somebody full-time. This is especially true when such services are only needed on a short-term basis.
#2: When the business is expanding globally
For business owners looking to expand their global reach, it sometimes makes sense to outsource to international firms. In the case of marketing, for example, a business leader might decide to hire a marketing agency in the targeted country as the agency would have a better understanding of the foreign demographic. There is also a time-zone advantage because a business would be able to operate 24 hours a day if they had the aid of companies operating abroad. In these instances, outsourcing overseas makes more sense than outsourcing locally, so should be considered for any international expansion.
#3: When innovation is needed
The business world moves fast and trends come and go. To remain competitive, business leaders need to innovate to keep up with and expand on current trends. This is something they would naturally do in the central focus of their work, as they would have the skills, knowledge, and insight to develop new ideas. But going back to our first point, they might struggle to innovate in other areas, such as marketing or IT. In this instance, it would be better to hire experts in their field, as they would have a finger on the pulse of whatever was new and happening, and would have insights that the business leader might not possess.
These are just a few of the situations where outsourcing could be considered the right answer. If you’re a business leader, consider the option, for the development and growth of your business.
