Why outsourcing means big business | Virtual Office

What is outsourcing?

When most people think of outsourcing, they think of large corporations and job redundancies. However, this couldn?t be further from the truth. Outsourcing is not restricted to the confines of big business and does not refer solely to sending work offshore. In fact, an Enterprise Systems Outsourcing Survey found that over 70 per cent of outsourcing activity by American companies has been to domestic providers.

While the economic situation in the United States picked up in late 2011, the country is far from reaching economic stability and much can be gained by businesses, big and small, outsourcing in order to remain competitive. In fact, it?s estimated that three-quarters of US companies are outsourcing some aspect of their business. From those numbers was can see that small businesses are risking a major competitive edge by not taking advantage of all that outsourcing can offer.

What to outsource?

Knowing what parts of your business to outsource is important. Effective outsourcing requires a sound balance that will result in improved efficiencies and reduced capital costs, but not at the expense of quality. The hope is that by outsourcing peripheral job functions, your business is better able to concentrate on its core business activity, all the while increasing productivity and lowering overheads. Probably the greatest downfall for many companies choosing to outsource is that they siphon off too much. Remember to keep your core business activity in-house!

While the number of jobs and services out there are innumerable, the most commonly outsourced functions include:

• Graphic design
• Customer service and call centers
• Virtual assistants
• ?Accounting and bookkeeping
• IT and programming
• Copy writing and marketing, which includes social media strategies.

Benefits to your small business

• ?Reduced operating costs. First and foremost, outsourcing saves money, often as much as 70 per cent. Not only are the wages cheaper, because you?re often paying on a project-by-project basis, but overheads are greatly reduced.
• Focus on what matters. As mentioned earlier, outsourcing allows businesses to focus on the core business activity. This means increased productivity and efficiency.
• Massive talent pool. Finding and recruiting skilled talent is a difficult task. Outsourcing gives you access to thousands of skilled professionals from all over the world.
• Flexibility. Outsourced workers are not permanent employees. You hire them for one or two projects and move on without incurring the costs associated with hiring full-time staff. This ?pay as you go? system also means someone is always available, whatever your business needs.
• Perfect for Start-ups. ?Starting a new business can be draining, on time and capital. Outsourcing is integral for businesses with a small number of employees or without the resources to hire on-site staff.

Where to start

?There are three main ways to outsource your work: via outsourcing brokers, going directly to the outsourcing firm or using a freelancing site.

* Outsourcing brokers act as middlemen and will put you in touch with your required service. The benefit here is that a broker will have a wide range of contacts with providers that have a good reputation and a proven track record.

* Outsourcing firms specialize in outsourced services and employ a number of staff that will be assigned to manage your needs. The benefit here is that the company is accountable for the work they produce and are complete professionals in the space. Servcorp not only provides remote office space for business that want to branch out but virtual outsourcing too ? this includes things such as IT solutions, receptionists, conference facilities, mail management and meeting room space.

* The popularity of freelancing sites has grown exponentially in recent years. Websites such as eLance Inc, iFreelance, Guru, ODesk and FreelancerNow act as a bulletin boards for freelancers and contract workers. Here you can search through the profiles of potential candidates or post descriptions of the job you want done and have candidates bid for your work. The main issue with sites like this is a matter of quality control.

The last bit of advice for small businesses moving to outsource is that communication is the key to effective outsourcing. Very often you?ll have had never met the people you?re working with in person. However, with LinkedIn, Skype, email, instant messaging and so forth, there is no reason for you not to be able to keep in steady contact.

Source: http://www.virtualoffice.com/blog/growth/why-outsourcing-means-big-business/

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