Much to the chagrin of some business leaders, not everything can be done in-house. For tasks that require a little extra support, outsourcing is the practice of bringing in outside resources like a firm or independent contractor to help with various business functions. Usually, this means hiring a third party to help with day-to-day tasks or other essential services.
The most common outsourcing examples include:
- Marketing and advertising
- Customer service
- Manufacturing
- Business development and sales
- Shipping and logistics
- Accounting
- Human resources
For high-growth businesses — or businesses experiencing rapid growth who are expected to become big industry players — outsourcing can be a key function of business operations. High-growth businesses adapt to more modern business practices and frameworks, integrate technology, and, most importantly, outsource as needed.
1. Marketing and Advertising
There are various benefits to delegating marketing and advertising tasks to an outside company. A marketing agency is well-versed in what it takes to get noticed and build credibility. So while you focus on creating a great product or service, a marketing or advertising firm can work alongside you to help build your brand value.
How It Helps: The marketing firm can help you with advertising and promoting your business, developing brand value, social media promotion, online advertising, and marketing your business, products, or services.
2. Customer Service
Customer service can help businesses grow by engaging with customers and increasing their brand loyalty. As customer relations can be a delicate dance, a third party of experts can help do it right. You can conveniently outsource your customer service support to an outside online chat service or a call center.
How It Helps: A customer service agency will act as a liaison between your company and your customers. They’ll handle communication and conflict mediation as well as any logistical questions customers may have. This can help you focus on your core goals, reduce labor costs, and stay confident that your customers are being taken care of.
3. Manufacturing
For small businesses and startups, in-house manufacturing can be an unnecessary cost. Outsourcing partners can help take care of the assembly of your product, which will typically mean a significant reduction in production costs.
How It Helps: Your manufacturing partner will handle the assembly of some parts or the whole of your product. Typically, a manufacturing facility that was created to handle these processes will be able to build these products at a lower cost.
4. Business Development and Sales
Your in-house team will most likely focus on creating and maintaining your service offerings, but that doesn’t mean lead generations and sales can fall by the wayside. A team of sales and development professionals can help generate more business to maintain business growth.
How It Helps: A firm devoted to business development and sales will have a team of experts ready to generate high-quality leads. They can conduct business research about which prospects are most likely to convert, which will also reduce the amount of time your internal sales or development team spends pitching potential new business partners.
5. Shipping and Logistics
Fulfillment can be a tedious task, especially for those who aren’t well-versed in the processes of doing it. For experienced teams, however, shipping, fulfillment, and delivery logistics are second nature.
How It Helps: A shipping and logistics partner will handle tasks like handling, managing, and shipping your product to a customer. They’ll also make sure the products arrive safely and on time, taking care to update and manage inventory so you don’t oversell.
6. Accounting
Accounting is one of the most essential business tasks but can be a headache for business owners, so it makes sense that accounting is the most outsourced business task. Hiring a dedicated team of professional accountants and bookkeepers can get this task off your plate while still allowing you to be confident that your sensitive financial information is safe and accurate.
How It Helps: An outside accounting resource can help you with evaluating your finances, creating and managing your budget, payroll, and other account and finance-related activities. These firms will also usually produce thorough financial reports that can help you make sense of your books and prepare for tax season.
7. Human Resources
Human resources is a core part of any business, as they perform tasks that help the company function and thrive. While business leaders might prefer to focus on meeting deadlines and generating profit rather than recruiting and hiring, a third-party HR agency can step in to make sure human resources tasks are taken care of.
How It Helps: Human resources will perform personnel-focused tasks like hiring and recruiting, payroll, onboarding, and managing team members. With an outsourced agency, you can pour more time and energy into these processes to make sure the best employees are being brought in and the team remains happy.
Advantages of Outsourcing
Choosing to outsource can help your business in many ways. For small business owners, the biggest motivation to outsource is cost reduction and flexibility. Outsourcing creates more room for you to focus more on the key to-dos while leaving more tedious and low-level business functions to an outside agency, all while saving you money.
A few more benefits of outsourcing projects include:
- Keeping focus on major business function
- Reducing production and labor costs
- Improving quality and enhancing growth
- Accessing a variety of talents and skills
- Increasing efficiency of business operations
- Generating high-quality business leads
Considerations Before Outsourcing
Outsourcing an essential business function can free up money, save time and create bandwidth for your in-house team. But even with so many advantages, you’ll still need to make a smart decision and consider several factors before committing.
You’ll need to evaluate the authenticity and credibility of the third-party provider, including their expertise, experiences, and certifications. Make sure your partner has the relevant experience and credentials to complete the task you’re hiring for.
Also, look at their business methods and means of production. It will be essential that your company and the third-party firm will develop a symbiotic, productive, and efficient relationship. Establish firm KPIs and set up a communication system that works well for both of you.
Taking the time to pick a partner that will work with your company will help set the partnership up for success before it begins.
Ready for the next steps?
Velocity Global is an expert partner that can help with outsourcing human resources and overcoming the challenges of outsourcing management. Find the best talent for your company’s unique needs across an international market.
