How To Outsource Effectively
If you’re going to stay competitive in the business world, you need to be on top of the latest strategies in operations, admin, sales, marketing, and other key areas of your business. With so much to cover, one of the best ways to be able to carry out your business effectively is to have the right people on board and to outsource.
Local Virtual Employees
This method works best for companies who need to delegate tasks to a person who has an understanding of the local market. Local virtual employees work in the same time zone as you, and they can be present physically if you need them to be.
This option can be expensive. You don’t want to get stuck with someone with mediocre skills just so you can pay them less.
Third-Party Company
Parenting with a third-company works well if they specialise in a more niche area, like IT, bookkeeping, or marketing translation services.
This option is more affordable, as you only need to hire them based on your need, and won’t need to spend anymoney on office space or equipment. If things don’t work out with the company, you can easily let go of their services. It’s much easier to do this than dismiss someone who works in-house.
The disadvantage of doing this is that you might not have full control over them, and will be limited by their internal processes as they work for other clients.
Freelancers
When you outsource to freelancers, you can save on overhead costs, like rent, equipment, insurance, or utilities, and you only have to hire when you need extra hands, even on short projects.
Freelancers are often engaged by other clients too, so they might not be dedicated to or focused on your company. It can also take some time to find and train a freelancer to get the job done for you.
You might want to choose the tasks you give to freelancers carefully. Anything with a tight deadline can be a risk, in case they put off your work until a later time or tell you that they are unavailable to accept your project at the moment.
Offshore Virtual Employees
Most outsourced work is done in developing countries, like India, as these are places where you can get access to great talent for much lower costs. There are skilled and dedicated workers here, and they can work part or full-time for your company without the extra costs of operational costs and the bonus of lower salary expectations.
You find offshore virtual employees and freelancers on sites like Upwork or Fiverr. It can be difficult to find the right fit for your company from such a wide range of options. It takes skill and experience to hire an employee. You can’t afford to rush the recruitment process. The recruitment time and reference checks should be the same as looking for an in-person employee. Spend time looking at previous work and portfolios, and interview a few different people until you can find the right match for your company.
