WHAT IS OUTSOURCING
Outsourcing is a common business strategy where an individual or company will hire a third-party service provider to perform specific services or tasks for them. The service provider is usually paid on a short-term or long-term contractual basis rather than as an employee of the client.
Are you wondering whether outsourcing is right for you? Let us examine the advantages and disadvantages of choosing to outsource your work to someone else.
ADVANTAGES OF OUTSOURCING
SAVINGS
The number one reason to outsource is to save money on labor. Paying a third-party service provider under contract is much cheaper than hiring a new employee because you are not legally obligated to pay minimum wage or employee benefits to the contractor.
PAY UPON COMPLETION
Even if the contract job is worth a lot of money, you don’t have to pay the contractor again once they finish the work and complete the contract.
FAST ACCESS TO A WIDE RANGE OF TALENT
Outsourcing allows you to quickly find talent with different skill sets in a variety of fields. You don’t have to bother hiring multiple employees with various skills, especially when you don’t need to utilize those skills regularly.
NO LONG TERM CONTRACT
You can hire a contractor with the right skills to complete a particular task when you need it to be done. Afterward, you have no further obligation to them.
SCALE UP YOUR SMALL BUSINESS AFFORDABLE & QUICKLY
Outsourcing provides entrepreneurs and small business owners with an affordable way to scale up their businesses in ways they could never do before. Since outsourcing doesn’t require you to bear the burden of hiring employees, you can maintain a network of contractors who are on call whenever you need them.
PAY AS YOU GO
The best part is that you only pay them when you need them, too. You may require their services every week, every month or even every year.
DISADVANTAGES OF OUTSOURCING
NO BACKGROUND CHECKS TO VERIFY CREDENTIALS
Third-party service providers don’t typically fill out job applications with their personal information on them. Because of this, you cannot perform background checks on contractors to verify their credentials, education, and experience as you can with traditional job applicants.
RISKY
As a result, there is a much higher risk involved with outsourcing because you run the risk of hiring someone who doesn’t truly have the skills that they claim to possess. Hiring an unskilled contract could result in low-quality work on the task that you needed them to complete.
LESS OVERSIGHT AND RELIANCE
Outsourcing puts you at the mercy of the contractor. You cannot perform direct oversight of their time management and work routines because you are not there with them in person to oversee their job. All you have to judge their work is the quality of the final service they deliver to you.
NOT COMPLETED ON SCHEDULE
But what happens if they cannot deliver the work on schedule? If it is something you desperately need to get done, you have no guarantee that the contractor will provide the completed work according to your schedule. Too much reliance on contractors could get your business in trouble if they start becoming less reliant at some point.
COMMUNICATION BARRIERS
The internet gives you access to third-party service providers in countries from around the world. While that might give you broader access to people with diverse skills, it also creates more communication and language barriers. You’re more likely to find contractors who either don’t speak your native language or speak it brokenly.
WASTED EFFORTS
Communication barriers can cause problems if the contractor you hire doesn’t understand your project requirements or directions. Your only option is to find a contractor who understands your native language, but that could limit the number of qualified contractors available to perform your job.
HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT PERSON FOR OUTSOURCING
You can find tens of thousands of different freelancers, contractors, and third-party service providers on all the top outsourcing platforms online. The challenge is choosing the right person to complete your outsourcing job well.
WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR
Here are some general tips on how to choose the right person for outsourcing:
GOOD RATINGS AND REVIEWS
The first thing you should do is look at the contractor’s ratings and reviews on the outsourcing platform you’re on. The ratings and reviews left for them by their previous clients can help you determine if they are skilled and trustworthy contractors. Look for contractors with mostly positive reviews and 4 or 5-star ratings because it means that most of their past clients were satisfied with their work.
IMPRESSIVE WORK PORTFOLIO
Truly professional and skilled contractors will display their work portfolios for potential clients to observe. Work portfolios showcase examples of a contractor’s previous work for other clients. Look for contractors who display their work portfolios because you can browse through their past work to determine if they can do the kind of work that you need.
TOP OUTSOURCING PLATFORMS
Are you searching for prominent outsourcing platforms to scout for freelancers and contractors? Here are the top outsourcing platforms below:
FIVERR
Fiverr has become the number one outsourcing platform online. It specifically focuses on small outsourcing projects and tasks across a global network for freelancers and buyers.
It is easy for clients to purchase freelancing services on Fiverr. All you have to do is create an account, find a freelancer who is selling the service that you want, and then place an order for that freelancer’s service. They will complete the work and upload it to the project page within the timeframe they specified.
UPWORK
Upwork is another huge outsourcing platform that connects independent service providers with business professionals to perform short-term or long-term projects. Some contractors even get hired full-time by clients if the job is ongoing.
Upwork allows business professionals (clients) to post projects for freelancers to find and apply for on the platform. It is almost like a job application process where the freelancers apply for jobs, and the clients browse through portfolios and resumes to determine which freelancers they want to hire.
CONCLUSION
Outsourcing can be a significant benefit to businesses that need affordable labor from on-call contractors who can perform the necessary services whenever the businesses need them. Sure, there are some risks involved with hiring contractors, but the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages for small businesses and entrepreneurs.