Is outsourcing right for your business?

Outsourcing is a concept where organisations of all sizes can leverage the best global talent with the added benefit of saving significantly on employment costs. Not only will a business see an immediate bottom line, it will also enable them to become a leaner, more productive operation - ideal for our current economic conditions.

However not all businesses are ready for outsourcing. There are four key crucial checklist items you must be able to tick off to in order to be able to initiate an outsourced operation, they are:

1. You have clear systems and processes in place

   In order for your business to outsource successfully, you need to be highly systemised and process driven. This kind of organisation lends itself well to working with outsourced resources and remote staff. Not only will it significantly simplify the training process, it will ensure your offshore team are productive and producing a high quality output for your business.

2. You’re in the cloud

   Any business that currently operates in the cloud is potentially ready to integrate an outsourced team. Cloud-based software provides you with the agility and flexibility to work from anywhere. No longer are staff confined to the same office. Cloud-based systems are incredibly efficient when working with geographically spread teams and the productivity gains, in terms of collaboration and real time communication, are invaluable.

3. You have the culture

   We have seen many businesses who look and feel like they could easily integrate an outsourced team, yet they fail at it. This is simply because the corporate culture is such that the business is not ready to work with remote staff and cross-cultural teams. If you think you might get push back from your staff about the idea of outsourcing to the Philippines, then have a close look at your culture. Consider if your team has been successful at implementing change in the past, are they open to new ideas, and will they try new things to drive performance during these tough times?

4. You have clear functional areas within your business

   In the past, we have been approached by solo-entrepreneurs about leveraging offshore support for their business. If you don’t have defined functions in your business, it will be difficult for you to outsource effectively. You need to be able to clearly define an outsourced role and the tasks associated with it. Your new team member can’t be everything to everyone - otherwise you’ll be setting yourself up for failure.

   If you checked some or all of these boxes then you might be ready to consider taking the next step in your outsourcing journey.

   If you want to learn more about outsourcing, download this step-by-step guide.