A growing organization requires leaders to rethink current internal processes and make changes that benefit the business in the long run. While keeping every task in-house made sense as a small business with limited resources, attempting to maintain the same setup as a midsize or large business can often end up decreasing productivity, lowering the quality of your offerings and moving the entire team away from core competencies.
Outsourcing business tasks can be an easy way to free up more time and refocus the team's attention on efforts that move the business forward. However, leaders must proceed carefully and have a plan to ensure solid, usable work is produced. To help leaders get a better idea of how to go about implementing outsourcing with their organizations, nine Newsweek Expert Forum members each share one strategic method to leverage when deciding what work should be outsourced.
1. Start at the Basic Level
Start with the basics of who, what, when and why. Align the work chosen for outsourcing with the primary business objective. Are you outsourcing for financial reasons? Is there a high-quality service needed that internal resources cannot fulfill? Understand the objective first, then align the work to be outsourced with the best provider of that service to meet that objective. - Margie Kiesel, Isidore Partners
2. Perform an Assessment of Your Staff's Abilities
To determine what work needs to be outsourced, leaders should perform a staffing assessment to ensure no one on the team can perform the work or be trained to perform the work. Sometimes, leaders do not use their current talent to their full capacity or seek opportunities to promote from within the organization. - LaKesha Womack, Womack Consulting Group
3. Analyze Core Competencies
One strategic method leaders can use to decide what work should be outsourced is conducting a thorough analysis of their organization's core competencies. They should identify tasks outside their core areas of expertise or those that external parties can perform more efficiently and cost-effectively. Outsourcing non-core activities allows leaders to free up internal resources. - Alan Wozniak, Business Health Matters (BHM) Executive Consulting
4. Conduct a Thorough Cost-Benefit Analysis
Identify tasks that are not core to your business, are time-consuming and could be performed more efficiently or cost-effectively by external experts. By weighing the cost of outsourcing against the potential benefits, leaders can make informed decisions that streamline operations and maximize productivity. - Anna Yusim, MD, Yusim Psychiatry, Consulting & Executive Coaching
5. Determine Which Tasks Require More Time or Expertise
It can be difficult to locate reliable professionals who can provide high-quality work. In order to address this challenge, we have begun to outsource tasks that we may not have sufficient time for or lack the expertise to handle. Additionally, we thoroughly verify the potential hire's resume and references to ensure their past work ethic is satisfactory. - Tammy Sons, Tn Nursery
6. Identify Unclear Processes
Documentation and process are vital to successful outsourcing. Test that you have effectively documented processes by delegating internally first. Have an internal resource complete the process with the documentation and test if it is sufficient. If a task can't be documented with a clear process, it won't be successful if outsourced. - Krista Neher, Boot Camp Digital
7. Separate Core Business Functions
Only outsource generic functions that are not your core business. For example, Boeing and Lockheed build aircraft. They can outsource the making of food galleys and tires since these may not be their core competencies, but the actual building and design of the aircraft and its key technical features should remain in-house. - Zain Jaffer, Zain Ventures
8. Seek Alignment
Alignment is necessary. When you outsource, make sure contractors understand the mission, believe in the cause and are onboarded according to your company's values and standards. Help them understand that they are an extension of your company—one team, one dream, one vision. This will ensure the end recipient receives a seamless, cohesive product. - Vonda Wright, L2 Defense, Inc.
9. Ensure You Have a Full Understanding of the Situation
Outsourcing often helps organizations to become more efficient when managed well. After completing a thorough analysis of core competencies, strategic plans and forecasts, resource gaps, capacity planning, time horizon, risk tolerance and quality requirements, leaders can move ahead with outsourcing backed by clear understanding of customer requirements, business operations and market dynamics. - Lillian Gregory, The 4D Unicorn LLC
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
