Outsourcing is beneficial for every organization. Through outsourcing, companies can increase output, improve efficiency and get expert help without hiring. However, not all business tasks should be outsourced to outside parties. Some business processes will run more smoothly and even cost the company less if they are handled within the company. This article highlights some of the key things you should stop outsourcing if you want to stop costs.
Content:
- Leadership
- Employee Development
- Employment Termination
- Things You Are Really Good At
- Things That Cost More to Outsource
- Things That Can Wait
- Tasks That You Can Learn Easily
Leadership
Active leadership is essential for the success of your company. Being a leader in your company has two key advantages. One, you are in a better position to lead the company towards achieving its goals since you are the same person who set those goals. Two, as a leader, you can have a better relationship with the employees and your customers compared to a relationship they would have with an outside party. And since you are the owner of the business, it will be easier for your employees to trust you not only to lead them but also cater to their needs.
Employee Development
Another area you should not outsource is employee development. Through employee development, you get to grow the skills and knowledge of your workforce. This leads to increased productivity, better work attitudes and higher employee retention. The key reason you shouldn’t outsource employee development is because you are the person who best understands the capabilities of your employees as well as the needs of your company. Hiring outside help will not only cost you money, but the person you hire will take time learning your company’s goals and employee needs. However, taking charge doesn’t mean you need to do everything by yourself. You can carry out the assessment and planning and then hire someone to do the training, especially in areas where you are not an expert.
Employment Termination
Termination cases can turn ugly and this is probably the reason why some business leaders choose to outsource employee termination. While outsourcing can keep you from dealing with employees who are not ready to be let go, it is best if you handle the terminations by yourself. Doing so has three key benefits. One, as the leader, you understand the performance of team members and thus will be in a better position to know who to let go and who to keep.
Two, it is a sign of courtesy. According to an article on The Balance Careers, you should not fire an employee unless you do so face to face. It is a sign of courtesy that should be extended to everyone and it is also the best way to ensure that you don’t break trust with the remaining employees. Finally, it cuts costs since you don’t have to rely on someone else to do it for you.
Things You Are Really Good At
If you are really good at something, don’t hire someone else to do it for you. The same applies to the things that your employees can do really well. Figure out what everyone in your company does well and stop outsourcing those tasks. This is a good way of making use of the resources that you already have to cut on costs.
Things That Cost More to Outsource
If a job will cost more to outsource than it would if you did it yourself, refrain from outsourcing that job. Also, if you will spend more time explaining how the job should be done compared to the time you could have spent doing that job, then it is not worth outsourcing. Outsourcing such a task will cost you both your time and money.
Things That Can Wait
One of the reasons for outsourcing is to meet deadlines. It helps you get more done when you don’t have enough time in your hands. However, if the pending task is not urgent and you’re certain you will have some free time later, leave it pending until you have the time. This will save on costs and keep you from being idle when there isn’t much to do at the office.
Tasks That You Can Learn Easily
Finally, don’t outsource a task if you can easily learn how to do it. For instance, it’s easy to learn how to create a newsletter, and not something that is worth outsourcing. Constantly learning new things will reduce the amount of outside help you need to keep your company going. Thus, every time you have some free time, learn something new and this will cut your operating costs. However, don’t take on so much that you end up neglecting your core competencies.
By handling most of the tasks without outside help, you will cut costs, grow skills and remain in control of major decisions. It will also help in preserving your company secrets. However, your company may still need to outsource some tasks, now or in the future, as you expand your business operations. When drawing a line between what to outsource and what should be done in-house consider skills and expertise, time, cost and the sensitivity of the issue.
