What to Outsource: 8 Business Tasks that are Best Outsourced
Almost every business task can be outsourced but there are 5 that would benefit your business the most when outsourced. Read on to find out.
Almost every business task can be outsourced but there are 8 processes that would benefit your business the most when outsourced. Read on to find out what they are.
In a perfect world, entrepreneurs believe they can do everything themselves to position their businesses to reach sustainable success and growth. Alas, this isn’t a perfect world. Competition in the market is getting tougher each day and you must seek a business partner who can help not only to keep your business in the game but rise to the top in the long run.
Outsourcing is the key business strategy entrepreneurs and startups turn to when they want to alleviate the burden of repetitive and time-consuming tasks to focus on the ultimate objective – bringing new prospects into the business. But what services or business tasks should you outsource? Should you retain core processes and only outsource non-critical processes? One would wish it was that simple. So let’s find out the real answer.
4 Questions to Help Guide You on Deciding What Tasks to Outsource
Before starting your offshoring journey, you might want to consider a few questions that could help you land on the most ideal business processes to outsource:
1. Which tasks do I deplore doing?
These tasks are the ones that just the thought of doing, fill you with dread.
2. Are there tasks that I tend to put off doing?
Though you may not completely dread these tasks, they’re the ones that you tend to prolong or delay.
3. Which tasks are repetitive?
These are the ones that must be done consistently but don’t really add any real value to your business.
4. Am I an expert at this task?
If a certain area of your business is not your strong point, no need to pretend you’re awesome at it because you’ll just end up losing time, effort, and money.
If you’re still unsure, don’t worry because we’re here to make things easier for you. We’ve made a list of business tasks that are better off outsourced so you can focus on more important business matters.
Also Read: Top 11 Tips for Successful Outsourcing
Here are the 8 Business Tasks that are Best Outsourced:
When planning to outsource, it is important to consider the benefits you could get in a business function. To help you decide which is which, here’s a list of the most outsourced business tasks and why it’s ideal to outsource them.
1. Administrative tasks
With advances in technology, increased connectivity speeds, and cloud services, companies now don’t necessarily need an office with a number of people for their business to run. Outsourcing data entry, travel arrangements, typing, and other administrative tasks to a virtual assistant or administrative service can save on costs and reduce overheads.
2. Customer Support
More calls mean more sales. So, if you want to keep your customers or acquire new ones, calls and inquiry tickets should not be left hanging, but instead, be promptly answered. Customer support is more efficient when it’s outsourced because you get access to a dedicated team that provides outstanding customer service by ensuring your customers receive the help or answer they need when they need it.
3. Human Resources
Human Resources has grown increasingly more challenging through the years that various functions of the HR department are too comprehensive and complex to maintain in-house. If you don’t want benefits administration and compliance issues to eat up your precious time, then outsource Human Resource functions to reliable outsourcing companies.
4. Graphic Design
Doing your best to give that flyer or poster pizzaz can take you days or weeks if you’re not a graphic design expert. Outsourcing graphic design for projects or promotions is cheaper, won’t leave you worried or stressed about running behind schedule, and you’re assured of a quality design because it’s in the hands of a creative expert.
5. Accounting
Technology has advanced to where sharing documents and data is quick, secure, and reliable that it’s the perfect time to outsource financial functions. Bookkeeping, invoicing, and accounts payable and receivable, as well as financial reporting, analysis, and planning, can be handled by accounting firms or individuals to save you considerable hours, headaches, and dollars.
6. Data Entry
Data is a powerful resource. It shapes how you do business — from making crucial business decisions to identifying future trends. But data can also be destructive. Erroneous, misleading, incomplete, and incorrectly formatted data can lead to lower productivity, loss in revenue, delivery errors, failed marketing initiatives, and misinformed decisions, among others.
Maintaining the accuracy and integrity of your database can keep these threats at bay. And it all starts from the initial point of entry — data entry.
Data entry is a task you shouldn’t ignore. It is the process of entering raw data into your computer system and is necessary to update regularly to keep your business communications relevant. It may look like a boring and unimportant role but its impact on your overall data management is enormous. Let the experts do this tedious task for you so you and your employees can focus more on your core expertise.
7. Technical Support
Technical support is the after-sales service you provide to your product or service users. Unlike customer service which deals with delivery or payment issues, your tech support team helps users resolve technical problems such as login errors, bugs, and other device issues that cause a negative user experience.
Outsourcing technical support helps you provide a quick and helpful way to address customer problems. This service is usually provided using a knowledge base, phone, live chat, or email.
8. IT Services
Outsourcing IT services offers a lot of benefits for both small and large businesses. It might just be what your business needs to scale as necessary and be always on top of industry trends.
In this service, your outsourcing partner will help you identify IT tools and practices to increase business efficiency and productivity. They will help you develop a holistic approach to your business and take the time to understand your needs and objectives before providing actionable ideas to enhance your IT infrastructure.
Here’s a list of IT services you can outsource:
- IT Helpdesk Support
- Network Support
- Remote Server Support
- Quality Assurance
- Network Operations Center
- Cloud Integrations
In Conclusion
Outsourcing is a good business strategy but keep in mind that it is still the job of the business to make sure that outsourced services are delivering as promised and to measure them accordingly. Being responsible enough can make the difference between staying in business and going out of business.
What business task did your company outsource? How’s it working out so far? Tell us in the comment section below.
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