As you begin to establish your goals for the year ahead, now is a suitable time to consider what internal operations you can outsource so that you can focus on your objectives. By outsourcing specific tasks, you can save time and money that would otherwise be spent on hiring internal staff and dealing with complex and repetitive projects and processes.
Today, businesses can outsource anything from quick data entry activities to major ongoing functions like accounting and marketing. Of course, it wouldn’t make sense to leave everything in your company up to external service providers. You need to carefully determine what should be outsourced and what’s better off being done by your own employees.
To make this easier, we’ve put together a quick list of four functions your business certainly should consider outsourcing.
Accounting
Let’s start with the most commonly outsourced task, which is accounting. If you don’t yet have a dedicated accountant on staff, it’s a good idea to outsource the work to a professional.
This will spare you the tedium of having to keep up with bookkeeping, tax preparation, and other financial necessities that need to be maintained accurately and in line with regulations. A simple mistake or oversight here can have serious consequences, so it’s wise to ensure that your accounting work is being done properly.
HR
In most small organizations, the owner is responsible for managing the HR department. This might initially work, but as more staff are hired and internal affairs become more complex, the burden of human resources is best handed over to a qualified external team.
In doing so, you can streamline workflows and be assured that crucial tasks such as benefits, compliance, recruiting, and insurance are being managed correctly. The HR Outsourcing guide by G&A Partners provides an informative overview of what to expect and how to go about outsourcing your human resources needs.
IT
Now more than ever, technological proficiency is vital to staying competitive. At the same time, an in-house IT team and all of the associated resources have requirements that are out of reach for most small businesses. That’s why the setting up and maintenance of devices, systems, and digital services is typically handled by an appropriate outsourcing partner.
There are many benefits to outsourcing your IT needs. For example, you will have someone to rely on for quick support in the event of a cyberattack or technical issue that may otherwise cripple your systems and disrupt operations.
Customer Service
In businesses with a lot of customer interactions, it can be useful to outsource the demand to an online chat service or call center. Keep in mind that you’ll initially have to provide certain resources to the outsourcing partner so that they understand your company and needs. But after that, you’ll have seamless customer support and more spare time.
A few other functions to consider outsourcing are administration, marketing, research, and manufacturing. Take a look at what consumes most of your time and resources, then see from there whether those tasks are suitable outsourcing candidates.