The Pros and Cons of Outsourcing
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Outsourcing can be a great thing for your business, but at the same time it can hurt it. Yes, outsourcing can save your business a lot of money, but what happens if your company strives for customer service? Do you think they really want to talk with someone named “Raheed” over in India?
If your business, both small or large is thinking about outsourcing some projects, there are some great things that you should know about it, as well as bad things that you should know.
The Cons of Outsourcing
- 1. Lack of communication: If you’re going to outsource overseas, you’re going to be on a whole different time zone. Communication is going to be tough when you’re awake and they are more than likely sleeping.
- 2. Getting the message across: I have found with some companies that they just don’t get my project details. They start on the project, finish and it is something that I don’t even want. When I see someone in person, I can point things out.
- 3. Can get scammed: If you’re going to outsource, I would recommend that you work out an escrow service with someone that you don’t know that well. Once you establish a relationship, then you can feel more comfortable with your payments.
- 4. Training takes forever: Since you’re probably not going to see them in person, training can be a treat. Some companies catch on rather quickly, while others may take days to catch on. The bad thing is if you train them and they continue to quit on you.
- 5. You may lose customers: Have you ever called up tech support and you just get mad because they can’t speak English that well? Put yourself in your customers shoes here. You may lose customers with this.
The Pros of Outsourcing
- 1. Saves you money: Trust me, outsourcing can save you a ton of money. If you can find the right people overseas, you can see your profit margin grow substantially.
- 2. Cuts people from your business: The thing I like about outsourcing is that I’m able to cut back people here. I can work from a smaller office or even home. That, in turn lowers a lot of other costs.
- 3. Focus on other things: Let’s face it that there are grunt tasks in every business. The CEO doesn’t want to do data entry. Instead, since your time is money, you’re going to want to focus on bigger and better things.
- 4. Get more employees: In India, you can generally get 10 employees for the price of 1 American. Yes, this is bad for the U.S. economy, but great for your labor force. Again, if its grunt work, its the way to go.
- 5. Flexible staff: With outsourcing, you can give work as you please. Now, with an employee, you’re going to have to keep them busy at all times. Trust me, an outsourced employee doesn’t care if you give them 100 hours or none at all.
By now, you should get a better idea on whats going to work for you. I highly recommend services such as Elance online. This is a great place to either find a qualified individual or even a company.
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