6 Things You Need to Consider Before Outsourcing

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Determining If You Need to Outsource

Outsourcing is effective for businesses. When choosing an outsourced support team, you are also choosing a business partner that can set you up for success.

There are many things to consider, but the benefits of outsourcing are far greater than the amount you are willing to invest. Consider asking yourself these questions before outsourcing.

1. Does The Country I Wish To Outsource to Have Existing Laws That Safeguard And Protect Outsourcing?

We are talking about two things here: political and economic. When it comes to political outlook, look for a country where leaders equally value foreign investor relations, national interest, and economic growth equally. A country with governing laws on foreign investors balances job security for both its people and investors.

A country should also have a solid foundation on patents and intellectual property (IP) rights. Outsourcing companies are required to have a sound judgment and understanding of these to protect client data. Regulations on confidentiality and IP ensure your data is safe and secure and prevent them from getting lost or stolen.

Apart from political stability, economic stability also plays a key factor. Look for countries that offer legal and tax incentives.

2. Is The Company's Infrastructure Up-to-date With Existing Technology?

To ensure business runs smoothly, the infrastructure of an outsourcing company should be reliable. Is their system up-to-date? Do they have backups for downtime? Do they have complete and functional office equipment?

You can also inquire about the tools and technologies being used to determine their capacity and capability for additional work should the need arise in the future. Very important to consider also is their internet service provider (ISP). At the minimum, outsourcing companies should have at least a backup ISP should the primary one encounter intermittent connection.

3. Is The Outsourcing Company A Good Cultural Fit For My Business And Clients? What Does Their Company Culture Say About Them?

Business owners would like to partner with an outsourcing company that can measure up and understand their customers' needs and wants anywhere they may be in the world. Each country is different, and an outsourcing company must be flexible and adaptive enough to your market's needs.

Company culture also says a lot about the organization and its people... Research shows that corporate culture has an impact on productivity, creativity, profitability, and growth rates.

It's also good practice to find out if they have the same values as your business. A happy office culture brings the best in everyone.

4. Is The Management Team Capable of Providing Quality Work and Empowering Their Employees? What's Their Work Process Like?

As a business owner, you will be working closely with the management group leading a team of experts at your service. Thoroughly check to ensure if they have the experience that meets your requirements. With experienced management, you can rest easy knowing that your business can run smoothly.

More than experience, equally important is to gauge their confidence and enthusiasm to deliver work that exceeds expectations.

Ask hard-hitting questions about your business or the specific project you wish to outsource and see how they will answer. Their willingness and ingenuity combined already spells success.

5. How Effective Are the Communication Efforts?

Working with teams across different time zones is one of the many benefits of outsourcing, made manageable by communications tools. Ideally, outsourcing companies have team members assigned to work on a project for streamlined communication. For faster communication, instant messaging is the way to go; for reports, use email.

Depending on the type of communication, the key is understanding. Communicating online can leave some room for interpretation due to physical barriers, such as connectivity issues, type of voice, and tonality, among others. Straighten out the nuances of personal rapport with the team members first, and then you can move on and discuss the business side of things.

Getting on a call with your team members to review the performance or raise agendas you may have for the business is a good measure to keep you and the team on one page. Efficient and effective communication goes a long way.

6. How Much Is the Value I'm Willing to Pay for Outsourced Work?

The primary objective of outsourcing is to reduce production and operational cost. By capitalizing on skilled workers who can do the job, you can save time and money.

Remember that your budget should be reasonable enough to cover your outsourcing team's time and effort.

First, ask yourself: how much am I willing to spend? Once you have a figure in mind, the next thing to consider is the contract terms: will this be a one-year or monthly period?

While it's practical to compute for the hourly rate you are willing to shell out, remember that productivity and results aren't quantifiable by the hour. You can't put a price on quality work rendered.