When and Why Startups Should Engage with Outsourcing Partners

For a business to survive in an ever-evolving market, finding the most appropriate yet practical means of operation is essential. This is why many companies are now adopting or experimenting with various processes to find the best fit for their business model. But the truth is, a process that is working for you right now may not work in the same way after 5 years or so. Growth will always be an integral step in your business. To make sure that you are accommodating your needs as you scale, finding the right operational processes that suit your setup should be a priority.

To run a business successfully, consider the goals you plan to accomplish and how you will be able to accomplish them. This is one reason why many companies, especially startups, turn to outsourcing. This business process offers a variety of benefits and is usually the ideal setup for newly established companies that want to make the most of the limited resources that they have available.

When and Why Should Startup Companies Outsource?

While more and more companies are choosing to outsource, some still remain skeptical. It does make sense for some business owners to think twice before they proceed with a major decision like outsourcing their processes. But when can you really tell if your startup company should proceed with outsourcing? Here are some tips to help you know when and why you should outsource.

1. Scale manpower

As a startup business, there will come a time when you will have to jumpstart or improve existing processes. Some business owners might decide to hire more people to get past these hurdles. But when you are a new business, hiring more in-house employees might not be the right move. Onboarding internal staff can siphon away more of your resources with the time and expense required for recruitment, training, and employee benefits. Outsourcing is the best way to scale manpower quickly with less of the usual preparations required for hiring new people. With the help of an outsourcing provider, you can simply identify your business needs and let your provider do the rest. No need for you to recruit or train people.

2. Boost team efficiency

When your team is responsible for more than it can handle, overall efficiency and quality of the products or services that you are delivering to your customers can be negatively impacted. Consider whether there are tasks that you can outsource for the purpose of improving your team’s productivity. As long as you identify the right process and work with a reliable outsourcing partner, you can improve your team’s effectiveness, meet more goals in less time, and even boost your revenue more quickly.

3. Lower operational costs

One of the biggest concerns startups have is accommodating operational costs. If you are running a startup, you will usually have a limited amount of money to spare for operations. So how do you work around that limitation and scale up your operations? Outsource! In fact, a recent survey of businesses shows that 59% of respondents consider outsourcing as a cost-cutting tool. Outsourcing some of your operations can cut your labor costs by up to 70%. With this, you can even redirect your resources to help you improve core processes for your business.

4. Focus on core functions

As your startup company grows, the number of tasks your team will need to handle also increases. Sometimes, you might feel like you are losing sight of what is actually important to your core business functions. If you want to redirect your in-house team’s focus on main business processes, you should consider outsourcing other non-core functions. If your business is experiencing rapidly expanding, you should consider outsourcing your secondary activities so that you can provide high quality front-end services.

Things You Might Be Concerned About When Outsourcing

Outsourcing may seem like a possible fit for your start up with these factors in mind. But what aspects of outsourcing some of your business processes should you be concerned about or pay close attention to? Here are some additional insights for startups considering an outsourcing partner.

1. Outsourcing Too Soon

One mistake to avoid is engaging with an outsourcing provider to handle specific business functions without a clear understanding of how these aspects work in-house. Before outsourcing processes such as IT or accounting, you should see to it that you have a clear direction you would like to take. You need to be able to communicate your goals and standards to your outsourcing partner so they can seamlessly take these tasks on for you. Your outsourcing reasons should also align with your company’s vision, and someone or a micro team in-house should be leading or directing that outsourcing team.

2. Relying Too Much on Outsourcing

There may come a time when you feel that too many of your business functions have been outsourced, but you don’t have the in-house talent to bring them back in. This is usually the case when a company grows very fast with a crucial requirement for instant communication. First, identify the right time to bring processes in-house. Typically, this is when new and essential developments come into play, such as new tech platforms that your company should use. You can use these opportunities to bring in a new executive or team leader who can oversee the transition process and work with the outsourcing provider to migrate work back to your internal team.

3. Returning to Outsourcing

Another concern startups have, especially when undergoing rapid growth, arises when they retain redundant operations or teams with overlapping functions. Outsourcing can allow you to appropriately downsize and consolidate processes and personnel without a lost in productivity. Take your company’s marketing functions, for example. Marketing is an integral company process, but it does not make sense to keep a large team on the company payroll if the process is something that can be delegated to an outsourced team that can be more focused on meeting and scaling your marketing goals. If you are looking to boost your team’s efficiency, scale your manpower, focus on core operations and lower your costs, you should consider outsourcing some of your backend processes.

Whether you are a startup business or have been stagnant for a while and would like to continue growing, working with a trusted outsourcing partner will help you meet your goals. Talk to us here at Assivo to find out how we can provide you with an outsourcing solution that can help you improve your efficiency, productivity and overall processes, so that you can achieve your goals.