What do October and outsourcing have in common? They both have the fear factor.Whilst outsourcing is less of a taboo these days - £2.2billion of outsourcing contracts were signed in the UK this time last year - STILL some of us are fearful at the mere mention. So what's giving us the creeps?
Offshoring
You'd be forgiven for conjuring chilling images of international call centres at the mention of the 'O' word, but did you know that at the beginning of the year nearly 10% of the UK's workforce was in outsourcing - second in size only to the US!
Affordability
This is the most common of all jitters but it really shouldn't be. The whole ethos of outsourcing is efficiency at a reduced cost. Sure, many have been stung in the past by expensive agencies, but if expectations and costs are agreed from the outset then there won't be any nasty surprises along the way.
You already HAVE a marketing department?
Then you're in a great position; a good team, valuable skills and in-house support at your disposal. But outsourcing some of the workload would free up your team's time to then spend on strategic planning and long term goals, not to mention gain external opinion and fresh perspective. It also provides an opportunity to access specialist skills without the overheads of bringing them in-house, full time.
It's risky!
As risky as paying the recruitment and training fees on the wrong candidate? And how do you recuperate all the time you invested? Let someone else shoulder those challenges.What's more, quite often the pricing structure for outsourcing is on an hourly basis - so every minute counts. You're quite within reason to ask for work and time to be itemised, which means that clear objectives, visibility and reporting are paramount - something that is not always as disciplined in-house.In the words of Peter F Drucker "Do what you do best and outsource the rest!" Outsourcing enables you to focus on the area of your business that requires YOUR full time and expertise, whilst a team of experts add value by doing what THEY do best. A flexible and dynamic team will adopt to your business and your processes, so it doesn't mean letting go of control, it means working collaboratively, and cost effectively, to reach your business goals.If you're looking to enhance your team, get fresh perspectives or simply banish the ghouls around outsourcing get in touch with a member of our team!Sources: Raconteur
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