Living in times like this, when the global economy has been pushed down by a few notches on the charts and the market only seems to be moving downward, a tighter and well evaluated budget seems to be the most important priority right now for everyone. During these times, working with freelancers and virtual assistants does not seem something that most companies will keep doing, as they try to cut off unnecessary expenses. Especially for small businesses, which are the ones most threatened by this situation, this could be testing times. Is this valid though?
You will probably say yes, without dwelling too much on it. However here is a revolutionary idea for you. Outsourcing can actually be the most cost effective solution for your company, especially in times like this. You can make your business not only survive but flourish through the recession, if you think and act the right way.
Outsourcing means hiring people to do what you cannot do or don’t have time to do, in simple words. These assistants can perform all sort of tasks, providing extremely useful assistance in administration, copywriting, translation, web development, project monitoring, maintenance and other time consuming services. They are basically contracted assistants who work for you without costing you any extra expense other than their regular rates with no benefits, no taxes and no frills that usually tag along with a regular in house employee. It is proven that hiring an outsourcer to do the job that an employee would do, generally means at least 30% less expense.
Consider a simple example. An average business spends at least 40% of the working time in all kinds of administrative work, including both simple and complicated tasks. If you hire an assistant to do this work online for you, then you can free some in house employees and create more time for both them and you, which you can then dedicate to other tasks, equally vital for your business.
Consider the advertising and marketing field. Usually advertising companies and marketing managers cost a thick packet when working full time for you. Why
not hire an outsourcer to do the same job? There are a lot of experienced and creative people out there who will work for you for lesser money than an
in house employee, will produce the same amount of work and can provide alternatives in communication and marketing solutions that can also prove cost effective. Don’t forget that outsourcers do not usually follow the conventional marketing techniques, are extremely familiar with the workings of the World Wide Web and can establish some great PR and marketing campaigns for you from anywhere in the world.
Think how an outsourcer can help you and start engaging your existing freelance assistants in new projects and new ideas. It is important to remember that surviving a recession means to get more creative and more proactive and think of ways to tide over the crisis.
It’s a simple rule – when you do not have the resources, you outsource. In fact the necessity coined the term.
Companies, while working toward efficiency, realized that it was to their advantage to have a core team for core job components. The rest could be taken care of by hiring experts- -this saves costs of having permanent employees, maybe training them and so on. Moreover, it allows the firm to focus on its core competencies.
The manufacturing industry has long been outsourcing production of parts. Automobile manufacturers, for instance, draw on ancillaries to supply the smaller components for their car manufacturing business. Some may also look at options of housing dedicated vendors within their factory premises. Naturally, things are different for the services industry, relatively new to outsourcing. For one, you most probably will not have dedicated vendors; what’s more, you don’t need to. And two, you need not surround yourself with them, because often the services can be transmitted via the internet.
The zenith of the services sector is as yet invisible. Each day throws up a new opportunity which can quickly be converted into a service. These service providers further make use of the internet to advertise their expertise and skills. There are a number of sites for freelancers where one advertises for a fee. You as a business also face new challenges each day. It may so happen that your current team does not have the skill to cope with a new project – so you hire a consultant (expensive) or you outsource, project basis. Hence, you turn to freelancers’ sites or contact service providers through someone who has used their services earlier.
Outsourcing cannot be entirely risk free, but researching the market thoroughly for good picks and doing a background check on the soundness of the agency is a good idea. Websites of service providers display their portfolio and testimonials from their clients. It is safe to assume that the testimonials will be true. Virtual dealings imply a certain amount of trust. Nevertheless, one needs to be on guard for overfed resumes and bulging portfolios.
Outsourcing is no longer the rich man’s preserve. Anyone may outsource to anyone else, it’s a flat hierarchy and he who calls for the service provider is the boss for the day. Thus it is easy for companies to find professionals they need. With the internet, the globe is everybody’s oyster.
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