Many businesses – including my own – have a ‘virtual team’ of service providers who work in concert with our regular team of in-office staff members.
We have created the following infographic based on our experience and that of our clients who also have valuable outsourcing partnerships.
Use these tips to help you enjoy the benefits of outsourcing, while avoiding some of the hazards.
Use our free checklist to assess potential for outsourcing
Depending on your core capabilities and competitive advantage, there are some roles that make sense to outsource and others that should definitely remain in-house. You can use our free Outsourcing Checklist to help determine which is which.
The checklist encourages you to look at the key components of your business value chain and rank your core expertise in each. For any of these where you rate 1 or 2, consider and explore opportunities to use an outsourcing partner and formally document the expectations of both parties regarding what’s to be provided when, and for how much.
If your situation precludes that sort of service agreement and you can’t guarantee a sufficient level of consistent delivery and predictability (i.e. a substitute for direct ‘control’) then that's a good benchmark to indicate that particular activity may not be right for outsourcing.
If you would like advice about how outsourcing could add value or create efficiencies in your business, contact the team at JPAbusiness on 02 6360 0360 (Orange) or 02 9893 1803 (Parramatta) for a confidential, initial discussion.
James Price has over 30 years' experience in providing strategic, commercial and financial advice to Australian and international business clients. James' blogs provide business advice for aspiring and current small to mid-sized business owners, operators and managers.