Many businesses need certain services but do not often have the resources to hire such expertise full time. In other cases, it could be the services are needed only in the short term, making it inadvisable to hire such talent full time. Outsourcing is a good way for such businesses to access the services they need, at a lower cost and just for the duration required. Here are a few ways that such businesses can outsource services that will benefit their business, with minimal impact on their bottom line.
Relocate Core Team Members
Sometimes the expertise to carry out certain functions may be present within the company, but hiring a large enough labour force locally could prove financially prohibitive. It can help to recruit staff from a cheaper location and relocate some in your core team here. They can take on supervision and training of the new staff to the standard you require. This is often done by multinationals with such functions as customer care, manufacturing, and marketing.
Since such locations often come with a lower cost of living, you can then likely reduce employee wages. If you choose to shut down the department at the head office, the wages no longer paid to those that were laid off will often be more than enough to cover the costs of the relocation and hiring of new staff at the new location. You may even be able to better afford a larger team with better expertise. Should you end up with a lower wage bill, then the extra money can go toward reinvesting in other areas of the business or providing a greater return to shareholders.
Remote Workers
Where the services required can be accessed online, you may not even need to relocate any staff. You can use online job platforms to access remote workers in just about any part of the world. From IT experts to bookkeepers, many professionals can be engaged at a fraction of the cost of hiring someone locally. You can make it an ongoing service or have them perform one-off jobs, when and as needed.
Video conferencing technologies can also make for better communication with such a workforce. Tutorials and webinars can also help them to brush up on any gaps in knowledge so they can quickly adapt to how the business works. Such workers are not part of your internal workforce and therefore will not be entitled to other pay or benefits besides the rate agreed upon on the platform. This can help to keep costs down while still managing to access a talent pool that will help grow your business.
Online Booking Systems
Online booking systems allow you to make your business accessible to clients round the clock. They can make reservations and get reminders that will increase chances they will turn up as booked. You can even have the system arrange for prepayment from clients, helping to lock in more revenue for the business.
You no longer need to have someone man the phones to organise appointments for clients. You can simply outsource this function to online booking systems. These can be easily set up on your website and social media platforms. You can also provide links within your online marketing materials.
Many providers of these systems have them included within a suite of business software solutions. You may find that this option is something you already have access to within your software but have never utilized. Many vendors also offer this service free, or free to try.
