Are you considering hiring the services of an outsourced employee? It is probably a major step for your company or your venture.
In this era, you can outsource almost any and every kind of job, as the freelance industry is a large one that has come to stay. The industry also contains freelancers in every field, which are set to take up your work.
Frankly, outsourcing can help the growth of a business, if certain precautions are taken in how labor is outsourced.
Certainly, there are factors to consider before you decide on outsourcing. The big question is, “Which of these factors are the most important?”
If that is your question, this question gives you all the answers you need. So, follow through till the end.
5 Most Important Things You Should Consider Before You Outsource Employees
Carefully choose the roles to outsource.
Before jumping into the seemingly juicy world of outsourcing labor, you have to be sure of the roles you want to outsource. This is the first thing any company needs to know.
In a bid to know the roles to outsource, consider your business’s competitive edge. If a role is what makes your business unique or gives you a competitive, do not outsource it. This is a piece of advice from Rob Rawson on Biz 3.0. Outsourcing might take away that unique streak of yours that keep your customers.
You can outsource other roles within your company, but be sure to keep that particular one safe. Roles you can outsource include your accounting, web design, IT and marketing. However, ensure you stick with Rob’s advice.
Means of communication
Many companies forget that an outsourced employee might be at the farthest end of the world, and so, they might not understand the unspoken intricacies of how things work in your company. Hence, doses and doses of communication will be required to ensure they understand your business and how you expect work to be done.
Carefully think of a means to handle the communication between you and your outsourced labor, before outsourcing.
For instance, if I need someone to write a paper for me and my company, I might need to create a document for the freelancer, in which I can draw an outline.
The cost: How much are you willing to pay?
What’s your budget? The freelance market is a large one and honestly, you only get what you pay for. If you want great work, are you ready to pay the charges for a freelancer that can give you the quality you want?
Will the cost still be equal to that of permanent staff? If so, are you sure you want to outsource? Cost is a great factor in any venture at all and this doesn’t change when you are looking to outsource.
In addition, the software used in hiring these freelancers usually charges some fees. Is your company ready to take care of that?
Structure: Is the company structurally ready to handle outsourced employees?
Of course, your company will still be responsible for administration following the hire of freelance employees. Therefore, you have to be structurally prepared to handle them. Never think that freelance employees can handle it all; you still need to supervise them.
How do you also plan to conduct meetings with your outsourced labor? Give it careful thought and make a decision that will favor your company.
Be careful, picky, and take all the time you need.
It is better to take some extra time to ensure you get a great freelance employee than to get a work of low quality and start looking for a new freelancer all over.
Ensure the freelancer of your choice ticks all your boxes. You can send them a test job to do before employing them for the real work. Whatever you do, slow down. Never hurriedly employ outsourced labor.
Conclusion
Outsourcing is not a bad idea. It is the way in which it is done that matters.
