Sometimes, businesses outsource their tasks because they want to focus on getting things done. Though it’s certainly not a problem to be results-driven, it’s always a must to understand the whole process of the operation or project. That way, the company’s in-house employees become more skilled and experienced in handling similar tasks in the future.
Always focus on your in-house team (first).
The more you know about your own team, the more refined your outsourcing decisions will be. Think about it—if you have experts on your team, use their skills (first) and transition their extra duties to other team members.
Outsourcing to contractors is not always the answer. Yes—it saves you money and time, but not all outsourcing tasks are created equal.
Here are six jobs you definitely should not place on contractors or external agencies:
1. Executive and Administrative Leadership Roles
Never outsource roles that have a direct impact on the company’s path to success. The vision and objectives should come from its own executives. If there are people who know the basic principles that keep the business moving, then it should be these people. Most companies appear to have a good understanding of this, as 89% of companies do not plan to outsource any of their strategic planning and executive functions, while 80% are not outsourcing marketing-related responsibilities.
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2. Employee Training and Development
The company management should be the one responsible in training and advancing the skills of its employees. It’s not right to assign a third-party service provider to guide employees—you should have control over how you lead your members to become better professionals in the future.
3. Termination Management
Similar to previous points, the on-site human resources department should be the one responsible for terminating and retaining employees. It should always be prepared to deliver both good and bad news to employees.
4. Core Business Competencies
If your business is selling a particular product or service, then your team should have expert knowledge about them. Don’t expect an outsourcing company to be experts at what you sell or do because they focus mainly on their outsourcing skills.
5. Risk Management and Problem Solving Tasks
The idea is not just to solve a particular problem or achieve a goal. The most critical factor in a growing company is gaining enough knowledge on how it’s done. When problems arise, it’s better to have your own team of problem-solvers who can get the job done. The ability to solve problems also has another positive result—it prevents these issues from happening in the future.
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6. Company Financing
The finance department has the responsibility to decide how much budget is given to particular projects and departments. Financial decisions, investments, and other expenses should not be outsourced because in-house financial managers have a clearer picture of the status of the company.
When used properly, outsourcing can be a very useful and beneficial tool. Understand that outsourcing your company’s core functions or tasks may compromise inside information and valuable secrets. Recruiting, taxes, and payroll are tasks that will not compromise your company, so they can be outsourced...but just be careful with sensitive information that will ultimately destroy your company.
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