Business relationships have always been an essential factor for the successful operations of an organization. From early times businesses have used services of third-party vendors to get access to resources and means of production. The shoemaker years back would get the tanned skins from other sellers and then use them to produce their shoes without doing it themselves.
Today the global market has evolved to transform and give shape to this concept giving it a new name of ‘outsourcing.’ Handing out parts of your business operations to trusted partners have been a common practice of most companies for a long time.
However, many business owners and entrepreneurs especially linked with small and medium industries are skeptical about outsourcing their business processes. It’s a shame because the wrong information and misconceptions about outsourcing only cause it.
Maybe you will be a bit more confident knowing how much organizations utilize it!
- Currently, 72% of all IT processes are outsourced
- HR outsourcing stands at 47% while 42% of financial services go to third-party contractors
- Out of all banking help desk positions, 40% are held by outsourced workers
- 54% of organizations outsource their customer service responsibilities
Now we will get into the misconceptions that are common with entrepreneurs and business owners. All of them will be countered with facts so that the real picture comes to light.
The Biggest Misconceptions about Outsourcing – and why they are Wrong!
Only Large Companies can Outsource
It is one of the most significant mistakes haunting the outsourcing industry. But according to facts, it is entirely wrong!
Even back in 2014, around 60% of UK SMEs had utilized outsourced IT services for their business. Another 65% took recourse to outsourced staffing to meet the challenges of finding skilled labor.
Outsourcing is flexible and can be tuned both for the needs of large and small scale industries. If you are a small business owner, then you will have a small team working for you whereas it will be bigger for large enterprises.
That is the only difference!
Outsourcing Partners cannot be Trusted
You will be surprised to know that 78% of business owners feel positive about their relationship with outsourcing partners, revealed by a Deloitte survey.
While someone may face a negative experience with a specific partner, it does not imply that all outsourcing services are untrustworthy. Today the outsourcing industry had transformed to reflect the quality and outstanding performance. You can find an outsourcing partner you can trust and develop a long-term relationship with.
Just do your prior research, check their experience and past projects, ask for references and communicate openly to find a trusted partner.
It is Costly and takes Time to Set Up
Outsourcing helps eliminate overhead and operating costs and work out to be less expensive than maintaining in-house processes. 59% of businesses outsource their operations to save cost.
You can concentrate on your core business activities and focus on expanding your business or developing new products with the saved money and time.
Time is an essential factor for any business as it translates to sales and ultimately to profit. Outsourcing partners are meant to deliver results and can set up the whole system within a month.
They have a readily available infrastructure and resources which help them achieve instant results.
It’s Difficult to Train Outsourced Workers
Many outsourcing agencies are located in different countries, and it may be challenging to train them according to your objectives. It can be avoided by hiring a company from your geographical area who can travel to your institution for the training period.
The third party workers will be adept at their task, and it will only need to familiarize them with your company principles, which take a short time.
I can Handle it Myself!
The complex and massive volume of tasks associated with a business is not always possible to be handled in-house, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises.
They may run up extra costs, lack resources, infrastructure, workforce to maintain a department like accounting. It also deters them from the main business activities and objectives.
It is the reason for which 57% of companies outsource to be able to focus on core business. Another 47% depend on it to resolve their capacity issues.
A business prospers through meaningful partnerships, and it needs the help of other parties to operate cost-effectively and satisfactorily. Outsourcing your processes and maintaining a lean approach is the way to go!
Cultural Differences cannot be Solved
It is true that hiring an outsourcing agency from another country can bring up issues of cultural difference. It can be resolved by having an advisor who can guide the culture of your outsourcing partner.
Another way you can overcome this issue is going for a partnership with an outsourcing company, which is closer with regards to cultural differences and distance.
It is also interesting to note that today there is a global working culture not limited to countries or cultures. Outsourcing companies located in the Baltic States (Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia) are successfully carrying out operations from countries like USA and UK.
So, there is not much to fear about cultural differences!
I will not have Control on the Processes
That is one of the goals of outsourcing! Don’t get us wrong, but you outsource so that you don’t need to handle all those tasks yourself!
It’s true that you won’t be controlling the workers yourself, but you can always communicate and check on the progress. The team working for you only has one goal in mind: to deliver you the best and that can happen even without your involvement.
You will always be in control of what you want and how you want, which will be abided by your partner.
Conclusion
Outsourcing has been able to shake almost all of the misconceptions and misinformation that generated around it in recent years. You have the facts and figures now so that you can decide for yourself!
Baltic Assist is a trusted partner for small and medium-sized enterprises, that want to relocate their business operations to a lower-cost environment. Contact us to have a free consultation on outsourcing opportunities for your business.