The phrase “If you want something done right, then do it yourself” is now considered an antiquated way to approach delegation and now successful projects are made up of a number of smaller outsourced elements that enable the project owner to complete a major task in less time, with fewer internal resources.
In most companies, the single biggest barrier to successful outsourcing is a fear of delegation and with outsourcing available for virtually every task under the sun it can be hard to know which areas to focus on and at what time you need to admit that outsourcing is the more sensible option.
Choosing what and when to outsource generally comes down to two main considerations:
If you answer ‘no’ to one or both of these questions then the likelihood is that you could benefit from outsourcing whatever task it is you are considering. F
or example, if you are looking to create an app for your business, have your own internal tech team but no one on that team has ever created an app before, then you clearly lack the expertise needed to conduct the task in-house and would most likely benefit from outsourcing your app development to a software development agency who specialises in this area.
By outsourcing this part of the project your tech team are free to focus on whatever area of your business they were originally hired for, you can be confident that your app is being created by individuals who have expertise in app development and your tech team may even learn something along the way that would enable them to conduct more App work for you in the future.
Similarly, if you are bidding for tenders or managing a complex bidding process, but your internal team lacks experience in tender writing and bid management, it would be beneficial to outsource these services to a specialist provider like Thornton & Lowe. Outsourcing tender writing and bid management can ensure your bids are tailored, compelling, and compliant, while freeing up your team to focus on their core responsibilities. The expertise of an external provider can also help you identify and capitalize on opportunities you may have overlooked, ultimately improving your chances of winning lucrative contracts.
Alongside the above two key questions the third, less publicised, consideration is cost. Although less spoken about the financial implications of outsourcing are, of course, very important to consider and outsourcing can be both inexpensive and expensive depending on the task you wish to outsource, who you outsource to, their experience, the duration of the project and the geographical location of the outsourced agency.
When it comes to the cost of outsourcing and whether it makes financial sense to outsource a part of your project, once again you must go back to your two key considerations, resource and expertise.
If you have answered ‘no’ to one or both of those questions and cost is your final remaining consideration, then you need to ask yourself how much it would cost for you to be able to answer ‘yes’ to both of those questions.
How much would it cost you to train your existing members of staff to undertake the project? How much would it cost to bring in a new hire with the expertise you require? Remember to also factor in the cost of time and then re-evaluate if outsourcing is the better option given the duration of your project.
