Why Outsourcing Is on the Rise - TextExpander

Outsourcing enables companies to pay for services only when they need them, which creates more budget flexibility and reduces costs with labor ... Skiptocontent EN “Dowhatyoudobestandoutsourcetherest.” ManagementconsultantPeterDuckermayhavesaidthistwentyyearsago,buttheadvicestillringstruetoday.Infact,outsourcing—thehiringofathirdpartytoperformdutiesthatwerepreviouslytheresponsibilityofanin-housestaff—isabouttoreachanall-timepeak.  Thetwomainforcesbehindtheriseinoutsourcingarethewidespreadadoptionofremoteworkandtheaccelerationofdigitaltransformationinbusinesses.They’venotonlymadeoutsourcingeasier,butalsomoreattractiveforcompanieslookingtocutcosts,servecustomersbetter,andinnovate. Theincreaseinoutsourcing Andnotjustlargecompanies.Whileoutsourcingmayhavestartedoutasatrendamongbig,multinationalcorporations,today,asignificantnumberofsmallcompaniesoutsourcetheirbusinessprocesses.  Infact,a2019surveyof529smallbusinessesintheUSfoundthatnearly40%werealreadyoutsourcingprocesseslikeaccounting,ITservices,anddigitalmarketingasawaytoincreaseefficiency,tapintospecificskills,andfreeupemployees’time.A2020surveybyB2BresearchfirmClutchshowedthat80%ofsmallbusinessesintheUSwereplanningtooutsourcein2021.  Meanwhile,largecorporations,manyofwhichhadendedoutsourcingcontractsintheearly2000sinfavorofexpandingin-houseteams,areagainturningtoexternalsupporttomeetcustomers’demandsforfasterandmoreconvenientexperiences.Thisisespeciallytrueofbusinessesinfast-growingindustriessuchasretail,healthcare,andfinance. A2020reportbyglobaltechnologyservicescompanyNTTshowedthat45%ofglobalcorporationswereplanningtooutsourcemoreworkinthemonthstocome. Whyoutsourcingisontherise Asonlineshoppingincreases,sodoesthedemandforAI-poweredorroboticprocessautomationthatensurescustomersaresupportedatalltimes.Aschronicillnessesandvirusesrise,sodoesthedemandfortelehealthservicesthatenablepatientstoconsultwithdoctorswithoutleavinghome.Asmorepeopleusesmartphonestomanagetheirfinances,sodoestheneedfortechnologythatguaranteesasecureandrisk-freeenvironmentforfinancialoperations.  Mostcompaniesaren’tequippedtobuildthesesolutionsatthespeedrequiredtomaintainacompetitiveedge.Byoutsourcing,theycanmeetcustomers’needsandachievebusinessgoalsfaster.Google,Basecamp,WhatsApp,andApplearejustafewexamplesofcompaniesthatuseoutsourcingtomanagecapacityissues,cutcosts,andfocusontheircoreproducts.  Andwhileoutsourcingisquicklybecomingessentialtoglobalcorporations,itcanbenefitcompaniesofallsizesandindustries.Mostcompaniescouldgainfromreducinglaborcostsandputtingmorefocusoncoreprojectsandactivities.Byhavingfeweremployeesonpayrollandrelyinginsteadoncontractorsandexternalteamsforsupport,theycoulddomoreofwhattheydobestwhilebecomingmoreefficient,moreproductive,andmoreprofitable. Tasksmostbusinessescanoutsource Administrativetasks  Administrativetaskssuchascoordinatingmeetings,processingemail,onboarding,answeringemails,managingdocuments,andenteringmanualdataintosystemsarecommontoallbusinesses.They’realsothesimplesttooutsourcetoavirtualassistant.  Research  Taskssuchasfindingvaluablelinksandstatsforcontentcreation,collectingdatatoinformpurchasedecisions,filteringnewsarticlesforsocialmediareposting,andfindingdealsonflightsandaccommodationareeasytooutsourcetoaresearchorvirtualassistant.   Accounting Whileadministrativetasksandresearchareeasytooutsourcebecausetheydon’trequireahighlevelofexpertise,accountingistheexactopposite.It’shighlytechnical,andrequiresexpertknowledgeofbothlegislationandsoftware.Datasuggeststhatsmallbusinessownerswhodotheirownaccountingareinsecure:approximatelyone-thirdthinkstheymightbepayingtoomuchtax;nearly60%failtocreateaformallydocumentedbudget.Notsurprisingly,accountingisthebusinessprocessmostcommonlyoutsourcedbysmallbusinessesintheUS,accordingtoa2019survey.  Designandotherimage-relatedtasks Whenyou’renotanexpertingraphicdesign—theprocessofcreatingbrandingassetssuchaslogos,printmaterialssuchasbrochuresandflyers,andsocialmediaimages—itshows.Thesameistrueforwebdesign,theprocessofcreatingthelookandstructureofwebsites.Fortheseprojects,andotherimage-relatedtasksincludingphotographyandvideography,it’sbesttoworkwiththeexperts. Contenttasks Creatingclear,concise,andengagingcontentforemails,blogs,newsletters,andsocialmediarequiresexpertise,attentiontodetail,impeccablegrammar,andtime,whichiswhymanycompanieseitheroutsourcealloftheircopywriting,contentmarketing,transcription,revising,editing,andtranslationwork,orhirefreelancerstotacklespecificprojectssuchasthecreationofwhitepapers. Outsourcingisanirreversibletrend Outsourcingenablescompaniestopayforservicesonlywhentheyneedthem,whichcreatesmorebudgetflexibilityandreducescostswithlaborandoperatingexpenses.Outsourcingalsohelpsbusinessesachievebetter,fasterresults.  Thewidespreadadoptionofremoteworkandnewtechnologiesisdrivingcompaniesbigandsmalltoincreaseoutsourcing.Hasyourcompanyembarkedonthistrend?Letusknowinthecommentsbelow! OtherPosts GoalsSeries:OrganizeYourSmartphoneApps PresenterSeries:PromotingYourselfandYourTalkWithTextExpander UsingTextExpandertoPolitelySendAnnoyingEmails Worksmarter,notharder. TryTextExpanderfreefor30days. 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