The Cost Benefits of Outsourcing Day-to-Day Office Tasks
This article was updated on Sept. 10, 2018.
You and your staff members can only do so much in a week. In an effort to be more productive, you could outsource some routine, day-to-day office tasks, such as straightforward administrative and IT tasks and cleaning. However, it's important to remember that outsourcing also has its share of downsides. Before making any decisions, you should weigh the cost benefits of outsourcing.
Costs
1. Less Flexibility
You do not have as much flexibility with outsourcing as you would if you were completing the tasks in-house. While an outsourcing company will give you some choices, chances are that you won't be able to set up your own customized service. You will also need to follow the company's schedule because they have other clients. So, if you have a cleaning emergency, the company may not be able to come immediately.
2. A Possible Security Risk
When you hire your own employees, you have a good sense of the people with whom you are working. When you outsource, you are relying on people you don't know as well as your own team members. Unfortunately, these individuals could change on a regular basis, creating an increased security risk. Depending on their role, individuals from the external company may be able to walk through your office unattended or hear private information about your business that could eventually leak out.
3. A Decreased Connection to Your Business
Outsourcing companies don't have the same connection to your business as your employees would, which can lead to missed opportunities. For example, a client might call about a service issue and hint at another sales opportunity. While an office administrator on your staff would be invested enough in this scenario to share the news with your sales department, the same might not be true of an individual employed by an outsourcing company.
Benefits
1. Lower Expenses
Outsourcing tasks should cost less than managing them in-house. Since the external company does the same task for a vast number of businesses, they can help you save money through their large economy of scale. At the same time, you don't have to hire a dedicated employee or pay for the equipment yourself; your only expense is the outsourcing fee.
2. Greater Resources and Experience
The outsourcing company's staff and resources are dedicated to delivering their services well. There is no way one in-house IT employee can match the capabilities of a large IT firm with a team of specialists. By outsourcing IT, your business can gain access to a more sophisticated system than you could afford by yourself.
3. No Turnover Risk
When you hire an employee to manage an office task, there is always the risk that he or she will one day quit, leaving no one to complete the duty until you hire a new employee or train an existing one. An outsourcing company will have a full staff dedicated to doing a particular job, eliminating some risks associated with turnover.
Many outsourcing companies also offer certain services 24/7, a convenience that one in-house employee would never be able to provide. By considering these cost benefits of outsourcing, you can figure out which day-to-day tasks to keep in-house and which ones to send out to another company.
