Outsourcing has become a growing trend among small and large businesses alike. Whether it’s phone calls or various aspects of production, the concept of giving business tasks to outside employees is gaining in popularity. So, why are some companies choosing to outsource their work?
Here are two significant reasons you should be aware of.
Reason 1: Time Saved
Both small and large companies alike are faced with an almost overwhelming workload. From the word go, there are phone calls and emails, meetings to set up and attend, spreadsheets and fact sheets, presentations to give, and the list goes on.
If you’re a startup and you’re running a company with just one or two other people, the workload is even more overwhelming. While it may seem like a three-person company wouldn’t be large enough to benefit from outsourcing, smaller companies might actually receive the most benefit.
Outsourcing some non-essential items can contribute to a significant reduction in workload for employees and company presidents alike. No matter what size company you run, outsourcing has a time and place to reduce working hours.
Where might a company benefit from a reduced workload?
Solution: Answering Services
When a company is just getting off the ground, and even as it continues to grow, the phone calls are going to flood in. Rather than handing your prospective customers off to a robot and hoping for the best, outsourcing calls to a live call center can be an effective solution.
By doing this:
You can rest assured that your customers and clients will talk to a real person who can walk them through numerous tasks including signing them up for product news, filling out an order, taking a request and forwarding it to the appropriate department, and dealing with any complaints that might arise.
Phone calls alone can take hours from every day for any size company, and outsourcing this part of your business could be well worth it.
Answering services also help your employees save on time and do what they do best – the jobs you’ve hired them for. Your tech team, production crew, and think tank didn’t get hired to answer phone calls.
Someone else can do that job just as easily. Outsourcing your phone calls frees up your employees to focus on their jobs and increases their productivity.
Reason 2: Money Saved
In addition to the time-saving nature of outsourcing, one of the biggest reasons for outsourcing is to save money. For small to mid-sized businesses who are in the process of growing and scaling, it can be a financial impossibility to hire more people to staff the office and answer phone calls.
The cost of health care and a full-time salary alone is enough to bankrupt small growing companies. Outsourcing needed services is a critical and effective decision if saving money is a focus. Companies can outsource numerous jobs, but one of the most common is using virtual assistants.
Solution: Virtual Assistants
Virtual assistants are especially beneficial for small to mid-sized companies who don’t have enough of a profit margin to hire a full-time secretary. Virtual assistants can do the work of a secretary but do not require the cost of a full-time salary, paid time off, and health insurance.
They will get paid for only the hours worked and often work on a freelancing and part-time basis, further saving the company money. A virtual assistant can work from anywhere in the world, and their geographic location can even be a bonus for accomplishing tasks overnight while you sleep.
A few of their common tasks can include:
- Setting up appointments
- Managing emails
- Ensuring projects get completed and submitted on time.
They can even communicate with and gather reports from your employees, all from the convenience of their location and, most importantly, all while saving you money.
With a virtual assistant, you as a business owner have more time to think about the important things, such as scaling your business. For any sized company, the president and CEO would have the opportunity to work from daybreak to midnight if they let themselves. There will always be work to do.
However, smart business owners know that they need a healthy work-life balance, and they need time to concentrate on what they do best – grow their business. A virtual assistant can help in this area by screening the incessant calls, numerous emails, requests for meetings, and forward only the ones that merit a read-through from the head of the company.
A Solution for Many Businesses
If used right, outsourcing can be an incredible tool in a company’s pocket. It can save your employees time and free them to work on their specific projects instead of answering calls. It can save you money by hiring a part-time freelancer instead of hiring a full-time employee you can’t afford.
If used right, outsourcing can be an incredible tool to free up time and save you money in the long run so you can dream big and grow your business. #Youpreneur Click To TweetFinally, it can free you up to keep dreaming big dreams and grow your business. Do you think outsourcing is a beneficial idea for your business?
Chris founded Youpreneur® in 2015. He is a serial entrepreneur, keynote speaker and author of the bestselling books “Virtual Freedom” and “Rise of the Youpreneur”. He hosts our podcast, live events and coaches our clients inside the Youpreneur Incubator. Chris is based in Cambridge, UK.