It is easy to get caught up in cycles of debate about whether hiring someone permanently is a better choice for a given job or whether you should outsource it. It’s a concept that businesses debate internally all the time in terms of whether outsourcing can save valuable time and money, for example.
However, it’s a question worth examining from a newer, simpler perspective: when is outsourcing simply the best choice? In other words, when there is no room for debate, and the specifics of the circumstance make this an option that it would be foolish not to consider?
The Type of Knowledge Required
There are so many different directions that you can go with outsourcing, as there is such a range of scales to apply it to. You might only need one piece of video marketing content created, or you might need to outsource a whole department.
This latter scenario happens sometimes with HR, and as an alternative to hiring the department in-house, you get access to a qualified, professional team that acts as a more neutral third party between you and your staff.
The specialist knowledge that comes with outsourcing is also one of its greatest appeals. Opting for an MSSP when it comes to cybersecurity, for example, will give you peace of mind about continuing to operate in an evolving digital landscape.
The Resources at Your Disposal
Of course, the degree to which you can outsource is going to be heavily dependent on the resources that you have at your disposal. On the one hand, this might refer most plainly to money, and it’s a clear indication of when outsourcing isn’t feasible.
However, there will be other times—if you’re a small, online ecommerce business, for example—where you might feel as though you’re able to take care of everything pretty much yourself, without the need for employees. While this can make your operations very efficient, when you do run into an issue that falls outside of your area of expertise, outsourcing suddenly becomes an invaluable option. It also enables the issue to be taken care of completely, without you needing to shift your focus away from your business.
In Summary
When you see all the benefits of outsourcing, it’s easy and tempting to try and apply it on the grandest scale possible. Again, it’s difficult to say what this scale might be or how feasible it is—it very much depends specifically on your individual circumstances. However, it’s also worth recognizing the limitations of outsourcing so that you don’t feel as though you’ve pigeon-holed yourself into a situation where you’re entirely dependent on it.
Outsourcing isn’t a reason to abandon more conventional employment entirely—it’s a separate issue, and comparing them along that line might not do justice to either. Outsourcing the skills that are absolutely crucial to your industry, for example, might give good results in the short term, but over time, it might just deprive you of a team that’s capable of working on a daily basis, and that means that you can’t cultivate talent.
Therefore, it is important that you consider all options before committing either way.
