Discover whether outsourcing could be your key to success in FY19
With the new financial year just around the corner, have you reflected on the current financial year and whether you’ll achieve your plan? If you’re going to miss one or more of your major targets, then maybe this is the right time to figure out why – and whether you should start to consider outsourcing. Usually, business plans de-rail because an organisation lacks either capability (the right skillsets required), or capacity (the time and resource needed). So, if you have a major once-off initiative planned for next year that’s going to stretch your business outside its normal operations, you’re already running at high risk. But, if planned well, a decision to outsource functions that aren’t your core business can be the difference that means you hit your targets.
Now, maybe you’re a bit of a control-freak. But before you dismiss the idea completely, here’s some simple steps for making an objective decision on whether to outsource:
Know your problem areas and your options.
There’s oodles of tasks and functions you can outsource; IT services, general administration, recruitment, labour, human resource management, payroll, legal, personal assistant duties, change management, facilities management, tender writing, business process automation, marketing strategy, copywriting, business proposal writing, grant writing – and the list goes on. In the banking world, even innovation is being outsourced according to this Australian Financial Review article.
Know what stops you from doing your problem-task successfully.
Be honest with yourself about this, and whether you’ll continue to face the same frustrations and challenges next year. Or, are there some simple things you can do to remove those barriers?
Know the real cost to your business if you keep insourcing.
Put a value on your time. Do a business-case to prove it. Can you afford to be spending time on things that aren’t really in your wheelhouse? You’re probably many times slower than an expert, you don’t enjoy it, possibly aren’t very good at it, and procrastinate terribly which means your deadlines are going to be under pressure.
Make a conscious decision and action-plan it.
If you decide to outsource – go the next step and write down exactly what you need done, and by when. Going through this exercise will help you test whether it’s something you could entrust to others. Plus, you’ll need this detail to give your future outsource partner a precise brief on what service (and result) you’re after. This Harvard Business Review article highlights the importance of evaluating whether an activity is suitable for outsourcing.
If done well and for the right reasons, outsourcing should mean taking back control – not giving it away. The key is good planning and execution, so take the time to:
- Figure out whether you need it
- Choose the right partner and help them understand your business and exactly what you want from them
- Create a great supplier relationship by agreeing how you will both measure success, and then communicating openly and clearly
So why wait? Make your outsourcing opportunity list now. It’s entirely possible that your big hairy goals will suddenly seem much more achievable.