Outsourcing describes the process of delegating services to a specialist, third-party vendor. Businesses choose to outsource their services for a variety of reasons. The reasons could be a lack of resources and expertise, or perhaps business owners wish to improve work efficiency and focus on company goals. In particular, small businesses, and businesses with a growing workforce, can benefit from outsourcing certain services. Here is a guide to different types of services that are often outsourced and the benefit of outsourcing them.
Why You Should Outsource
Outsourcing services can have many benefits, especially for small and growing businesses. Organizations outsource functions for many reasons, such as to cut costs in terms of overhead and labor and to grow a business as a whole. Growing a workforce and employing full-time team members can take away focus from your fundamental business goals.
Outsourcing functions allow you to delegate the work to highly qualified professionals without getting too involved in the processes. In addition, outsourcing services gives you access to a wider pool of talent. On the other hand, hiring in-house means that you often have a limited selection of candidates, and you will probably need to make compromises to choose the right person for your company. That’s why partnering with a PEO can be really worth it in order to streamline the process of hiring and payroll, specially, in some countries with stringent regulations.
Accounting and IT
Functions within accounting are most commonly outsourced by small businesses because of the need for specialist financial knowledge. Besides accounting, IT is often outsourced by small and large businesses alike. Outsourcing IT services give you a technological advantage. Third-party vendors have access to the latest systems. In particular, small businesses may not have this access, so outsourcing certain IT services enable employees to benefit from up-to-date systems and receive a higher support level. IT functions include network maintenance and monitoring, cybersecurity, and an internal IT help desk.
Marketing
Outsourcing your marketing efforts enables you to work with specialists who can help you come up with creative strategies to grow your business. Functions that can take up a lot of resources include social media, SEO services, and market research.
HR Services
HR makes up a huge part of a company, and it encompasses everything to do with your employees. Therefore, there are many functions within this department. You may be tempted to offload these services onto a senior member of staff or take them on yourself, but this is often a waste of resources. It can also take away focus from important business goals. Outsourcing HR activities, such as recruitment, payroll, training, benefits, and employee relations, can free up your time so that you can focus on growing your business.
Check out Financial Services Outsourcing
Recruitment
Recruitment is a crucial process for all companies, but it can take up a large chunk of precious company time. The process involves advertising a position, going through resumes, choosing potential candidates, interviewing, scheduling, and eventually hiring the right person. To ensure you have a solid team, this function needs to be done properly. Outsourcing this function to a recruitment expert will elevate the chances of finding the right recruit. External HR service providers possess the resources and the knowledge to source, vet, interview, and hire the best people for your company.
Payroll Administration
Payroll is another essential aspect of a business, and it involves calculating working hours, allocating wages, deducting tax, and staying compliant with payroll-related laws. Payroll can take up a huge amount of time, and it is easy to make errors. Not to mention, the amount of work correlates to the size of your workforce. In other words, as your workforce grows, so does the amount of work you have to do. Third-party HR vendors can simplify your payroll processes and offer end-to-end services that can save you time and headaches, allowing your HR department to focus on other areas of the business.
Healthcare Benefits
The HR department is responsible for all benefits, including healthcare and health insurance. Functions include employee enrollment, audits, and renewals. Any standard business with integrity and a good set of values wants to ensure their employees have access to healthcare benefits. It is one of the aspects potential candidates review before accepting an offer. To attract quality candidates, look after your existing employees, partner with an HR provider, and experience the benefits. HR providers can strategize with you to help you build a competitive package for your employees. They have a wide range of benefits products to offer and will take care of the administration that goes with it, too.
Employee Relations
HR is responsible for all aspects of employee relations, from spotting risks and maintaining a good work environment to resolving issues within a workforce. Happy employees are generally more productive because they have a higher level of job satisfaction. This function may seem simple to deal with in-house, but the challenges of day-to-day ER issues can drain a lot of your time. To keep your business operating smoothly, employ an external provider to assist with your employee relations. An HR specialist can put a plan in place to keep your employees’ content, address issues, and can help you create a conflict-free workplace.
Training
Whether it’s specialized departmental training (such as marketing SEO), sexual harassment training, or health and safety in the workplace, HR is responsible for ensuring employees receive it. Training programs help to develop your employees and equip them with the knowledge that could enhance your business. Companies with diverse needs and a large workforce will benefit from outsourcing this part of their business.
With a wide array of training available, it is unlikely that your in-house HR team has the resources, or the knowledge, to successfully deploy the different types of training your employees to need. Third-party providers can deliver training to a high standard and can handle large-scale rollouts. Specialist HR consultants can also conduct one-off training programs for specific needs. Rather than just ‘winging it’, HR firms have the resources and expertise to provide your workforce with training that can meet your needs as a company and the needs of your employees too.
