Top Factors to Consider When Outsourcing

The economy is changing and growing businesses are increasingly relying on outsourcing their non-core functions as a cost effective strategy. Outsourcing can provide tremendous benefits for businesses, impacting many different areas of daily operations. Finding the right outsourcing partner is the key to a successful engagement.

What Can I Outsource?

Developing a website
Engaging in consulting services
Subcontracting IT services i.e. jira administration, jira development
Translating a document

FACTORS TO CONSIDER WHEN OUTSOURCING

1. Time
Outsourcing with a specialized partner allows you to fill roles, ramp up for a special project, and build a strong IT team in a much shorter time frame. It can also significantly decrease the amount of time it takes to complete a project.

2. Location
Location is a very important factor to consider when outsourcing. India has long been associated with IT outsourcing, but many other countries around the world now offer high quality and technical talent with excellent value. You must consider: language barriers – will it be difficult to communicate with or understand your outsourced employees?; time zone differences?; cultural norms?;laws and regulations – is your intellectual property safe and secure under local law?

3. Communication and Collaboration
Continued communication and collaboration are the heart of innovative projects. It’s therefore vital to keep this in mind before outsourcing project work to a third party. You will want to hire companies that are agile, flexible, with great communication skills. You will want to avoid language barriers and social and cultural disconnect.

4. Experience
An established outsourcing partner is the difference between a successful engagement and a horrible experience. Proven results are your best indicator of future success with an outsourcing partner. Find a partner with a good reputation and experience. You will want to outsource to a company who have been doing this for at least 5~10 years and have partnership with organizations around the world.

5. Scalability
Make sure you are working with a partner that allows for flexibility when you need to get things done. A good partner allows you to hire as many or as few employees as you need for a task or a project, within your budget and under your direction. Make sure you aren’t getting yourself locked into a longer contract than necessary. Hiring a smaller company generally has its benefits as they are more agile and flexible with changes in business requirements.

Outsourcing is a key element of business today. It plays a vital role in ensuring increased productivity. When done effectively, outsourcing can be an extension of your company, allowing you to fully integrate your outsourced staff into your corporate structure.