Halfway through a recent coaching session working on business growth, Sarah sat back in her chair, ‘I have a lot to do’ she stated as she saw the plans forming and the realisation sank in of the workload ahead.
‘Yes’, was my reply, ‘so it’s a good job you aren’t going to do it all yourself’.
As small business owners we are regularly told ‘you can’t do it all, you need to outsource’. A quick google search reveals articles suggesting ‘must outsource areas' including content writing, HR, accounts and admin but outsourcing is not to be taken lightly and requires investment of both time and money.
So how do you decide what to outsource for your own business?
Whilst most people have heard of Stephen Covey’s Time Management grid which considers the two factors of relative urgency and importance when deciding how best to deal with a task, there is a similar model for outsourcing. The, not so catchy titled Harmon’s Process Strategy Matrix, highlights the two key factors to assess when considering what to outsource
Firstly:
How strategically important is this task?
– Is this a core competence of your business something which sets you apart and gives you an edge on the competition or is it a critical task that must be done right to avoid a negative impact on the business.
Secondly
How complex or dynamic is it?
Are these processes straightforward, consistent and well known or do they require specific expertise and/or are regularly changing or updating?
If you categorise all your processes against these criteria, you end up with four distinct approaches to maximise the effectiveness (and profitability) of each process.
Strategically important and complex/dynamic processes – Improve
The tasks in this area are directly related to your business core product/service offer ,
you need to keep in-house and focus on developing and improving your competence in this area. Don’t release control of these to a third-party, you want those skills, resources and talent to remain firmly in your own business.
Strategically unimportant yet complex, specialist and/or dynamic processes - Outsource
If its strategically unimportant meaning that you don’t need to be good at it but is complex or dynamic these are key tasks to outsource. You may not need to be good at these tasks but it is really important that they are done correctly, by someone who is an expert and remains up to date with changes in legislation and regulation such as HR, Accounts and SEO
Strategically important but simple, straightforward and consistent processes - Automate
If it’s strategically important but simple, straightforward and remains constant then look at how you can automate to minimise the impact on your own time and resources whilst retaining direct control and flexibility within your business.
Automating is sometimes overlooked as a valid alternative to outsourcing, there is an increasing array of software solutions freely available (and sometimes free of charge) to support small business owners, managing activities from social media to diary management and accounts.
Check out this list of 35 free business software tools curtesy of Fitsmallbusiness.com http://fitsmallbusiness.com/free-small-business-software
Finally,
Tasks that are not strategically important and simple, straightforward and consistent – Outsource or Automate, whichever is easier.
These simple straightforward processes can be some of the most time-consuming administrative tasks, and the choice to outsource or automate should be driven by whichever is easier and most cost effective for you to initially set up and manage over time.
Of course, there are risks and challenges to outsourcing
Ensuring the quality and consistency on deliverables, maintaining confidentiality and avoiding any loss of customer service which could damage your reputation. There is no doubt that process of outsourcing needs to be carefully managed with care taken to select the right partner and the relationship formalised with clear service level agreement on expected standards and performance.
However, the benefits are huge
Engaging specific experts for these tasks can often result in cost saving as you gain access to the outsourced company’s efficiency and economies of scale, as well as potential service improvements, innovation and ensuring up to date compliance in those dynamic areas.
Most importantly you can concentrate on those core strategically important tasks, ensuring these continue to be areas of expertise that are critical to your own business.
'Only do what only you can do'
So, if you are thinking of outsourcing, take a realistic look at all the processes in your business – the old adage ‘only do what only you can do’ most definitely applies here - just think what you could achieve with more time to create your products, deliver your services or visit potential customers – automate or outsource everything else.
