5 Most Popular Jobs to Outsource for Your Company
Guy Kawasaki, entrepreneur and co-founder of Alltop, once said, “Ideas are easy. Implementation is hard.” Isn’t that the truth? Rarely does a company find immense success just because they have a great product or service. Creating a viable business involves simultaneously moving parts that are equally important and expensive. It’s no wonder the trend towards outsourcing is rising to the challenge of meeting the needs small businesses and startups.
Internet technology has made the world smaller and the options limitless. Not only does this apply to your customer base, but also for the resources required to run a bustling company. Outsourcing helps reduce labor costs while also providing the best professionals based on skill level and budget parameters. Here are some of the most popular jobs that companies are outsourcing:
1. Call Center Services
Let’s say you’re an online bakery that ships your cookies and treats all over the world. It would be extremely difficult to hire 24/7 help to juggle the orders that come in from various time zones plus manage the ebb and flow of the holidays. An outsourced call center has a well-staffed office with employees trained on how to answer your specific calls and transfer vital information to your database. If you’re an eCommerce company, call centers like Specialty Answering Service will equip you with their 300 call center representatives that can handle up to 30,000 inbound calls a day and are also fluent in English and Spanish. Global Response call centers offer shared teams so that you can get the help you need without paying the high price of a full-time employee.
2. Accounting Help
Accounting is the foundation of any business. You need to track where your money is going and how much you have. Worse yet, those two categories are broken down into at least 20 subcategories. You may not have the time, patience or organization skills to handle this hefty job. That’s exactly why outsourced accounting help has been on the rise this past year. These companies will ask you what your needs are and then they’ll monitor all of your accounts payable and receivables. You’ll get current financial review reports so that you know how your company is performing and you can have current data for a well-informed decision-making process.
3. Marketing and Advertising
This is a specialized industry and getting the word out about your company doesn’t just happen. It’s about more than a random Facebook post, positive Yelp review, a monthly blog or advertising in local newspapers. Many times small businesses neglect this aspect of their growth strategy, but this is how your company will reach customers to expand. It’s like growing a plant and not incorporating nutrients into the soil. Your plant may survive on water and sunlight, but there is a huge difference between what could be versus what is. Great marketing agencies will discuss your goals, create a detailed strategy and report on deliverables.
4. Freelance Writing
And speaking of marketing… a large part of the process involves content creators who work closely with a marketing team. This includes blogging, email writing, website content, social media postings, brochure descriptions, donor letters, product descriptions and more. A professional writer is recommended because you need a strong voice and tone that represents your company to connect with your unique audience. You can find freelance writers on various job boards including CloudPeeps, Indeed and AngelList if you’re a startup.
5. IT Support
Modern day business relies on technology. From something as simple as a password being lost to the extreme disaster of a compromised database, we need to ensure that we have the proper IT support. However, it can get really expensive to integrate a full time IT guy or gal onsite. Outsourcing to a company can help you determine how much data storage you need, which security measures to put into place, what existing software needs to be updated and more.
Finding the Right Help for You
I’ve included a few examples of job platforms where you can find these virtual workers, but consider these important points along your journey towards hiring the right person for your needs:
- Check the time zone of where the employee is located. If he or is located across the nation or across the ocean, will this hinder how you communicate and conduct business?
- Do they (the employee and/or the company you’re hiring) have verified reviews? Can you talk to a real person to discuss what you’re needs are, what actual costs will be and can you see examples past work or client feedback?
- How will your data be stored? What security measures are in place?
- How often will the person you hire communicate with you?
- If the employee or platform isn’t syncing with your company, are there termination fees? Can you move up or down a plan without penalties?
- Are you realistic about your budget? The motto still holds true, “You get what you pay for.”
- Have you asked peers in your industry what jobs they outsource and which job boards they’ve used? What have their experiences been like?
Putting in a little time and effort now to find the right outsourced help will bring your business to the next level. What are you waiting for?