The idea of outsourcing company tasks to other people or businesses has been around since time immemorial. When you think about hiring a freelancer to do a task, you're probably thinking about saving money and getting more done in a shorter amount of time. But, if you're going to outsource anything, you need to know what it is that your business really needs to be outsourced.
We often hear about the advantages of outsourcing, but you also should be aware of the disadvantages of outsourcing as well. Any business owner that is considering outsourcing some functions over to someone else should be aware of both the good and bad points of outsourcing. Sure, many will tell you not to focus on bad things but rather to think positively. However, if you want to use outsourcing to its full potential, then you also need to be aware of the disadvantages of outsourcing.
According to many small business owners that I have spoken to, here are the most frequent disadvantages of outsourcing that were mentioned by them:
Loss of complete control over your business
When you outsource part of your operations to an external provider, you are no longer in full control of that aspect of your business. For example, if you have someone else call leads on your behalf, they will be doing the calls and not you. Therefore, you will not be in direct control over what happens on every call that they make.
Issues of quality
Quality is something that is often talked about when disadvantages of outsourcing are discussed. Can you really be sure that the company or person that you will be hiring will do a good job? Will they follow your instructions accurately and complete the work on time, just like you've asked them to? These are all very important questions that those who outsource frequently ask themselves. After all, you do not want your business to suffer because of an outsourcer that did a poor job. (more…)