Why is Outsourcing Beneficial for your Small Business, and what are the potential problems?

If your premises need to be rewired, or your boiler needs attention, then it's unlikely that you'll seek to hire a full-time electrician or plumber. But many small businesses take outsourcing a lot further, retaining just a small core of salaried staff, and supplementing them with a more flexible team of freelancers.

What can be outsourced?

You might suppose that just about every kind of work can be outsourced, and it's true. But the work that's most suited to the practice tends to be the kind that's performed only once every so often, and that requires a specialised skillset. It's not every day you need an electrician, and you can't get just any member of staff to perform the job of an electrician. The same applies to things like accountancy and bookkeeping: you're filing a tax return only once every year, and having a specialist do the job will ensure that it's done right.

Having your salaried staff complete all tasks will usually result in either corners being cut when it comes to quality and safety, or having skilled staff sitting around, being underemployed for much of the time.

Benefits

Outsourcing will allow you to avoid a great deal of hassle and expense. It'll give you the chance to cut down on your labour costs. This includes the process of hiring and firing staff and bringing them aboard. If you find that your workforce is bloated and you need to scale back your operations quickly, then making changes can be difficult. If you've got a team of freelancers working for you, then doing this is straightforward.

Potential Issues

With all of this said, there are issues with using freelancers. The first is availability. If the freelancer in question is competent, then you're going to face competition for their services from other employers. This means that you might find yourself stuck if an emergency should arise.

There are also data protection issues that might arise. If you're entrusting personal data to outside parties, then you risk them being leaked – either deliberately or mistakenly. You might also have difficulty imposing your own standards for discipline and rigour. A freelancer can always walk away from a gig that they don't like.

To give yourself the best possible chance of avoiding problems, and minimising their impact when they do occur, you might look into hiring an experienced litigation lawyer. This is a type of freelancer which will help you deal with any problems that may arise from your working with other freelancers!