Business process outsourcing saves your company money. Not only that. It helps your business achieve the bottom line quickly. The problem is, outsourcing will not work for you if you end up making mistakes from the start. In this data-driven era, researching before making critical decisions can save you. Yes, the gut feel is relevant when making decisions, but backing it up with data helps you meet your strategic objectives. Want to know what mistakes to avoid before outsourcing? Here are the top business process outsourcing mistakes to avoid.
1. Lack of Understanding the Impact Outsourcing Has on Your Business
Let’s face it. Most businesses are excited about outsourcing. Why? Because of cheaper rates, high-quality work, and less management. As such, they end up getting into business process outsourcing without understanding what to outsource. Also, they don’t understand what impact it has on their business. To avoid making mistakes, business owners need to understand the impact outsourcing has. They also need to have a sound strategy to help them decide which departments to outsource.
2. Hiring the Cheapest Outsourcing Company or Freelancers
While the main attraction of outsourcing is saving money, hiring the cheapest company or freelancer is not the best way to go. It’s a costly mistake. For starters, cheap services translate to shoddy work. If you outsource to outsourcing companies charging $5 or less an hour, you will get lower expertise. Other flaws include poor communication, disappearances, subcontracting, and poor internet connection. If you want to stay ahead of the competition, hire experienced companies with an excellent reputation.
3. Not Having Clear Expectations from the Beginning
Although you are super excited to get started, without clear expectations, the team will end up making mistakes. That is a disaster to your business, and you will end up firing the company or freelancer. To avoid this and wasting resources, establish clear expectations from the start. For instance, inform the company how often you want updates on the progress. Also, determine which communication methods to use and how to handle issues. Don’t forget to state the number of hours dedicated to the project in a day. By having clear expectations, you and the team will be on the same page.
4. Not Checking out the Outsourcing Company’s Previous Projects
As one of the outsourcing pros and cons, it makes sense to review the outsourcing company’s previous projects. That gives you a glimpse into the quality and experience of the company. For instance, if you want to outsource your graphic design, ask for samples. Professionals will host their portfolio on their websites, which makes it easy for you to check their style. If the style and quality of the samples do not fit with your expectations, continue with your search.
5. Not Using Project Management Tools
Professionals use excellent project management tools, such as Slack and Google Apps. Not only do these apps allow you and the expert to communicate and collaborate. Using these apps, you can chat, send updates, share documents. Ignoring productivity tools makes communication very hard. That affects the progress of the project.
Other Business Process Outsourcing Mistakes to Avoid
There are other business process outsourcing mistakes to avoid. They include not kicking off the project with a meeting, being slow to pay, and losing your cool. Also micromanaging and forgetting to reward good work are other mistakes to avoid. If you are in search of dependable outsourcing services, contact us today and let us handle your back office operations for you.