As outsourcing has become a staple of the global economy, two companion ideas have become conventional wisdom. The first is that it saves money to take routine business processes outside the country; the second is that strategic operations belong at home.

There’s good reason for these beliefs. Companies in many different industries have successfully outsourced things like call centers, basic information-technology operations, records management, and back-office finance and accounting. Such moves are often successful because these processes are typically not core and differentiated within a business. That is, an outsourcer can offer a compelling service and leverage the scale of multiple clients’ workloads along with offshore cost advantages.

Conversely, companies that have outsourced core research and development, strategic planning and business development have almost always been disappointed with the results, because these operations are unique, lack scale opportunity and, therefore, offer less cost-improvement opportunity.

Sometimes, however, conventional wisdom can be misleading. Outsourcing non-strategic operations doesn’t always save money, and sending strategic work overseas can create tremendous competitive advantage. By asking and answering three key questions, companies can make more informed and more profitable outsourcing and offshoring decisions.

1. Is the operation you’re evaluating distracting from your strategic focus?

Your first tip that outsourcing is a serious option is when valuable talent–including senior leadership–is spending more time putting out operational fires than formulating and overseeing important strategic initiatives. In such instances, transferring the risk and headaches of managing noncritical people and processes to a lower-cost entity overseas can save money and free your core people to focus on the things that drive home your brand and grow your bottom line.

Outsourcing, however, is not the only option. In some instances, moving troublesome operations offshore while keeping them in-house makes more sense. (See question two.)

2. Does the scale of the operation warrant outsourcing it?

Before outsourcing that costly and troublesome operation, consider its size.

If the operation is relatively small, it’s important to remember that language and cultural barriers, global wage inflation, the decline of U.S. purchasing power, political considerations, increased demand for overseas real estate, and your customers’ privacy and security concerns all have costs associated with them. For a small operation, the costs of moving overseas will probably dwarf the investment in fixing your operation at home.

On the other hand, a very large operation can be a poor candidate for outsourcing because contract partners need to make a profit too. As the size and scope of your offshore or outsource deal grows, taking out the middleman can become a more attractive option. Assume a 30% profit margin in the outsource contract; as the deal’s size grows, at one point the risk/reward balance tips toward doing the work yourself.

3) Are you positioned to tap offshore talent pools for strategic advantage?

While it is true that outsourcing strategic work is a mistake, it’s also true that the global economy is real. Therefore, companies that believe in globalization and make it part of their mission can find powerful advantages in moving important operations offshore.

Here’s why. Casting your talent net around the entire world allows you to choose your people from a much wider pool. These people are all shaped by a different set of formative experiences, and so they bring valuable and often original perspectives to a wide range of business challenges.

There also can be a short-term cost benefit in many offshore locations, but that benefit will fade quickly as competition increases. Deeper and longer-lasting benefits result from engaging skilled people in meaningful work today; you’re building a talented and global workforce that is more in tune with the direction of the marketplace.

Establishing relationships with local universities can help attract potential employees by giving them access to important training in their home environment. Early recruitment could also mean less need for frequent moves and their associated costs. Finally, the benefits of a 24/7 workforce hammering away on critical strategic concerns have enormous potential to profitably and quickly bring your highest-value initiatives to market.

One key challenge to making this work is finding the right location–one where the economics, talent pool and training opportunities meet your company’s needs. A second, more important challenge is truly committing to the endeavor. You can’t be afraid to trust global teams with challenging projects. The only way to do that is to understand that this global workforce is a genuine strategic asset that requires genuine investment.

In short, don’t let conventional wisdom mislead you. Making decisions about outsourcing and offshoring is more complicated than it seems, and these three questions can serve as an important screening device before moving ahead.