To reap any outsourcing benefits, you need to have identified exactly what you hope to achieve by outsourcing your project, and the steps you will need to take to ensure the project runs smoothly. Laying down these foundations is a skill unto itself and although it might appear to be very time consuming, it is essential that you complete this stage of the process if you want to succeed.

Cost Saving Outsourcing Benefits

Here are some costs saving benefits to outsourcing a service:

1. Less expenditure and running costs for plant, machinery and utility services;
2. Reduction in employee head count and associated salary expenditure;
3. Increased control over project budgets by implementing fixed price contracts;
4. Reduced administration costs.

Outsourcing benefits are not just limited to cost savings. By hiring experienced freelancers to complete some of your projects, you are tapping into a resource full of fresh, innovative minds that can truly enhance your business brand. Freelancers also tend to have up-to-date knowledge of industry best practices which will lead you to provide improved levels of service to your customers.

Another outsourcing benefit is flexibility. By their very nature, freelancers work on an ‘as needed’ basis so you can make use of their services when your business or customer base needs them most. A good example of this would be companies that want to make use of audio / video & multimedia presentations at certain times of the year. Maybe you are a manufacturer who wants to advertise the launch of new products on YouTube, but you only produce a couple of new products every year. A freelance specialist would be ideally placed to create these presentations for you.

If you have carried out the requisite project planning and project management exercises you will also benefit from enhanced risk management because you have identified potential problems in advance. You should also see faster project turnaround times because a clear set of instructions has already been drawn up.

Are There any Pitfalls?

The main reason why outsourcing projects fail is simply due to poor communication between the two parties concerned. This could be caused by the lack of a properly defined project plan, imprecise instructions or the inability to express constructive feedback.

When you weigh up the outsourcing benefits it is easy to see why people in possession of excellent communication skills are happy to use the services of freelancers, leaving themselves free to concentrate on the core functions of their organisation.