Outsourcing different tasks is increasingly popular in the Philippines. However, the benefits are not quite understood, even by many businesses that already outsource areas such as housekeeping and security. In the local context, outsourcing is often seen as a way to reduce costs. This idea isn’t helped by the fact that many BPO’s in the country are explicitly here because of the lower cost of labor.
Unfortunately, this leads to a situation where contractors try to outbid each other on price, which often predictably leads to undesirable results in terms of work quality. This, coupled with many understandable ethical concerns about outsourcing, has led to a negative perception of the practice in many circles.
However, if one is willing to steer the conversation away from price, the practice of outsourcing has several benefits for businesses that go beyond just reducing costs. Here are some of them.
1.) You can pay for the output, not the time
Unlike in a traditional work set-up where you pay for an employee’s downtime, as kind of a retainer, with a freelancer, you can have the option to just pay them on the basis of their output. This means you aren’t paying them for anything that’s not directly related to work. This setup can give you plenty of operational efficiencies, especially if you’re a small business, as you will not need to hire a specialized worker full-time. Rather, you can hire someone who can do a job only when the need arises.
2.) You have access to a wider pool of experienced professionals
Sometimes, it takes an outsider’s perspective to really help take your organization to the next level. Your internal team may understand your organization better, but chances are they’ve worked with far fewer scenarios than your typical outsourced team.
If you hire your freelancers and outsourcers based on their experience and qualifications, they will be able to leverage that expertise when they work for you. This experience can be absolutely vital for small businesses with “green” founders and managers with no prior experience. However, it’s also worth mentioning that older organizations with outdated processes and ways of thinking can also benefit from the perspective outsourcers may bring to the table.
3.) Outsourced labor tends to be more efficient
As many outsourcers and freelancers are paid for their output, there is a considerable motive for them to invest in improving their efficiency. While this does not always have the best results when you’re talking about the cheaper side of things, the best freelancers will often be able to deliver faster and provide comparable or better quality work than your internal teams, provided that the deliverables are well-explained and understood.
4.) They allow your internal team to better grow your business
It’s a given that no one knows your business better than you and your internal team. This intimate knowledge is wasted if they are bogged down doing routine work that does not significantly help in the business’s growth. Using outsourced labor can be an excellent way to free them from the minutiae of day-to-day tasks so that they’re better able to focus on growing your business.
If you’re ready to efficiently grow your business, check out Smalljobs.ph to get in touch with freelancers and other qualified experts.