We all know that small business owners have to wear a lot of caps. But while many of us can do many tasks efficiently, a time will come when it is better to outsource specific tasks to save time and money and focus on growing our businesses.
Which tasks need to be outsourced? Start with people who take a lot of time to complete, outside the skill set, or need expertise. Here are some essential areas of your business that need to be outsourced.
1. HR
Human resources cover a lot of space, from hiring in a small business to team management. You may think that you do not have enough employees to outsource your HR, but because HR comes with so many work responsibilities, it may be worth it. Consider the necessary HR functions first. These can be:
- Payroll accounting
- Employee health insurance
- Management of employee benefits
- Recruitment
- Employee training
- Compliance with labor laws such as safety laws
Many small businesses start by payroll outsourcing. Because there are so many changing rules and laws, it is difficult for a person inside the house to stay on top.
2. IT Support
Small businesses usually cannot afford in-house IT staff, but they are so dependent on technology that they need assistance.
Like HR, IT includes a range of services ranging from web design and storage to hardware repair or cyber threats. These jobs require a lot of specialized expertise, so you often choose it financially as it is one of the tasks of outsourcing and outsourcing IT functions.
3. Search Engine Optimization
Today, whether you are a B2B or B2C company, potential customers are contacted using a search engine (Google is by far the largest). Search engine optimization (SEO) can be considered a marketing function as it requires a lot of industry knowledge.
Another question is how often Google and other major search engines (Bing and Yahoo) change their algorithms. It will be impossible for you to keep it and it will cost a lot of money to hire a working employee.
Social media plays a significant role in your SEO ranking, so a recruitment company or individual needs to lay a solid foundation on the social platform as well.
It’s is not a beginning level job, so be sure to look for someone with experience outsourcing SEO.
4. Accounting
Accounting for outsourcing is one of the most popular tasks. Accounting again performs a variety of tasks, many of which require their expertise. You will need an experienced tax accountant to do his tax preparation.
Depending on your own type of business, you may also need an accountant. Some standard online accounting solutions, such as QuickBooks, also provide an accounting service.
5. Payment Process
Another function of outsourcing is to manage its suppliers and receivables. These are labor-intensive and time-sensitive tasks that can be delegated to a company like Bill.com, which automates these processes.
Outsourcing receivables can help you pay faster. Bill.com says that their customers get paid twice as fast. The use of such a service for AR and AP reduces potential human error, protects the system, and helps manage cash flow.
And because the service is cloud-based, you can access your own dashboard from anywhere via an internet connection. If you are looking for companies to outsource, find out if you can find ones that let you try before you buy.
6. Customer Service
Good customer service can differentiate between staying in business or closing doors. Providing excellent customer service that consumers expect is not only time consuming but also very patient.
And the more you grow, the greater the need for customer service. This is why it makes sense to outsource it to a call center or chat service.
Take proper care when hiring the company to serve the customer. These people will treat your customers, and you have to make sure that your customers are treated fairly.
7. Administrative work
More and more small businesses are hiring virtual assistants (VAs) to perform their administrative tasks. These can range from specific administrative tasks or more sophisticated tasks such as posting on social media or travel tours. You will communicate a lot with this person, so make sure to appoint someone you feel comfortable with.
8. Tax preparation and filing outsourcing
Preparing tax returns takes time and requires special skills. You can easily find tax advisors who can take the tax return burden away from you. If you use some good online accounting software, you can only give them temporary access, and they will be able to generate revenue.
Today tax preparation services are broadly standardized and can easily outsource VAT, service tax, and TDS refund preparations.
9. Payroll accounting outsourcing
If you have a small team, you will have no difficulty managing your payroll in-house. But if your business exceeds its expansion by ten employees, monthly payroll can consume a lot of time. Tracking employee departure, entry and exit formalities, bonus and loan advances, and enforced tax breaks can soon become a nightmare.
With the right options, payroll can be a cheap, simple way to pay employees and file taxes on time.
10. Social media Marketing
Social networks are no longer limited to personal communication. More and more businesses are using websites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn for lead generation. In fact, the popular WhatsApp messaging app is also widely used by businesses. Marketing on social networks is not easy, and this activity takes significant time. For example, our work does not end with posting something on social media, we need to participate in conversations, and we need users to respond.
This activity can easily be outsourced to one of social media management. They will have a team of dedicated professionals who will supervise and grow your followers. You can use tools such as Hootsuite that allow you to appoint team members and post them on your company’s community profile.
Most businesses think that social media can be managed by spending 30-40 minutes a day or occasionally posting a few messages, but if you really want to take advantage of it, you invest time. Outsourcing this activity to professionals will certainly provide good returns.
11. Hiring
How can you add new people to your organization? Most of us post jobs on our website or inform our friends and current employees about vacancies. If your network is not good, you will start slowly. Then you will start interviewing these candidates over the weekend. These include selection, background checks, salary talks, and additional interviews.
You can imagine how long it can take? You can save your valuable time by outsourcing the entire recruitment process. The consultancy agencies have a database and can handle applicants with the necessary skills quickly. Some of them also offer free replacement if a newly hired person leaves his/her job within three months.
12. Event Management
Are you planning to organize a workshop for your employees? Or a team trip? Or could it be a gathering party for vendors? It is better to delegate the entire event organization activity to an agency.
From design to execution, event management can take a long time. If you are not outsourced, you will be forced to engage your employees, affecting productivity. A good event management company can relieve all pain and maintain good relationships with technicians, sound providers, catering providers, and other vendors.
Therefore, the next time you think about hosting an event, consider outsourcing it and save valuable time.
13. Inbound marketing
The world of marketing is continually evolving. Between changes in consumer attitudes and technological development, it is becoming increasingly challenging to connect with the target audience. The inbound marketing approach is the most effective way to generate leads, but it is a time-consuming process. Outsourcing of integrated programs (website marketing, SEO, social media marketing, email marketing, and public relations) ensures that inbound efforts are adequately conducted and managed.
14. Sales
Likewise, your company may not have the staff or expertise to initiate channels and processes to initiate sales calls or close deals. If you outsource to sales companies or professionals, you can outsource these tasks to skilled individuals who set up multiple businesses.
15. Production
Setting up a dedicated manufacturing plant can be quite expensive for a small business. Therefore many vendors choose to outsource this step. You do not necessarily have to change this process offshore. The United States has a market share of about 18 percent in the global manufacturing industry. So you can potentially find domestic outsourcing partners who keep their business nearby.
16. Transport and Logistics
You can also specify that your manufacturing facility or a separate drop shipping service handles your products’ delivery and operation directly to customers. It is a popular choice for e-commerce vendors who want to focus on their online and marketing aspects.
17. The Research
Is there anything you need to know about customers or the entire industry? Whether you are thinking about introducing a new product or expanding into a new market, proper research is important. So if you don’t want to spend days or weeks surveying your target audience or are buried under a lot of online content, then you can outsource the move to a research company. They also require access to additional resources to provide you precious insights.