Restructuring my Business by Outsourcing

The current tough economic times have led me to look at reducing the overheads in my business. It has been a difficult but necessary decision. If I don?t make changes to the way the business presently functions then there is a real risk that we won?t make it through another financial year.

I?ve put together this blog with some of my experiences and the results of my research which might be of use to you if you and your business are in a similar situation.

What exactly is Outsourcing?

It wasn?t long before I discovered that outsourcing wasn?t necessarily what I thought it was. My limited knowledge of outsourcing was based upon negative experiences of companies that had moved their call centres offshore.

I have found that outsourcing is an umbrella term that covers several different types of business restructuring.

Business Process Outsourcing is the outsourcing of standard business processes, such as payroll, call centre and purchasing services. These standard processes are easier to outsource because they are common functions in any company.

Knowledge Process Outsourcing is the outsourcing of more detailed and specific business processes. The companies that provide knowledge process outsourcing are usually highly specialised in their field. Some examples include scientific research and laboratory services, intellectual property research, content writing and legal services.

Possibilities for Outsourcing in My Business

Business Process Outsourcing is the most relevant form of outsourcing for my company. There are two areas that I have identified where I think I can utilise outsourcing.

My office staff? are a small and dedicated team. They are quite often stretched to the point where I need to bring in temporary staff for short periods of time ? usually during the summer when the regular staff are taking their annual leave. The temporary staff varies in their quality and can be quite expensive to hire in. Outsourcing things like payroll and billing will free up my office staff so that they can focus on the duties that I wouldn?t dream of anyone else doing ? HR for instance.

The other area that I believe will bring significant cost reductions to my business is Purchasing and Procurement. This role is currently takes up time of just about every department. Managers from each department currently undertake the research of suppliers when we take invest in new equipment or services. It?s hugely time consuming for my staff and takes their time away from the duties they and I would prefer them to be doing. I have found that there are companies such N J Grime (http://www.njgrimepurchaseservices.co.uk/) that specialise is business procurement services. I will be researching procurement outsourcing further and implementing it to allow my staff to focus on their primary roles.

Implementing Outsourcing

There are some important considerations to take into account when considering outsourcing parts of your business. I found a good article that discusses these considerations further on the about.com website.

I have seen that outsourcing will be of use in my company. When it was first suggested to me, I looked into it rather reluctantly; however, I have seen that outsourcing will be of use to my company. It doesn?t mean providing an inferior service; rather, it will mean getting a better service from specialist companies, improving efficiency and importantly, reducing costs. If you?d like to explore outsourcing in your small business you can find some helpful information in this article from the New York Times.

Source: http://www.oisc.org.uk/restructuring-my-business-by-outsourcing/

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