Outsourcing: Here’s What You Should Keep In-House
It is commonplace these days for businesses to outsource specific tasks to third-party companies. Such actions help companies save time and money and dedicate their resources to other areas of their businesses.
The thing is, some entrepreneurs end up outsourcing almost everything and can sometimes ruin their brand’s reputation in the process. To be clear, there’s nothing wrong with outsourcing some things. You just shouldn’t outsource everything!
Which things should you keep in-house? The following are some broad examples to help you retain your positive brand image:
Customer Service
Some business leaders will disagree with maintaining customer service teams in-house. After all: it’s cheaper to use ‘offshore’ call center staff thousands of miles away. But that’s precisely why you should keep your customer service department in-house.
Call handlers in foreign call centers might speak English, but that doesn’t stop things from getting lost in translation, especially when those call centers are in countries where English is not the primary language.
It’s not uncommon to hear ‘horror stories’ from customers who end up getting so frustrated with the language barrier that they decide to take their custom elsewhere. Keep your customer service departments in-house to keep your customers.
Material Converting
Consumers are often frustrated with companies that sell products in vast quantities with an inferior build quality and even questionable safety standards. You might think that applies to packaged products that comprise several materials, but it also applies to single materials.
Does your business specialize in material converting - taking, or combining raw materials to create new products? Your company is likely a material converter if it converts vinyl into graphics that stick onto vehicles, for example.
One major problem with outsourcing material converting is you have little to no say (or insight) into the conversion processes and the material quality used. If you want to offer a premium service to your customers, you need to bring bank material converting in-house.
The good news is many businesses can reasonably afford the expenses of in-house material converting. For example, this knife is useful for machines to cut materials such as paper and vinyl. Plus, you can typically automate a lot of the work to save on labor costs.
Corporate Culture
Did you know that many companies outsource their corporate culture to external change management firms? The biggest problem with that approach is your company is in danger of losing its identity.
The people that work for your business are the ones that have driven it to its successful position in your industry. External agencies will only have the information you give them to articulate your company’s mission, vision, and values.
Your staff is your brand’s most significant assets. It should be them that lead your company through any periods of cultural change, rather than an outsourced consultancy firm.
Final thoughts
It makes sense to outsource a lot of things for most businesses. But, some things should firmly stay in-house. Whenever you wish to outsource a function of your business, do plenty of research before making a decision.
