Outsourcing is an important strategy for business success, yet leaders must be clear about the why, the tradeoffs, and the risks. One of the most powerful ways to improve your product development or service levels, focus your organization on critical tasks, and shape your budget is to outsource services and parts of projects to people who can do it better or for less cost than you can internally.
The biggest challenges come when leaders make “narrow” decisions about outsourcing, not thinking of the larger economic or organizational culture issues. For example, outsourcing can create inefficiencies and more unproductive downtime for your employees, which is often missed on the Excel sheet demonstrating the cost savings of a contractual service level. Outsourcing can also affect your brand and your interaction with customers.
Since you read this far, you’re a smart leader who wants to make smart decisions. Here are the questions you should ask (and answer) before outsourcing any task or service: [Read more…] about 5 Questions to Ask Before You Outsource