Outsourcing some of the jobs within your business can have many advantages if you choose carefully when delegating the work to someone. It can be a lot cheaper than employing people in-house to do the same task and enables you to access expertise that you might not need or be able to afford full-time. Outsourcing is usually done remotely, giving you the chance to find the perfect person or agency, wherever they may be in the world. Tasks you might consider delegating include social media management, web design and having managed service plans for your IT support.
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The first step towards successful outsourcing is deciding which jobs you want to delegate, followed by looking for the right outsourcing partner. Here are our tips to help you do this.
Look at Testimonials and Reviews
When you have decided on the task, to find someone you think may be suitable, you will need to go through several steps to make sure you have made the right decision. The first one is to look at their past record and by reading the testimonials and reviews from previous partners.
This should give you an idea of whether they meet deadlines and whether their work is to the quality that you would expect. It can also give you a greater insight into their strengths and weaknesses.
Ask for references
Naturally, most people will only give you the names of people to contact that they know will provide them with a positive reference. However, this can still be useful because if they can’t give you any names, or can only give you one or two, it may well set alarm bells ringing.
Interview them
This can be as formal or as informal as you would like it to be, but just a fifteen minute chat to someone can tell you a lot about a person. Ask them about their business goals and let them know yours. Knowing what the targets are for both of you can help towards a better understanding of the work you want them to do. It also gives you an idea of whether there will be a culture or personality clash. Sometimes, for no apparent reason, people do not gel well, and when you are looking to forge a good working relationship with someone, that is not ideal. It is fine not to use someone because it doesn’t feel right – your gut instinct can tell you a lot.
Ask for samples of previous work.
If everything is looking positive so far, ask to see samples of the freelancer’s previous work or their portfolio. This will let you see if what they produce is up to your standards, and will give you more idea if they can do the tasks that you have in mind for them. Be aware that sometimes, they can be restricted in the samples they send you because of client confidentiality. If this happens, you may want to ask them to complete a small (paid!) task for you, as a ‘test’ piece.
By going through these processes, you will hopefully find the right person for your outsourcing needs.