1. Polaris Centre Outsourcing Maximising benefits while
minimising the risks
2. What is Outsourcing? Wikipedia the contracting out of a
business process to a third-party
3. Why Outsourcing? Eternal Small Biz Owner Dilemma As small
biz owners, we are often our own marketing, accounts, business
development & production departments as well as providers of
actual goods and services
4. Why Outsourcing?
5. In the room tonight (show of hands) What type of outsourcing
are you considering? Outsourcing a role locally (eg. Social media
marketing) Outsourcing a task locally Outsourcing a role overseas
Outsourcing a task overseas
6. Benefits of Outsourcing It doesnt have to be you doing the
work! Dont need to employ someone but hire them as required and on
demand (saving employment on costs) Offshore can be considerably
cheaper
7. Risks of Outsourcing Outsourcing can expose your business to
a range of risks Frustration, wasting time Incompetence
Misunderstandings (language / culture) Timeliness Unrealistic
expectations Risk to those with malicious intent (eg. Misuse of
databases). Unlikely but possible.
8. Internal or Overseas Internal Standards, culture,
legislation, shared understanding more likely Overseas This cannot
be assumed, and is more difficult to verify. Need to take time to
establish or train.
9. The One Thing If there is one thing which is required for
ANY outsourcing to work it is That you understand the job well
yourself That you can communicate what is to be done That you can
assess whether it has been completed successfully
10. Example SEO/Ad Words outsourcing to a colleague I have done
a lot of research about it I know it should not be outsourced
overseas I know how important it is to client sites and why I
tested her with small jobs, not just to see if she could do them,
but in the manner of working together I now give her large jobs I
keep on top of it & keep learning
11. Mitigating Risks from Outsourcer Using an agency manages
some communication, reporting and payments Use a traceable project
management / feedback system Take time time to interview Provide
enough access to complete the task but no more, especially at the
beginning
12. Your part in the success formula Provide very clear
instructions Be a good project manager Have fair expectations (does
the task suit their abilities?) Understand the context of the
outsourcer working conditions, infrastructure, culture Outsourcing
the right jobs to the right people (certain things should not be
outsourced overseas) Be a good employer
13. Remember It wont end up cheaper if it ends up losing you
business or a considerable amount of time.
14. Risk areas Anything where failure of task would be a threat
to your business Working on a live website Mishandling of database
(task itself may be easy, but possible risk may be high) Anything
you dont understand yourself or have some way of double checking
(eg. Translation, website development vs design) Anything you cant
clearly explain tempting to outsource things we dont like or
understand (eg. Photo management for website built - client asked
me to provide training video for the outsourcer she had
sourced)
15. Where do you find contractors? oDesk Freelancer Guru Elance
Fiverr *working outside the platform - risks
16. Tools for Management Skype for real time
communication/screen sharing/video calls/ voice calls Skype.com
Jing for screenshots and short videos Jingproject.com Skitch
Skitch.com (integrates with Evernote) Complex projects project
management only invest the time for ongoing work, not one off tasks
There are MANY to choose from Podio.com Basecamp Trello.com
Password tools Last pass lastpass.com
17. Visual Communication Example
18. Visual Communication Example
19. Visual Communication Example
20. Checking & Project Management Unless the actual role
you are outsourcing is Project Management, YOU need to manage your
outsourced project Check everything Provide clear feedback be
professional Provide ongoing education and expectation setting
Decide if worker understands your feedback or not. If after a few
tries they dont get it, cut your losses and move on (this is why
you should always start with small insignificant tasks if you are
looking for a long term hire)
21. Another outsourcing model Virtual Assistants &
Businesses which manage the overseas outsourcing for you Benefits:
They do the project management / training QA May already have
vetted, tried and tested suppliers
22. Quick Task Example Fiverr.com Shows the type of work
available Shows ratings and feedback Low risk great place to start
to play
23. Exercise your ad on oDesk
24. Verify your email address
25. Start to Post your Job
26. Choose Main Category
27. Choose Sub Category
28. Fill out details
29. Your Options - Payment
30. Your Options - Duration
31. Your Options - Workload
32. Your Options Job Visibility
33. Your Options Job Visibility
34. Your Options Number of Hires
35. Your Options Number of Hires
36. Preferred Qualifications
37. Preferred Qualifications
38. Preferred Qualifications
39. Preferred Qualifications
40. Other Optional Questions
41. Post Job
42. Final Thoughts Remember you are working with real people
There is no short cut to effective outsourcing Start small, learn
first Have fun!