Outsourcing 101: When does outsourcing make sense?

Woman looks at the computer screen of the woman beside her

“Outsourcing” is a term used to refer to the practice of hiring an outside party to perform services that otherwise could, or would, have been completed in-house. Many companies and individuals who run businesses use outsourcing as a way to get necessary tasks completed without having to hire additional staff or overwork current staff.

It can be tough to know when a job can be completed in-house and when outsourcing is the better option. Outsourcing is often a valuable tool, but it’s not always necessary or advised. 

Before you go through the process of hiring someone, you’ll want to ensure that the decision to outsource makes sense. Not every task or project requires it, and hiring an outside party unnecessarily can cost you time and money that would otherwise be better spent elsewhere. If you’re considering hiring out to someone else to absorb some of your business tasks or services, there is a right way and a wrong way to go about it. Outsourcing, like any type of hiring, is best executed when the process is well-thought-out. 

Let’s take a look at how to successfully outsource once you’ve decided that doing so is right for you.

Getting Started

Woman looks at the computer screen of the woman beside her

Honestly assess your workload and responsibilities 

The first step is to take an honest look at your workload and responsibilities. Spending money to unnecessarily hire a consultant is never a good idea. Outsourcing is a great option when it’s needed, but can be a major money drain when it isn’t. Here are a few scenarios that are likely to indicate that outsourcing is a good choice.

    1. Your task list has grown significantly. If you notice that your daily, weekly, or monthly task list has grown (or is growing) to a level where completing these tasks internally is becoming challenging, outsourcing is likely a practical idea. 
  • You can’t seem to get ahead or can’t focus on your strengths. Do you find yourself constantly working but not seeing any progress? Or, maybe, your task list is full of projects that are important but don’t take advantage of your strengths? Outsourcing is a great option if you feel stuck or if the tasks you’re focusing on aren’t where your energy is best utilized. 
  • Your business is suffering from inaction. Inaction often shows up as your business failing to produce new, innovative ideas for company growth, increased ROI, and other objectives. Hiring out is often useful for bringing fresh outlooks and mindsets to otherwise creatively stagnant companies.  

Determine the type of consultant you need

Once you’re aware of your need to outsource, your next step is to identify what type of work needs to be done and by whom. Can you hire a junior consultant with mostly entry-level knowledge or do you need a seasoned and savvy industry veteran?

Take a candid look at your responsibilities and list out the top three areas where you need the most help. For example, your list may include Excel VBA, data storage, and customer service. With your problem areas narrowed down, add “consulting” to the end of the term (e.g., VBA consulting or data storage consulting) and do a quick internet search to hone in on a consultant type. You might find that your problem area can be handled by any consultant in the industry or, alternatively, that it is specific and requires expert knowledge. The level of expertise required will depend on how difficult your tasks are, but most consultants will be at least moderately experienced in their area of choice. 

If you aren’t sure what needs to be done but you know who to hire, you can find a consultant, have them assess your needs, and take it from there. Do this for each problem area that you believe requires external assistance to help you determine the type of consultant you should focus on.

Determine whether your consultant’s location is a factor

Some outsourced tasks can be done from anywhere in the world while others require you to hire someone regional or local. Once you know who you need to hire, you can determine whether their location will affect the successful completion of the project. If there are any in-person tasks needed, a consultant that has to travel for more than a few hours isn’t ideal. Plus, in-person consultants that have to travel often charge extra and require that travel expenses be included in their contracts.

However, if your consultant can work remotely and communicate via message board, email, or video conferencing, you have more freedom in where you hire and whom. Hiring remotely often means that the consultant is in your region or country, but not local. If you choose to hire overseas, which can be more cost-effective, you’ll have to be comfortable with your consultant operating from another country. Each choice, ultimately, has its pros and cons.

Hiring locally or regionally means you’ll be drawing from a relatively small pool of options, depending on your industry. But, if you hire overseas, while you’ll have many more options to choose from, considerations like language barriers and time zones can impact the efficiency of the project.

Also, you’ll need to determine where you prefer to hire your consultant from. There are online platforms, such as Fiverr and Upwork, where freelancers can easily be found, but with credentials that are not always verifiable. Or, if you have the budget, you can opt for a known firm or agency with well-vetted consultants – though this will likely cost you more money. Alternatively, you can hire an independent contractor from neither a platform nor a firm, but this also carries a certain level of risk.  

Estimate how often you need this help

The number of hours you need your consultant for will greatly affect how much your outsourcing will cost you. The hourly requirements and the length of the project will be the most important factors in calculating your final costs. 

How many hours do you estimate your needed tasks will take? Is it possible to reduce this estimation by utilizing internal resources in any way? While you want to ensure that you pay your consultant well, it is not practical for you to pay for inessential hours of work or dead time. 

If you’re unsure of how long your project will take, you can reach out to a reputable consultant for a “good faith” quote. Not all consultants are willing to provide quotations without a project scope (which we’ll touch on later), but some are. However, you’ll likely be quoted a higher rate if you are unable to provide enough details about your project’s needs. 

Analyze the costs and determine your daily/weekly/monthly budget

Taking into consideration the experience level of the consultant that you desire and the hours of work that you need, estimate your expenses. You can do a quick internet search to assess an average hourly rate to help you get as close to a reasonable figure as possible. The best way to do this is to calculate a daily rate and then multiply the rate to fit your expected weekly or monthly requirement. If your consultant is likely to charge per project and not per hour or month, calculate how many projects you’ll need (at the estimated rate) to determine your total expenses. 

If your budget doesn’t align with this expense, assess how you can adjust your numbers to better meet your budget. If you have significantly more flexibility in your budget, consider calculating your hourly needs based on a more experienced consultant’s rate. You can also add hours to your estimate to see what you’d pay if the project ran longer than expected. If your expense is more than you budgeted for, estimate the cost for a lower-level consultant or cut your time requirement by a few hours, days, or weeks.

project scope - project deliverables

Write a project scope that covers what you need now and in the future

Once you’ve found a prospective consultant, whether independently, through an agency, or using a platform, your next step is to prepare for hiring. Creating a project scope will help your future consultant better understand your needs by concisely breaking down your expectations. This project scope can be as detailed as you’d like but should give anyone reading it a clear outline of what project success looks like to you. A project scope, also called a scope of work, can be sent out to prospective consultants as a basis for their quotation. If your document is created well, you can reduce unnecessary back and forth between yourself and the consultant and will likely receive a more comprehensive quotation. 

Check out my previous blog post on how to write a good project scope for some tips and tricks to creating a solid, usable document. 

Draw up a contract and hire an attorney (if needed)

Before you allow a consultant to begin working on your project, you should draw up and sign a contract. This contract should cover the project scope and detail your responsibilities as a client, as well as the responsibilities of the contractor. Any deadlines, deliverables, and expectations (including payment schedules and invoice protocol) should be included in this contract. 

Every single deliverable should be clearly listed in the contract – don’t leave any information vague or easy to misinterpret. If possible, and if needed, have an in-house or external attorney read over the contract for any missing or incorrect information. This contract is 100% necessary to protect your business (and yourself) from legal issues that can occur when a working relationship is not contractually bound. 

Set reasonable expectations

Some projects require little communication between parties while others require consistent, sometimes daily, correspondence. If you have expectations for how often your consultant should communicate, and when, these should be made clear early on. Not everyone has the same communication style and you may find yourself speaking to your consultant less often or more often than you’d like.

Settle first on how often you’d like to communicate – once a day, once a week, bi-monthly, etc. Once you’ve done this, determine which forms of communication are best. Do you prefer email and message systems like Slack and Asana or phone or video calls? Or, maybe, you’d like to combine both written and visual/voice communication throughout the project. Try to ensure that your expectations are reasonable. If possible, work with your consultant to find days and times that work best for you both — when it comes to communication, the ability to compromise is an important skill.

Time to get to work!

project scope - project milestones

Execute

Although the road to finding the right contractor can be challenging, it can be an incredibly rewarding process. Once you’ve found someone to expertly execute your outsourcing needs, the next step is to, simply, let them do their job.

As their client, it’s essential that you remain responsive to any questions or concerns they may have to better help them complete their tasks. As much as possible, keep your lines of communication open and prioritize responding clearly and effectively to help the project continue running smoothly. Do your best to make yourself available to the contractor if and when needed.

And, finally, create an exit plan that details actions in the event that you or the contractor are no longer able to fulfill the contractual agreement. Your contract should have a clear exit clause for both parties, but you should plan out how you’ll move forward if the contract is terminated early. Will you hire a new contractor or finish the project in-house? If needed, will you budget to start the project again from scratch? If the project is time-sensitive, what is your solution if the deliverables are delayed for any amount of time? Creating an exit plan can help you more confidently outsource your needs by preparing you for potential challenges and unforeseen situations. 

Summary

project scope - line items

Outsourcing is often key to ensuring that you and your company remain efficient. And, since outsourcing is generally more cost-effective than hiring new employees or investing in training programs for current staff, it can significantly decrease your overhead expenses. The decision to hire out can be a tough one, but, for many, it’s a choice that quickly proves itself to be invaluable to the success and growth of a business.

Enhance Team Coordination with a Shared Calendar

Airtable’s built-in calendar goes beyond a simple scheduling tool. It transforms into a powerful hub for task management within your team. Project managers can create timelines, assign deadlines, and set reminders within the calendar view. Team members can access this centralized calendar to view upcoming tasks, track project progress, and collaborate seamlessly. This eliminates the need for multiple calendars and ensures everyone is on the same page, fostering efficient project execution.

Real-World Examples:

  • Marketing Team Campaign Management: Create a shared calendar to visualize brainstorming sessions, content creation deadlines, social media posting schedules, and campaign launch dates. This keeps everyone aligned and ensures a smooth marketing rollout.
  • Sales Team Activity Tracking: Use the calendar to track sales calls, client meetings, and follow-up deadlines. This allows managers to monitor individual and team performance, identify potential roadblocks, and provide timely support.

  • Product Development Team Sprint Planning: Block out dedicated times for user interviews, design sprints, development cycles, and testing phases on the shared calendar. This transparency ensures everyone involved knows what’s happening at each stage and fosters collaboration.

  • Customer Support Team Shift Scheduling: Create a visual schedule for customer support representatives, including breaks, training sessions, and planned maintenance windows. This ensures adequate coverage during peak hours and avoids customer service disruptions.

  • Content Creation Team Editorial Calendar: Manage a shared calendar for brainstorming sessions, content assignment deadlines, editing and revision cycles, and publication dates. This keeps the content creation process organized and on track.

Simplify Resource Management with Custom Spreadsheets

Airtable’s true strength lies in its ability to transform traditional spreadsheets into dynamic tools for resource management. Gone are the days of static data! Airtable spreadsheets can be customized with various field types, including formulas and automation. Teams can track project budgets, allocate resources efficiently, and monitor project timelines, all within a single, adaptable workspace. This level of customization empowers teams to manage resources effectively and identify potential roadblocks before they arise.

Real-World Examples:

  • Project Budget Tracking: Craft a custom spreadsheet to track project expenses, categorize costs, and compare them to allocated budgets. This allows for real-time financial health monitoring and facilitates informed resource allocation decisions.

  • Team Member Capacity Planning: Design a spreadsheet to visualize team member workloads, including deadlines, project assignments, and estimated time commitments. This helps identify potential bottlenecks, distribute tasks efficiently, and avoid overallocation of resources.

  • Inventory Management: Create a custom spreadsheet to track inventory levels, reorder points, and supplier information. This ensures you have the necessary resources in stock when needed and avoids stockouts or excessive storage costs.

  • Client Project Profitability Analysis: Develop a spreadsheet to track project costs, billable hours, and client fees. This facilitates profitability analysis for individual projects and helps identify areas for improvement in resource allocation for future client engagements.

  • Scenario Planning and Resource Forecasting: Build a custom spreadsheet to model different project scenarios and their resource requirements. This allows you to anticipate potential resource needs, plan for contingencies, and make data-driven decisions about resource allocation.

Boost Productivity through Automation

Airtable automates repetitive tasks, freeing up valuable time for your team to focus on high-impact activities. Imagine automatically sending task reminders, assigning new projects based on workload, or generating reports based on predefined criteria. Airtable’s robust automation features allow you to streamline workflows and eliminate manual data entry, boosting overall team productivity.

Real-World Examples:

  • Automated Task Management: Automatically create tasks in a to-do list when a new record is added to a specific Airtable base. This eliminates manual data entry and streamlines your workflow.

  • Email Reminders and Notifications: Automate sending email reminders or notifications based on deadlines or specific field changes in your Airtable base. This ensures you and your team stay on top of important tasks and upcoming events.

  • Data Pre-Population and Field Updates: Use automation to pre-populate fields with default values or automatically update related fields based on user selections. This reduces manual data entry errors and saves time.

  • Data Aggregation and Reporting: Automate the process of collecting and summarizing data from different Airtable bases into a single report. This saves time on manual data manipulation and provides a consolidated view of key metrics.

  • Content Approval Workflows: Create automated workflows that route content for review and approval based on pre-defined criteria. This streamlines the content creation process and ensures timely feedback and approvals.

Keep Projects Aligned with Real-Time Updates

Airtable Sync ensures your teams are constantly working with the latest information. This innovative feature lets you link projects across different bases, enabling real-time updates. No more refreshing pages or chasing down the newest document version – Airtable Sync keeps everyone in the loop, fostering smoother collaboration and faster project completion.

Real-World Examples:

  • Centralized Project Hub: Consolidate all project-related information in a single Airtable base, including tasks, deadlines, files, and discussions. With real-time updates, everyone can access the latest project information, fostering transparency and alignment.
  • Dynamic Dashboards and Reporting: Develop dashboards that automatically update with the latest Airtable data. This provides a real-time view of project progress, metrics, and potential roadblocks, allowing for data-driven decision-making and course correction.

  • Automated Dependency Management: Set up automations to track dependencies between tasks within your Airtable base. When a dependent task is completed, the automation can trigger updates or notifications for subsequent tasks, ensuring a smooth workflow and everyone stays on the same page.

  • Streamlined Communication and Feedback: Leverage Airtable’s commenting features to provide real-time feedback directly on tasks, files, or project updates within the platform. This eliminates the need for separate communication channels and ensures all project conversations are documented and centralized.

  • Collaborative Brainstorming and Planning: Use Airtable as a collaborative workspace where team members can brainstorm ideas, add notes, and update plans in real time. This fosters a dynamic and interactive environment where everyone can contribute and see the project evolve continuously.

Organize Workspaces by Linking Records

Airtable goes beyond simple data storage, allowing users to create relationships between records. Imagine linking customer information to related sales orders or connecting project tasks to their corresponding deadlines. This functionality fosters organization within your workspace, making tracking dependencies and visualizing project flow easier. Additionally, Airtable offers pre-built templates with pre-defined relationships, saving you time and ensuring a well-structured workspace from the outset.

Real-World Examples:

  • Content Management System: Create a system where content ideas in a brainstorming base are linked to corresponding production stages in a separate base. This allows you to track the progress of content pieces seamlessly across the entire creation process.

  • Sales Pipeline Management: Link opportunities in your sales pipeline to relevant customer information in a separate CRM base. This provides a holistic view of each prospect and streamlines the sales process.

  • Bug Tracking and Development Workflow: Link bug reports to corresponding tasks assigned to developers. This allows developers to easily access all relevant information for each bug fix and track the progress of their work.

  • Event Planning and Vendor Management: Link event details to specific vendors involved in the planning. This keeps track of all associated vendors, their services, and any communication threads related to each event.

  • Research Project Management: Link research topics to relevant source materials, such as articles or data sets. This allows researchers to easily access and reference the sources used for each aspect of their project.

Flexible Task Scheduling Options to Suit Any Project

Not all projects require the same management style. Airtable caters to this by offering a variety of task-scheduling options. Choose from list views for a simple overview, Kanban boards for visualizing workflow stages, Gantt charts for tracking project timelines, or gallery views for showcasing creative assets. This flexibility allows teams to select the view best suits their project management style and needs.

Real-World Example:

  • Agile Development Sprints: Airtable’s flexible scheduling allows you to define sprints (iterations) within your project base. Tasks can be assigned due dates within each sprint, enabling agile development teams to manage short work cycles and adapt to changing priorities.

  • Freelancer Project Management: Assign tasks with flexible deadlines based on freelancer availability and project milestones. This approach caters to the dynamic nature of freelance work, ensuring clear expectations while accommodating individual schedules.

  • Content Marketing Calendar: Schedule blog posts, social media content, and other marketing materials with specific publish times or deadlines. Airtable’s flexibility accommodates recurring tasks and seasonal content, ensuring a consistent and well-paced marketing strategy.

  • Event Planning with Staggered Deadlines: Manage complex event logistics with tasks due at various stages leading up to the event date. This could include tasks for venue booking months in advance and social media promotion closer to the event.

  • Long-Term Project Roadmaps: Airtable’s flexible scheduling isn’t limited to short-term tasks. Outline major project milestones and phases with tentative due dates, providing a high-level roadmap that can adapt as the project progresses.

Centralized Documentation for Easy Collaboration

Airtable isn’t just for data – it can also house all your project-related documents, images, videos, and files. This eliminates the need for scattered folders and email attachments, centralizing everything in one easily accessible location. Team members can collaborate on documents in real time, add comments, and ensure everyone has the latest version readily available. This fosters a culture of transparency and streamlines communication within your team.

Real-World Examples:

  • Single Source of Truth: Consolidate all project-related documents, such as meeting notes, design specifications, and user manuals, within a dedicated Airtable base. This ensures everyone can access the latest and most accurate information, eliminating confusion and wasted time searching for scattered documents.

  • Version Control and Revision History: Airtable tracks changes to documents stored within bases. This allows teams to collaborate on documents in real-time, see revision history, and revert to previous versions if necessary. This fosters transparency and prevents accidental overwrites.

  • Inline Collaboration and Feedback: Airtable facilitates document collaboration directly within the platform. Team members can add comments, suggestions, and questions on specific sections of documents, streamlining feedback exchange and eliminating the need for separate communication channels.

  • Conditional Content Visibility: Leverage Airtable’s view functionality to control document visibility based on user roles or project phases. This ensures team members only see the information relevant to their tasks, reducing information overload and maintaining a focused workspace.

  • Centralized Knowledge Base Creation: Develop a comprehensive knowledge base within Airtable to store best practices, FAQs, and troubleshooting guides. This centralized repository empowers team members to find answers independently, reducing the need for repetitive questions and promoting knowledge sharing across the organization.

Expand Functionality with Custom Apps

Airtable’s open API unlocks a whole new level of customization. Developers can leverage this API to create custom applications that fit your business needs perfectly. Imagine integrating your CRM system with Airtable for seamless customer data flow or connecting your project management tool for a unified workflow. The possibilities are endless, allowing you to tailor Airtable to your unique business processes and maximize its functionality for your team.

Real-World Examples:

  • Advanced Data Integration: Airtable offers robust built-in integrations, but the Open API allows for even deeper connections. Imagine a custom app that pulls real-time weather data from an external API and integrates it with your project timelines in Airtable. This could be crucial for construction projects where weather can significantly impact scheduling.

  • Customizable Workflows and Automations: While Airtable automations are powerful, they might not handle every complex scenario. The API allows you to build custom apps that trigger multi-step workflows based on specific events in your Airtable base. This could involve sending automated notifications to multiple channels or initiating external actions upon data changes.

  • Machine Learning and AI Integration: The API allows you to incorporate machine learning or AI functionalities into your Airtable workflows. Imagine a custom app that analyzes customer support data in your Airtable base and suggests potential solutions or categorizes incoming tickets based on sentiment analysis.

  • Custom User Interfaces and Branding: Airtable offers a functional interface, but the API allows you to develop custom apps with a user interface tailored to your specific needs and branding. This could be crucial for creating public-facing portals or client dashboards that seamlessly integrate with your Airtable data.

  • Advanced Data Analytics and Reporting: Airtable’s built-in reporting features are useful, but for in-depth data analysis, you might require more. The API allows you to connect your Airtable data with powerful analytics tools. This could involve building custom dashboards with interactive visualizations or generating comprehensive reports that go beyond Airtable’s native capabilities.

 

Conclusion

Airtable offers a powerful and versatile toolkit that can revolutionize your company’s operations. By implementing the strategies outlined above, you can streamline workflows, optimize resource allocation, and foster seamless team collaboration. Imagine a work environment where everyone has access to the latest information, tasks are completed efficiently, and projects stay on track. Airtable can be the key to unlocking this efficiency level and propelling your business towards sustainable growth.

But what if Airtable’s pre-built features aren’t quite what your team needs?  ProsperSpark’s team of Airtable consultants and developers can help.  We craft custom Airtable solutions tailored to any team’s needs and workflows.  Whether you need help with automation, data management, or building a complex project management system, ProsperSpark can turn your Airtable vision into reality.

Here are a few more resources to learn more about Airtable and its potential for your business:

ProsperSpark’s Airtable Consulting Services

Airtable for Beginners Guide

Airtable Community Forum

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